When you are on a trip or traveling somewhere, your RV is like your home. It provides you with all the basic facilities that you could need during traveling. Therefore, the cleaning of this vehicle is as important as the cleaning of your own house.
Cleaning Methods for RV Toilet Tank
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If you own an RV then you will be familiar with the struggle of unclogging an RV toilet. It is a gruesome and tiring task. Many people find it very disgusting and difficult. It also leads to bad smells and harmful gases spreading through your RV if you do not unclog the RV toilet at the earliest. This also makes your trip unpleasant.
Cleaning your RV tank should not be a difficult process if you take care of the regular cleaning and dumping of waste on a regular basis. Regular cleaning and washing of RV toilet tanks can save you from the buildup inside the tank, which is the main reason for bad smells and bacteria.
When you are on a trip, you will never want to experience any disorder in your RV’s toilet tank. That is why it is important to keep it clean to avoid any such situation. Following are some methods to help you understand how you can clean your RV toilet tank.
Drain the Tank
Follow the below steps to drain the tank.
- The sewer hose should be connected to the dumping hose from one end. Connect the other end of the sewer hose to the tank valve.
- In the next step, open the valve of the RV toilet tank.
- The opening of the tank valve will let all the contents of the tank flow towards the sewer.
- First, drain all the contents of the black tank. After that do the same process to empty the grey tank as well.
It is recommended to drain your black tank when it is halfway full. If it is less than half, then make it half by adding some water. This will help the solid waste to float and the liquid waste drain properly.
Removal of Buildup from Tank Walls
It is not a simple task to clean your RV toilet tank. It does not end by draining the tank only. The next step is the actual cleaning of the tank. Due to usage, debris and build-up are present on tank walls that need to be cleaned properly. Cleaning of built-up from the tank walls can be done through several methods which are defined below.
1. Use a Macerator
A macerator uses high-pressure water jets and hoses. These water jets and hoses are used to remove the debris from inside tank walls.
2. Use a Flush Valve
These valves connect the flush valve barrel to the garden hose. In this way, you can clean the inside of your toilet tank. Backflow prevention is a feature of flush valves to avoid the contamination of your clean water hose.
3. Use a Tank Rinser
There are two types of tank rinser. One is a temporary that can be installed inside your tank when you flush it. The other type of rinser is the one that can be installed in the tank permanently. It rotates in a 360 degrees direction and sprays water with high velocity. There are also wand-like devices that are attached to the garden hose to spray water with pressure.
Add Water to Cover Tank Bottom
Tank flushing is done first when you dump all contents of the tank. After that, you have cleaned the tank from any debris or built-up through high-pressure water. Now is the time to fill your tank with enough water to cover the bottom of your tank. This is done to let the tank function properly. It is recommended to add 3 to 4 quarts of water depending on the size and shape of your RV toilet tank.
Tank Treatment
This step is optional, but it is also part of the cleaning process of your tank. The treatment of the tank after dumping, cleaning, and flushing is done is helpful in the future. This will help to avoid the build-up of bacteria and other waste elements inside the tank walls. The black tank mostly needs more treatment as compared to the grey tank.
The black tank is the actual place where the production of bacteria and debris takes place. That is why; the treatment of black tanks is more focused. Enzyme-based and formaldehyde-free treatments are the most recommended ones.
Importance of Cleaning your RV Toilet Tank
Toilet of your RV is an important part of your RV. Therefore the cleaning of your RV toilet is as important as any other part of your RV. It is recommended to dump the waste in the RV holding tank after every 2 or 3 days or maximum after a week. Some also recommend dumping as often as daily. It is recommended to dump as frequently as possible so that the solids will not build up inside the tank walls causing clogs.
It is particularly important to keep the toilet and tank of your RV in a neat and clean state. Otherwise, you will have to bear nasty and disgusting consequences. The bad smells will spread all around your RV and it will become unbearable for you to sit in the smelly environment. This will also lead to clogs that will be due to the piles of waste that will gather inside your toilet’s holding tank.
Consequently, your trip will be ruined. Therefore, to avoid these consequences, you have to be very specific and particular about the cleaning of your RV toilet and tank.
What are the types of RV Tanks?
There are two basic types of RV tanks. One is called the grey water tank and the other is known as the black water tank.
Grey Water Tank: grey water tank is particularly used for the collection of wastewater that goes down from the sink or shower of your RV.
Black Water Tank: black water tank is used for the collection of solid waste, liquid waste, and wastewater that is coming from the toilet.
Concluding
It is important to take proper care of your RV toilet tank and do proper cleaning on a regular basis. Otherwise, it will become a disgusting and difficult task as long as time passes.
