Maintaining Your Wastewater Tank

Wastewater tanks are the easiest things to keep clean and smelling like roses. All you have to do is maintain them and they will never be a problem. I will give you a few ways to do this and not have to worry about the smell that creeps up in your RV from time to time. Let’s start with toilet, paper you can use single ply, the cheap stuff that does not clog your tank and then there is the RV toilet paper that cost much more and will do the same job. The next thing is dumping, dumping needs to be done when the tank is full and to perform this you connect the sewer hose to the dump station, then just pull the handle marked Wastewater tank or Black Tank, when the tank is empty, hook a hose to the sewer flush or run a hose into the RV and down the toilet, make sure you are not using your fresh water hose for drinking water, we do not want to contaminate the hose we get drinking water from. When the water coming from the tank is clear you’re done. Make sure to leave about three gallons of water in the tank to keep the enzymes swimming; now you want to add some more tank chemicals/enzymes that you can pick up from any RV dealership.

The tank chemicals/enzymes you add will help in breaking down the toilet paper and the solids. They also help by keeping the smell down and keep your tank clean as a whistle. There are a few other ways to keep your tank clean. One way is to flush your tank then add some Dawn or Joy soap, not that anti-bacterial stuff as that would kill the enzymes you have in the tank , if you did use something like bleach or anti-bacterial soap the enzymes would stop doing their job of breaking down the paper, solids and smell in the tank. Next you can add 2 bags of ice to the tank through the toilet and go for a drive. While you are driving the ice will scrub the tank and clean it of any foul things that have been sticking around in it. Next, proceed to the nearest dump station and Bingo you have a squeaky clean tank. You will hear many ways of dealing with your black water/ wastewater tank but it will be up to you. A few things you might want to get for yourself when you know you have to do the dirty deed are Latex gloves and some cheap eye glasses, they will keep you clean and no splatters will get in your eyes. Next make sure you clean the area up of any spills so that next guy who uses it does not kneel down in a puddle you left behind. Just be courteous, when at the dump station so everyone will be happy to follow after you.

This article was brought to you by Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service