necessary to disinfect black/grey tanks?

[lizARdman15]

On our last trip out, we had to cut our last day short and come on home due to my wife getting horribly sick.
She ended up in the hospital and is actually still there due to a diagnosis of C. Diff.
It is highly contagious and I will need to completely clean and disinfect the entire TT. Already finished with the house and my truck.

My question is that since pretty much everything she added to the black/grey tanks is now a contagious mess, is there a way to clean the tanks that will not cause any problems.

It will be a thousand wonders if I dont get it since I was in contact with everything during set up/take downs/emptying and cleaning everything out when we got home/&most importantly the poop tubes-both during takedown and clean out when I got home. I washed my hands and took precautions, but that is a lot of exposure and I didnt know that she had CDiff until Thursday nite.

[GravelRider]

I'm far from an RV expert, but I am a doctor. Use bleach, and lots of it. The spores can last up to 5 months, which can cause infection. Disinfect all surfaces and wash all sheets, etc. I would also put a bunch of bleach water into both tanks and drive around enough to get it to splash around.

[eye95]

Originally Posted by GravelRider

I'm far from an RV expert, but I am a doctor. Use bleach, and lots of it. The spores can last up to 5 months, which can cause infection. Disinfect all surfaces and wash all sheets, etc. I would also put a bunch of bleach water into both tanks and drive around enough to get it to splash around.

Would the possible solutions (in addition to cleaning) include just not using the trailer for the five months?

[Chris Pastuzyn]

Sorry to hear about your wife ,Hopefully she is getting better, I'm definitely not a Doctor but bleach is the way ,Driving around with it in the tanks makes a lot of sense. Lysol make laundry sanitizer, Open the camper and clean away.

[Oaklevel]

I would like to add when you do empty the waste tanks take extra precautions handling the hoses etc. Lots of bleach is not a bad idea.

Good Luck and I hope she recovers.

[Oaklevel]

I am just throwing this out there, since COVID there are a lot of companies doing disinfecting. You might see what they would charge.

[GravelRider]

Originally Posted by eye95

Would the possible solutions (in addition to cleaning) include just not using the trailer for the five months?

Realistically, that should do the trick as well... But I'd still feel better bleaching everything.

[upflying]

The need to disinfect waste tanks and hoses caused me to remember this thread.
At what point is infectious caution taken too far?
https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...on-211124.html

[Chuck_S]

The dump site is not the place to disinfect the camper.

Bleach is the magic disinfectant.

A cursory Google search brought up this from the Mayo Clinic. I'd apply it to the camper.

Prevention

To help prevent the spread of C. difficile, hospitals and other health care facilities follow strict infection-control guidelines. If you have a friend or family member in a hospital or nursing home, don't be afraid to remind caregivers to follow the recommended precautions.

Preventive measures include:

Avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are sometimes prescribed for viral illnesses that aren't helped by these drugs. Take a wait-and-see approach with simple illnesses. If you do need an antibiotic, ask your doctor to prescribe one that has a narrow range and that you take for the shortest time possible.

Hand-washing. Health care workers should practice good hand hygiene before and after treating each person in their care. In the event of a C. difficile outbreak, using soap and warm water is a better choice for hand hygiene, because alcohol-based hand sanitizers don't effectively destroy C. difficile spores. Visitors also should wash their hands with soap and warm water before and after leaving the room or using the bathroom.

Contact precautions. People who are hospitalized with C. difficile have a private room or share a room with someone who has the same illness. Hospital staff and visitors wear disposable gloves and isolation gowns while in the room.

Thorough cleaning. In any health care setting, all surfaces should be carefully disinfected with a product that contains chlorine bleach. C. difficile spores can survive exposure to routine cleaning products that don't contain bleach.

(Emphasis added.)

-- Chuck

[eye95]

Originally Posted by GravelRider

Realistically, that should do the trick as well... But I'd still feel better bleaching everything.

Oh, yes, still disinfect.

[alicemerrill]

My Mom has C-def twice. Please let her know and you too, that you both have many people praying and Wishing for a quick recovery. Just do the Best you can. Don’t panic, stay calm, clean as thorough as you can. And protect yourself. Do not add anything else to your bleach. We don’t want you to kill yourself. Please be careful and let us know how she recovers. We are hear for you.

[Reverse_snowbird]

We've discovered that around the house Hydrogen Peroxide is also a great disinfectant.

We fought Candida auris for a couple of months until we discovered that hydrogen peroxide killed it. You have to be careful because it kills all bacteria. If there is fecal matter on a surface, it will foam as it kills the bacteria. Also good for lifting stains on fabric.

Remember, when you're disinfecting, no matter what product you use, follow the directions....clean the surface, then spray or wipe on the disinfectant and leave it to dry on the surface.

[Swampy]

My DW is a RN and she tells me that C.Diff. usually isn't killed off by the normal disinfectants, but that a thorough washing with soap and water on all the hard surfaces and then a wipe-down with a disinfectant should kill off the bacteria. As far as the waste tanks, I wouldn't worry as much about what is in them as much as I would about the Hose connections, I would wash and sanitize before and after every dump, just to be on the safe side. I'll assume you are using disposable gloves already. Be careful putting too many chemicals into the waste tanks since some can dissolve rubber seals and ruin the toilet valve and the dump valves. Soap and water are harmless to the system seals alcohol and anything with an oil base will likely cause problems. Good Luck! ... Swampy

[GravelRider]

Oh, and something else to mention, hand sanitizers do not kill the spores. So after dumping, make sure to wash, not just sanitize, your hands.

[PSU Turf]

I am a nurse with a lot of experience caring for patients with C diff as well as trying to prevent the spread of the bacteria. Bleach is the only disinfectant, that we can get retail, that will kill the spores of this bacteria. Many hospitals use Oxycide to disinfect. This is a combination of hydrogen peroxide and paracetic acid (vinegar) but it must be prepared daily as the shelf life is only 24 hours.

Bleach will definitely work on hard surfaces of your trailer but how do you disinfect fabrics, the mattress, etc. without discoloring it? Another tool used by hospitals is ultraviolet light. After a room is disinfected with bleach or Oxycide a large ultraviolet light is placed in the room for up to one hour. If I was trying to get rid of as much C diff as possible from my RV I would get a UV light. Amazon has many different UV lights.

It is quite rare for a healthy person to get a C diff infection. Most people who get C diff have recently been on antibiotics or have a compromised immune system due to chemotherapy or radiation. Thorough hand washing with soap and water, especially before eating is your best defense.

[Theo]

I came down with C. Diff....{wait for it}...in hospital after surgery! Now, if C. Diff. can hang on inside a hospital, it'll hang around your TT in relative luxury.

I really like the idea of hiring someone to do the mitigation. Less of a chance that you will succumb.

[lizARdman15]

I was hesitant to use bleach since it is so corrosive, but I guess it is my only choice.

Things have been crazy today. I finally finished disinfecting the house this morning. Then, a couple hours on the tractor and lawn mower catching up on grass.

Then, I get the call that my wife is getting released. So, now we are all home and relaxing!

My wife is healthier than me, but was on an antibiotic last week.

I am genuinely concerned about my handling/cleaning of the poop tubes. I am a country boy with a little farm history, so being thigh deep in poop has never really been an issue with me. I may have been more lax than I should have been on handling/cleaning the tubes for storage.

Couple that with me having crohns and taking meds that weakens my immune system and I maybe should be more careful. I do hope I don't get this, though.

[Sparkyone]

I just completed disinfecting the freshwater tank -with a little more than 1/2 cup of Clorox bleach mixed with water and added that to my freshwater tank. After letting it sit for 24 hours, and had all the taps and showers running, I let the grey water and black water tanks fill up and will now let that water sit in the tanks for another 24 hours . why waste the chlorinated water by just putting it in the sanitary sewer. Just my 2 cents .

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Theo

I came down with C. Diff....{wait for it}...in hospital after surgery! Now, if C. Diff. can hang on inside a hospital, it'll hang around your TT in relative luxury.

I really like the idea of hiring someone to do the mitigation. Less of a chance that you will succumb.

Bleach is cheap and TT's are small. Mix, spray, wipe, then shower.

I regularly remove all items I can launder from my TT and all eating utensils get regular trips through the dishwasher in the house.

I think a person who is worried about possible infection will pay attention to the sanitizing process than someone who's either worried about getting finished so they can go to the next job, or just go home for the day.

Another option would be to rent a commercial ozone generator. Close all windows fill the TT with ozone for a couple hours. Then make sure to ventilate well starting with a big box fan in the door for a while before entering to open vents.

Ozone is an oxidizer and directly attacks organisms where bleach releases oxygen that does the same.

As a side benefit ozone also will remove nasty pet or smoking odors as well as mold. Just be sure to VENTILATE before going back in.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by lizARdman15

I was hesitant to use bleach since it is so corrosive, but I guess it is my only choice.

Not if it's properly diluted for sanitizing.

Note: Bleach has an expiration date and it really means it. After that date it may not be strong enough to be effective for sanitizing when diluted as directed.