Dried up Black Tank

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Ditto what Shayne said.  Bleach, TSP, and such should not be used in a BWT since they kill the bacteria.  Dawn dish soap can be used as long as it is not the anti bateria kind.  Why not use what was suggested here and reported back that it worked just fine.
 
Hi Mike,

  As you can see there is a wide range of opinions on this subject.

First, my desire was to totally clean/sanitize the tank to an as-new condition. I had no desire to keep any organism/bacteria for natural breakdown of the waste.  I am a casual traveller, not a full-timer, and clean/flush my tank with only water before storage.

  The SOUP treatment was designed to clean the walls and sensor locations only. This was probably never done before I bought the RV in 2004. The sensors were useless, but are working perfectly now for over 2 years.

TSP is Tri-Sodium_Phosphate,(TSP-Substitute-same thing) is a cleaner used on walls before painting. In its concentrated form it is probably pretty potent. The quantity used in this procedure is very small, mixed with 30-40 gallons of water. You can buy it at any hardware or paint store. Its a grease cutter and will help dissolve cellulose material.

The BLEACH is optional, I used it because of my Santizing desire.

  I'll only use this procedure whenever my sensors show problems, maybe every couple of years.

For NORMAL tank usage, i.e. fulltiming etc. listen to the pros in this thread.

We use only DAWN at home in the kitchen, I suppose any detergent will work for this sanitizing procedure.

  It's your call.

carson, FL
 
michelb said:
Hi,
   I'm about to try your solution but I have 2 questions:

What's "TSP or TSP substitute"?
Does it really need to be "DAWN"?  If so why (I'm really more curious than anything)?

Let me know,
Mike
Click to expand...


TSP is a very harsh cleaner. It is banned by some communities as an additive to laundry soap. You can buy it at most homecenters in their paint dept. It is sold mostly now as a "driveway or masonry cleaner".
It was recommended in this thread as a way to clean up the tank and sensors, not as a formula to dissolve any accumulated buildup.
I would agree with the others that it will destroy any bacteria in the tank. I guess you could use it to clean a tank and then flush and add water with a cake or two of yeast to restart the bacterial process.
BTW, I built custom cabinetry as a hoibby/part time job for years and all I would use to clean my spray equipment was Dawn dishwashing liquid, it did a much better job than anything else.

Woody
 
Does it really need to be "DAWN"?  If so why (I'm really more curious than anything)?
Click to expand...
Go HEREand scroll down to "Dawn", then read the MSDS for yourself. No difference between Dawn, Joy, or Ivory, and probably not much difference between them and other brands either. Kinda like fishing lures, most fish are colorblind, so the choice of lure color is whatever appeals to the fisherperson (just to be P.C. ;) Same with dishwashing liquids - you picks your color, you picks your smell, and you're a happy camper.  Dishes ain't gonna be no cleaner ;D
 
Karl said:
Same with dishwashing liquids - you picks your color, you picks your smell, and you're a happy camper.  Dishes ain't gonna be no cleaner
Click to expand...

Karl,

Oh no , I see an entirely new controversary brewing.  You old trouble maker you. :)

Betty

Palmolive user as it saves my hands
(just ask the commercials)
 
Dishes  Don't you use the old Coldwater method?  Old gent said his Dishes were always cleaned by Coldwater.  Old Blue-tic hound was Coldwater.
 
I buy the generic stuff that's the same color as Dawn. Of course, my BWT sensor is still stuck on "2/3 full".

 
Karl said:
Kinda like fishing lures, most fish are colorblind, so the choice of lure color is whatever appeals to the fisherperson
Click to expand...

OK Karl, I can see we're going to have a serious talk over a couple of Guiness.
 
Karl said:
Go HEREand scroll down to "Dawn", then read the MSDS for yourself. No difference between Dawn, Joy, or Ivory, and probably not much difference between them and other brands either. Kinda like fishing lures, most fish are colorblind, so the choice of lure color is whatever appeals to the fisherperson (just to be P.C. ;) Same with dishwashing liquids - you picks your color, you picks your smell, and you're a happy camper.  Dishes ain't gonna be no cleaner ;D
Click to expand...




I read the MSDS sheets Karl, but all I know is that when I used to spray water based clear finishes on cabinets and furniture only Dawn mixed with ammonia and water would get the spray gun clean. Waterbased finishes dry hard as a rock and it is imperative that all finish residue be removed immediately after spraying. I tried Palmolive, Joy, and a bunch of other detergents mixed in the same forumula and Dawn worked the best.

Oh, and in the Backawanna River off of Lake Superior a Johnson Silver Minnow in camo finish works best for Steelhead trout in the fall. You can drag other lures up and down that river and the camo finish will catch fish consistently while other get skunked.    :)


Woody
 
Tom said:
OK Karl, I can see we're going to have a serious talk over a couple of Guiness.
Click to expand...

You're buying?  Oh goody!   Now we can talk about the science and practice of candy-bar jigs in salt water.   ;D
 
I'll stick with the Dawn cuz it's easy on my lily whites and I do the dishes.  Washing that is.  Me and Coldwater.
 
Getting back to cleaning the BWT I strongly recommend against using bleach TSP, formaldehyde products, or any other anti bacterial concoction in the black water tank.  As we have seen here Woody's friend found the use of the products and procedures that do not contain bleach and the like worked just fine. The BWT will work properly.

Putting bleach and other antibacterial chemicals will do about as much good as adding water to the fuel tank. ;D
 
Going back to the Roebic Products, the only thing I use now is the drain cleaner No K-67, its a biodegradable bacterial drain cleaner.  2 tablespoons in a quart of tepid water and pour into each drain once a week for 1 month, then once a month and it will keep everything clean and its nothing more then bacteria.  I've used this even in the house for 30 years.  Had to splice into a drain couple years ago and was amazed at how clean it was.  I'm a total believer in their products.  Been to their plant in Orange county, NJ In fact several years ago, unbeknown to the company I mixed it with water the night before tilling my garden and spread it in a ditch before tilling.  Don't know if thats recommended but sure had a great garden that year.  Even used in the compost bin which was huge.  Afterall its only bacteria.
 
Lowe's, HD,  Ace and maybe even Wally World.  Don't have a home without it.  LOL
 
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