The GEO Method

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mike eddleman

mike eddleman

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Jan 1, 2010
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445
Location
Villa Rica Ga.
I know this has been brought up many times but I just thought I would share my findings. I found this link in a thread and gave it a try. It was adding 2 cups of water softener and one cup up laundry detergent to the black water tank and two cups of the softener to the gray water tank. Well it works.  My censers have never worked right censers I bought the RV. I put the stuff in the tanks about 2 months ago and we went to my mothers house this week for a few days and today I went and emptied the tanks. when I tried the lights on the dash they both showed empty. It's the first time they didn't show full. And I noticed when draining the tanks it even had a almost good smell to it.
 
See attached photo of Calgon Water Softener taken at my local grocery store.  It is Water Softener not Water Softener Salt.  (That usually comes up at some point, just wanted to get that straight in the beginning.)

Thanks,
Jeff
 

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Report back after using the coach for about a week.  I had our sensors all reading Empty on the start of our trip a week ago.  After about 3 days on  the road the black tank reports 2/3 full after emptying.  Some time I am adding the See View system.
 
Not sure Bago if your telling me to try it for a week then report back, But I started using it about 2 months ago and it cleaned my sensors and they are working right for the first time sense I bought the RV over a year ago
 
I found some water softern at wal-mart but its in the liquid form it is calgon brand do i still use a cup or do i use the cap
 
Two cups of the softener and one cup of laundry detergent. Leave it in their until you normally empty the tank. Mine was in their for 2 months. when I drained the tanks I replaced the softener and the detergent.
 
Thanks for the testamonial Mike!

We had been full time until this February so never really had a chance to let anything sit in the tanks for a few days to do its thing.  I put the coach in storage in Feb and filled both holding tanks with fresh water and some enzyme cleaner so I'm anxious to see what my gauges read when I dump the tanks here in a few weeks when we hit the road.  Unless I'm really pleased with the results, I'll be right behind you in trying this when I put it back to bed in the fall.

rick
 
The GEO method sounds like it's worth trying.  However, I thought it was a big no no to put bleach in the black tank???

JoAnn
 
I have read about this method. I was sold on it.  I have not seen the results expected.  It's possible I did not stick to it long enough too.  In theory, it sounds right.  It's meant to keep the walls of a new/clean tank slippery so that sh!t does not stick to it, no punt intended.

I'm not travelling anymore, so I don't have the benefit of the mixture sloshing around in the tanks, therefore it's not really useful for me.

I would not discount it considering it's relatively low cost, but from what I understand from it, it would work better when starting on a clean tank.
 
JoAnn said:
The GEO method sounds like it's worth trying.  However, I thought it was a big no no to put bleach in the black tank???

JoAnn
Click to expand...
I have never heard of using bleach with the geo method.  You're right though, bleach is not good because it kills bacterias that are beneficial to the whole process.
 
Before full timing I was able to add a couple of cups of Dawn dish washing detergent to our tanks and let them set for several weeks with good results cleaning the sensors but since we started full timing the tanks get emptied every few days and the sensor for the black tank starts showing full after a few days.

(I have a new set of exterior sensors to put on but never seem to get around to it.)
 
From all I read about Black tanks , Bleach will not hurt anything because the tank is a holding tank not a septic tank,  My wife washes cloths with bleach all the time and the tank at our house was never any troubles.  Here is the link to the site with the geo method on it http://sites.google.com/site/cbruni/
He enplanes it.
I've only put the bleach in my tank one time to help clean the tank, It was after dumping the tank and then adding the water with the softener and detergent back in. It will be a few months before I use the RV again.
    I guess time will tell. I hope it keeps working for me. I hated having the tank lights on the dash and them not working
 
It's true that it is primarly a holding tank, but the same decomposition that happens in a septic tank starts in the black tank. Actually, it probably starts somewhere in our digestive system.

I would not sweat small amounts of bleach, but would not add some intentionaly. Bleach ends up in our septic at the house too from laundry and cleaning with no ill effects.
 
Jeff said:
Before full timing I was able to add a couple of cups of Dawn dish washing detergent to our tanks and let them set for several weeks with good results cleaning the sensors but since we started full timing the tanks get emptied every few days and the sensor for the black tank starts showing full after a few days.

(I have a new set of exterior sensors to put on but never seem to get around to it.)
Click to expand...


This is a quote from the article posted...

Occasionally, I pour a half gallon of liquid bleach into each tank to deodorize, sanitize and disinfect them. I add the bleach when the tank is about half full, and then continue to use the tank normally until it is full and ready to dump. I no longer use the blue toilet chemical because it isn't necessary. I have no odors coming from my black water tank. The chlorine bleach kills the bacteria, which is primarily responsible for waste water tank odor. Generic brand liquid bleach is cheap and very effective.



 
The bacteria is also responsible for decomposing the solids and disintegrating paper, so is beneficial to the process.  Adding bleach to "kill bacteria" is not desirable, IMO. Personally, I add enzymes when I think the tank needs extra cleaning.

The notion of "sanitizing" a waste tank seems ludicrous to me. Even assuming you could kill all the organisms in it (doubtful), the very first use re-installs  numerous bacteria in either black or gray tank.
 
Gary, that's what I always knew to be true.  I think we will try everything except the bleach.  It can't hurt and could help get the sensors to be more accurate.

JoAnn
 
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