Keep holding tank odors down in summer's heat.

Grahambones on flickr.com

"I stink, therefore I am," says my philosopher. He lives under my RV, and travels everywhere with me. He is a rather nondescript fellow, about six feet tall, four feet wide, and a thin six inches thick. He seems to prefer a dark suit, in fact, every time I lay eyes on him, he's laying about, clad in the black skin of plastic suited to folks of his kind. Although he is never invited inside, from time to time he does--in an awful way--make his presence known. He is a windy fellow, and many of my associates simply state, "He's full of it." And so he is, for my friend the dark philosopher is a black water holding tank.

We've found these fellows usually make the most fanfare during hot weather. They can't really help it, it's just their nature. So what can we do to make summertime RVing as 'nose-comfortable" as possible? Here are a few tips:

Odor from black water comes from the naturally stinky nature of what we put down the pot. Some holding tank treatments deal with that by masking the odor with perfumes or other deodorants. Others deal with the smell by reasoning this way: Since the breakdown of the waste is what's causing the smell, stop the breakdown and you'll stop the smell. These "biocides" do just that: They kill all bacterial action in the holding tank, the wastes stop breaking down, and the odor, to some degree stops. How well these work in really killing the odor is rather subjective, and can certainly be affected by outdoor temperatures. The hotter it is, the worse the stink.

Some RVers tell us they don't use any sort of holding tank treatment at all. Almost universally among these we find that most thoroughly flush their black water holding tank every time they dump it, and few venture into hot climates. If you do chose to skip the treatments altogether, the consensus of RVers is to "get it out of there as quickly as you can, preferably in a week or less."

That's a tough assignment for some. Since it's not wise to dump a holding tank if it's less than three-quarters full, a rig with a large holding tank could go a LONG time between dumps. Our fifth-wheel's 40 gallon tank only required dumping every three weeks when we full-timed. On the other hand, since we were boondocking most of the time, we were pretty careful about how much water we used to flush. So, if you want to move-it-in move-it-out quickly, don't spare the flush water. Flush away to your heart's content and fill up that tank with water for a quicker release.

When it does come to treatments, we've lean toward the more "natural" kind, bacterial-enzyme treatments. We found them to be quite effective in keeping the odor down, and in keeping the tank free of build up. Ah, but when summer's warmth came, we did find some issues.

One foul smelling experience when the combination of heat and non-motion did "shut down" the bacterial action in our tank. That was bad! To get out of that problem we had to empty the tank and fill it completely with water and a large dose of baking soda. After 24 hours we emptied the tank, then started using it again with a fresh dose of bacterial-enzyme treatment. The odor was gone, and we were happily back in business.

Our experiences lead to warm weather holding tank tips: As we've already pointed out, the more often you dump, the happier you'll be. Here's the corollary: Keep moving! The more you stir up the contents of your holding tank (logically by driving) the less odor problems you can anticipate. Besides, the more you keep moving, the more of the country you'll see!

What about treating your gray water tank? Few RVers ever do much of anything about treating their gray tank. We recommend you abstain from pouring grease down the drain, but for the most part, a gray tank will give you few problems.

How to test for RV-safe toilet paper

By the RV Geeks
When we started full-timing more than nine years ago, we had never even been in an RV before, and didn't know much about them. When we heard that RVs required special "RV-safe" toilet paper. We didn't know exactly what that meant, but we assumed it must be listed on the package for some important reason. On our very first trip to stock up on RV supplies, we made sure to buy a few packs of this magical stuff.

It turns out that buying bathroom tissue manufactured and/or packaged specifically for use in an RV won't do much more than increase costs, and limit your choices to very few products, none of which you might be happy with.

At the time, we'd been using Costco's Kirkland brand toilet paper for years. We love Costco, and generally find that anything they sell to be both high quality and competitively priced. Without going into the gory details about what makes toilet paper good or bad, suffice it to say that many of us have a favorite brand. We like Kirkland, and wanted to know if we could safely use it in our rig, instead of the expensive, low-quality "RV-safe" stuff from the camping aisle.

The only consideration you need to worry about is whether or not your bathroom tissue will break down in your black tank. If not, too much of it could gum up the works.

Watch the video to learn a simple test to find out if the brand you prefer using in your stick house can also be used in your RV. This test works with any type or brand, both single-ply and two-ply, regardless of whether the packaging specifies "RV-safe" or not.

Be sure to confirm that all methods and materials used are compatible with your particular recreational vehicle. Every type of motorhome, motorcoach, fifth wheel, travel trailer, bus conversion, camper and toy hauler is different, so your systems may not be the same as ours.



RV Geeks offers basic DIY (do it yourself) RV service, repair and maintenance tips based on their experience as full-time RVers who have been handling most of their own maintenance since hitting the road in 2003.

While not RV technicians, they're mechanically inclined and have learned a lot about RV systems over the years. They handle most of their own minor service, maintenance and repair work on their 2005 43' Newmar Mountain Aire diesel pusher. They also maintained their 2002 39' Fleetwood Bounder Diesel during their first two years on the road.

They do not pretend to be experts on any particular RV topic, and mostly know about maintaining their own rig. But lots of things are the same on RVs in general, and diesel pushers in particular.

Thetford offers toilet rebates

Arguably one of the RV industry's biggest toilet manufacturers, Thetford, looks to be trying to get bigger. According to a news release, the toilet king is offering a $25 rebate to RVers who upgrade to one of their "permanent" toilets. What's a permanent toilet? Evidently those that bolt down in your rig--as opposed to "porta pots." The rebate-OK list includes:

Aria Classic or Deluxe II
Aqua-Magic V (with hand or foot flush)
Agua-Magic Style II or Style Plus
Bravura

Several of these are porcelain toilets, and notably high-end on the price list, but the Bravura is a more modest model both in terms of construction and price, we found for close to $150 by shopping around on the web. We personally have experience with this model, having installed one in our fifth-wheel a few years ago. It proved to be a good sit for our rig, and a good fit for--well, anyway.

You can download a rebate coupon at www.thetford.com.