Galley smell

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albertm1960

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Jun 12, 2016
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Just started using galley for simple cleaning because I am still using house to clean dishes ( We are lifting house and using Montana trailer to live in)
Even with simple rinsing there is an odor under sink in cabinet ( but not the sink drain itself) No leaks underneath cabinet.  Used Elemonate from Walex which didnt work.  Now in New Jersey we did go through a heat wave, but better lately and smell still there.  Any ideas for now its pretty bad and in bedroom too.  Thought I'd empty galley tank and run bleach through directly in kitchen sink and not from fresh water tank to sanatize lines. (which I already did from fresh water tank per instructions)  Let it sit and drain and see what happens, but not sure if that would do more harm.  fyi, not black water for we have not used toilet yet. Any ideas would be great. Not usre how fumes would get in.  All pipes seem tight under sink unless there is leak elsewhere in bottom.. Thanks
 
It may be your air admittance valve. Follow the drain pipe. It will come to a "T". One leg of the "T" goes down and into your tank. The other outlet on the "T" goes up a few inches. At the is the air admittance valve. This allows water to enter the pipe when you're draining the sink allowing the water to drain fast. This valve may be leaking fumes from the tank. Put a baggie or a piece of plastic over the valve and tape it real tight. See if the smell goes away. They're not expensive at all. They should probably be screwed on a little more than hand tight. Home Depot also sells them but they are more expensive.

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I found it, it has a cap on it but has two little slots so I guess air can get in and allow water to flow?  I will bag and seal it but will that effect draining (not that I care if its slower as opposed to having smell)  In all it was better this morning, maybe the elemonate tabs helped, or less humid, but it was pretty bad in whole cabin through the night, had all fan vents running. Is it normal for most to always use some sort of smell tabs or just on occasion when needed??  thanks Rene
 
albertm1960 said:
I found it, it has a cap on it but has two little slots so I guess air can get in and allow water to flow?  I will bag and seal it but will that effect draining (not that I care if its slower as opposed to having smell)  In all it was better this morning, maybe the elemonate tabs helped, or less humid, but it was pretty bad in whole cabin through the night, had all fan vents running. Is it normal for most to always use some sort of smell tabs or just on occasion when needed??  thanks Rene
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If you had all the vent fans running and the valve was not sealed with a baggy, you may be sucking up fumes from the tank if the valve is open a little. Seal it the best you can. If it helps, just replace it.
 
Just in case that doesn't work, are you being careful about not letting food particles go down the drain?  Things like pieces of chicken can make really awful odors.  I have a small strainer that I keep in the sink and try to get all food into it instead of going down the drain.

ArdraF
 
There is likely a second air admittance valve under the bathroom sink.  It may also be an issue.  Bag it, too.

On a different topic, if you are parked semi permanently parked,  DO NOT leave your black tank drain open.  Beware the dreaded Poo Pile.  If you are not familiar with this, please search Poo Pile or ask!
 
ArdraF said:
Just in case that doesn't work, are you being careful about not letting food particles go down the drain?  Things like pieces of chicken can make really awful odors.  I have a small strainer that I keep in the sink and try to get all food into it instead of going down the drain.

ArdraF
Click to expand...

^^x2
 
grashley said:
There is likely a second air admittance valve under the bathroom sink.  It may also be an issue.  Bag it, too.

On a different topic, if you are parked semi permanently parked,  DO NOT leave your black tank drain open.  Beware the dreaded Poo Pile.  If you are not familiar with this, please search Poo Pile or ask!
Click to expand...

I havent seen another but will look again. I am parked and leave valve closed till flushing, thanks
 
Rene T said:
If you had all the vent fans running and the valve was not sealed with a baggy, you may be sucking up fumes from the tank if the valve is open a little. Seal it the best you can. If it helps, just replace it.
Click to expand...
There were two slots that i duct taped.
 
ArdraF said:
Just in case that doesn't work, are you being careful about not letting food particles go down the drain?  Things like pieces of chicken can make really awful odors.  I have a small strainer that I keep in the sink and try to get all food into it instead of going down the drain.

ArdraF
Click to expand...
Yes, and I wipe dishes clean before washing so nothing goes in, but as I bleached tank and drained I noticed a lot of particles big and small I guess from previous owner. I just bought this unit.
 
jackiemac said:
We use bleach (chlorox) every now and then which helps too.
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Thanks, I just did that. I hope it works.  Will let you all know in a week.  Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.
 
albertm1960 said:
Thanks, I just did that. I hope it works.  Will let you all know in a week.  Thanks everyone. Much appreciated.
Click to expand...

One of the best things to do is put in about 10 gallons of water and let it sit. Then let is slosh around the next time you go camping.
 
I had found that one of my admittance valves was leaking, so I replaced both.
It seems to be a common issue so hopefully it'll fix your issue too.  An easy and cheap fix.

I don't personally buy into the whole wipe your plates clean before you clean them..... i figure that if food bits or crumbs gets down the tank, no big deal.... that's why it's going the same place as the black water.  I figure it's kinda like not going #2 in the toilet, when that is what its for.

I don't use it regularly, but I have found that keeping a bottle of the blue tank stuff on hand doesn't hurt.  Once in a while if I get a smell, I'll pour down a bit.  Honestly, I don't believe I've had to since i replaced the admittance valves, but It takes care of any stink till you can get the tanks dumped or rinsed.
 
One other thought, mentioned above, is that lead acid BATTERIES will put off some nasty sulphur odors!  You may want to sniff in the battery compartment to eliminate that as the source.  Again, let's do the free checks first!
 
blw2 said:
I had found that one of my admittance valves was leaking, so I replaced both.
It seems to be a common issue so hopefully it'll fix your issue too.  An easy and cheap fix.

I don't personally buy into the whole wipe your plates clean before you clean them..... i figure that if food bits or crumbs gets down the tank, no big deal.... that's why it's going the same place as the black water.  I figure it's kinda like not going #2 in the toilet, when that is what its for.

I don't use it regularly, but I have found that keeping a bottle of the blue tank stuff on hand doesn't hurt.  Once in a while if I get a smell, I'll pour down a bit.  Honestly, I don't believe I've had to since i replaced the admittance valves, but It takes care of any stink till you can get the tanks dumped or rinsed.
Click to expand...
Did you have an actual water link under your sink, I believe thats where your saying the admittance valves are. I see no water just two slots in what I believe are the valves that I taped off with duct tape.  Right now I bleached and cleaned today so will know more this week if it worked or the duct tape worked.  The blue tank stuff didnt at that time.  As I bleached a lot of old stuff came out from previous owner, maybe thats it???thanks
 
I've found that usually under the kitchen sink and under the bathroom sink they'll be a air admittance valve. I think it's because the sinks are the highest point in the drain system. You should be able to just reach up with your hands and unscrew the valves. I would do that and put baggies over the open pipe and tape it tight.
 
Had a similar situation with bad smell also, the wife thought it was the black tank But it turned out to be the gray water tank. I did the same thing with cleaning it with bleach and Calgon fabric softener. I pours about 10 gal of water and a 1/2gal on bleach into the gray tank. Then was able to drive several miles be for filling up tank and dumping it and boy did a lot of gunk come out  and it smelled horrible. Now I take as much care of my gray as I do my black tank.
 
albertm1960 said:
Did you have an actual water link under your sink, I believe thats where your saying the admittance valves are. I see no water just two slots in what I believe are the valves that I taped off with duct tape.  Right now I bleached and cleaned today so will know more this week if it worked or the duct tape worked.  The blue tank stuff didn't at that time.  As I bleached a lot of old stuff came out from previous owner, maybe thats it???thanks
Click to expand...

No, leaking gas

Easy to test them.  Unscrew it, and lay it upside down in the sink.  Stuff a rag in the opening to keep the sewer gasses where they belong.
Inside the valve you'll see a simple diaphragm.  Run a little water into it and see if it holds.  If it won't hold water it certainly won't hold stink.

AT the Lowes hardware near teh CG where I went to get my replacements they had two styles.  The black ABS ones similar to what Thor put in were cheap, and they had a more expensive version from Studor.  I have no idea what the difference is, but Studor probably suckered me.... I just wanted to fix the problem.
 
I don't understand why people leave the gray tank valve open when parked with full hookups. I want the tank to be pretty full when I dump, so any solids will be flushed away, just like the black tank.
 
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