Most of you who are fond of traveling and going to places will be familiar with the term ‘RV’. RV stands for a recreational vehicle. This vehicle contains everything that you could need during traveling. The most important part of an RV is the toilet.
It could not be possible for you to stop again and again during traveling for toilet breaks. That is why it is important that your RV should contain a toilet to help you do the traveling and recreation without any disturbance.
An RV toilet is a permanent toilet in your RV. It also contains a tank under it to hold all the waste. This tank is portable and can be moved when it is full. Some RV’s come with a facility of built-in tanks as well.
What is a RV Toilet?
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RV toilets are made of plastic. Some are made of better quality plastic to provide durability. However, they cannot be compared with toilets that are used to be installed in homes because they are made of porcelain. Porcelain is a more durable and easy-to-maintain material compared to plastic. Usage of water and the flushing mechanism of an RV toilet is the main reasons why you cannot use an ordinary home toilet in your RV.
The measurements of an RV toilet are 14.75 inches wide and 19.25 inches tall. The water capacity of an RV toilet is between 12 to 16 gallons which varies according to the model. A very big disadvantage of an RV toilet is that it usually smells horrible.
This happens because there is a huge pile of solid and liquid wastes in the bottom of the tank that holds all the waste. It can also happen due to the buildup of waste along the walls due to regular usage.
Does your RV Toilet Clogging?
When your RV toilet is not draining, then it is an obvious symptom of clogging. Clogging is a condition of your toilet in which the waste does not flush away properly. It can cause very foul smelly toilet and it can ruin your trip as well. Therefore it is necessary that whenever you identify a clog, you should immediately try to unclog the toilet to avoid any further difficult situations.
Causes for Clogging of an RV Toilet Holding Tank
Some of the possible reasons why the toilet of your RV can get clogged are described below. They will help you to identify if your RV toilet holding tank is also facing a clog or not.
Clogging of a Pipe
The drain pipe of an RV toilet goes from the bottom of your toilet straight into the tank. It moves all the waste from the toilet to the holding tank. A pipe clog can also happen due to any twists or turns in a pipe. If the holding tank is far away from the toilet, then elbows are used to attach pieces of pipe to make it long. This causes the clog to happen when the long pipe gets twisted somewhere.
Pile of Solid Waste
Another major reason for clogging RV toilet holding tanks is the pile of waste. This happens when you leave the valve of your holding tank open while the tank is connected to the dump. This lets the liquid waste escape out of the tank on a regular basis, leaving only the solid waste behind.
This makes a pyramid-shaped pile of solid waste in your holding tank and becomes so huge that it touches your toilet’s drain pipe. This causes the toilet to clog.
Hard or Dried out Solid Waste
This usually happens when you do not dump out the waste from your RV toilet tank. It remains there for a long time. The liquid evaporates while the solid waste remains there and hardens. This also causes a clog.
Methods to Unclog an RV Toilet Holding Tank
Following is a list of methods that can be applied to remove a clog in your RV toilet holding tank.
How to Clean pile of solid waste in the tank:
Follow the below steps to unclog your RV toilet holding tank that is clogged due to a pile of solid waste in the tank.
- The first and most important step is to close the valve of your tank.
- Now pour down some liquid that is recommended by plumbers for the cleaning of your RV toilet holding tank. This liquid will work to break up the solid waste pile. Leave the liquid in there for as long as mentioned in the instructional manual. This could be a few hours to some days.
- If the clog opens up then fill the tank with water and liquid to remove the build-up from tank walls.
- After that flush down the water and liquid mixture from the tank to make it clean properly.
Unclogging Hard/ Dried Out Solid Waste
- Fill the holding tank with water.
- Add the liquid that is recommended by the manufacturer of your RV toilet for unclogging and cleaning purposes.
- Let the liquid sit in the tank overnight or maybe longer than that.
- After that, dump the tank at a dumping station.
- If the toilet is unclogged then fine, otherwise repeat the process.
How to Open Unclogging of an RV Toilet Clogged Pipe
If you have discovered that there is clogging in your toilet pipe, then perform the following steps to unclog your toilet pipe.
- The first method used widely for unclogging a toilet pipe is the plunging method. A plunger is used for this purpose. It helps to push out the blockage with pressure.
- If the plunging method does not work, then try to pour the liquid down the toilet drain. Let the liquid sit for some time as recommended by the liquid manufacturer. After that flush the toilet. If it works then nice. If it still does not work, try using the plunger again.
- If the above methods do not work then try using a PEX pipe.
- When the clog is removed, fill the tank with water and flush the water to clean the tank from any remaining substance.
Conclusion
This article will help you identify the reasons why you get a clog in your RV toilet holding tank. There are also some methods mentioned in detail which you can use to unclog your RV toilet holding tank.
