Tank chemicals

[Twopetes]

I am not sure if this has been discussed before, probably has, but my "search" did not show anything.

Lots of wonderful advice (notice how "advice" starts with "ad") about tank chemicals, cleaners, how to clean the level sensors, etc. Goes on and on. Good chemicals, bad for the earth chemicals, probiotics (I thought that was in yogurt), dish washer stuff, ice, etc. I have read and seen the you-tube vid's about home made cleaners, which I am leaning towards because at some point cost comes into play!

So just wondering what folks use, experiences, what has worked, etc. I think if you drain, flush and use basic chemicals you should not need a lot of stuff, but the "ads" sure like to "scare" you into buying!

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Steve

[K0LCB]

I like Happy Camper! It works well for me

[WeBeFulltime]

Nothing is really needed except plenty of water. The factory installed sensors aren't going to work for long anyway if they ever work at all.

[DarMar]

We use Calgon and pine sol here and plenty, plenty of water.

[WaltBennett]

After forty odd years of dealing with campers, trailers & RVs, I've come to just getting the cheap stuff from Walmart for a deodorant (and that's all I expect from it) and the cheapest dishwasher soap I can find to make certain nothing sticks. Then use lots of water. Sometimes use the power flush, but only a couple of times a year. IMHO putting anything more in the tank is like the saying goes: "putting money down the drain".

[jcurtis934]

Of all the stuff out there, the only thing that worked for me was bio-active. There's probably lots I haven't tried, happy camper for one, but that is what works for me. John

[waynemoore]

Cheep stuf from Walmart plus Calgon and LOTS of water. I do flush every time I empty the black tank. Just how I do it.

[Twopetes]

Thanks for the comments - we are getting in the groove to full time in about a year, but do long weekends now. I try to do a good flush when I dump and I was leaning at the simple "homegrown"way to do things. Like most indicated in the replies, I really think the trick is use as much water as possible when you dump and fill and flush with a lot of water. Has worked so far us, so why mess with success. Just wondered what others did!

Thanks again - Love this forum - great to get straight forward comments based on experience.

Steve

[davidaf]

I prefer the Thetford Aqua-kem for deodorant but have used many others and will use whatever is available if i'm feeling extra thrifty. Fulltiming, i use a lot of water and dump every week (when possible) usually flush the tank every other week though I think I'll cut back to once a month as it's a big waste of potable water. The sensors became useless the first month I owned the rig. The only accurate one is the Fresh tank.

[DQDick]

Four years full timing with Happy Camper, but if you expect anything to clean your OEM sensors you will probably be disappointed. We installed external sensors and they work fine.

[TLightning]

You don't need anything but water. Why does anybody put a deodorant in the black tank? If you can smell the black tank odor or the deodorant odor, you have a problem with your system. We don't use deodorants in the toilets at home because the system is vented...just like your RV. If you insist on an additive, use Calgon which will aide in dumping...anything else is a waste of money.

[catskiner]

You might try the Geo Method, works for me.

[Twopetes]

@ Catskiner - What is the Geo Method?

[The Bone]

I use Cascade in the Galley takn to eat the food particles that dont get trapped in the sink thingy.I use dawn in the black tank after dump it for the last time. I also add 5 gallons to each tank except the fresh tank which I top off before heading home.

[catskiner]

Steve, Google the Geo Method, charles bruni can explain it better than me.

[DonandBonnie]

We use the cheap orange liquid from Walmart and dump about once a week. Every chemical that we have used says it will keep odors down for a week, so that makes them all about the same, except for price. That's why we use cheap. It works and in three years of full timing, we have never had a black tank issue.

[bigskyjimmy]

Yep we use the cheap TST orange Camco stuff,always keeps odor under control and breaks down tissue pretty good and use lots of water,5 years of fulltiming and no problems,I have tried the "GEO Method" and it stunk to high He.. Never again

[sambam]

Lots of choices out there, and, obviously, there are those who use none at all. I haven't tried them all, but Odorlos seems to work well for us. Price isn't a concern for the amount we camp (not full-timers). A 64 oz. bottle gets us through the camping season.