Need advice from all the girls out there

[3labs]

Hi all,

I need some advice from all the girls out there regarding the sanitation of feminine products in an RVs septic system.  I'm a newbie to the RV lifestyle and have never had a septic system before (our permanent home has city sewer) so flushing tampons has never been an issue of mine, however; I am wondering how anyone else has dealt with this uncomfortable subject with their RVs septic system?    Thanks!

Sincerely,

Tarra

 

[Shayne]

Don't know about the ladies here, but if my wife would have ever put one in the commode and it clogged it up(quite possible)  She is the one that would do the removing and cleaning.  I better hush before I get in trouble.  My Middle name.

 

[Betty Brewer]

I need some advice from all the girls out there regarding the sanitation of feminine products in an RVs septic system.?

Do not  put anything down the toilet that has not been digested by  your own body. (With the exception of  single ply toilet paper) Any sanitary product would surely clog the  holding tank system and you don't  want to be involved with this!  Wrap stuff and toss in your trash.  You will find  that you need to empty trash often while in the RV.  Trash containers are small.  No garbage disposals also require more food stuff to go into the trash. 

Betty

 

[Jackliz]

Hi all,

I need some advice from all the girls out there regarding the sanitation of feminine products in an RVs septic system.  I'm a newbie to the RV lifestyle and have never had a septic system before (our permanent home has city sewer) so flushing tampons has never been an issue of mine, however; I am wondering how anyone else has dealt with this uncomfortable subject with their RVs septic system?    Thanks!

Sincerely,

Tarra

DON'T flush feminine products down into the gray or black water tank!!!  Instead wrap it up and toss in the trash.  Ditto what Betty wrote to you. 

Liz

 

[ArdraF]

Tarra,

Whatever you do, DON"T ever put anything except toilet paper down the toilet.  I think my husband would have killed me if I had ever done something like that!

Since you're a newbie I'll also mention that you should be very careful about hair going down the bathroom sink (it clogs the pipe) and garbage going down the kitchen sink.  We knew someone who wasn't very careful about debris going down the kitchen sink (like pieces of chicken) and they had terrible odor problems in their gray tank.  These fixtures are not like the ones you have at home where debris goes out the sewer pipe, down the street, and out to a sewer station.  The stuff just sits there in your tank and ferments!  They are not at all forgiving of mistakes and, trust me, neither will your husband be if he has to try to clean up the mess it causes!

If you have other questions like this, please be sure to ask us because we girls on this forum have many years of experience and will tell it like it is.

ArdraF

 

[cuts_up]

If you are worried about odor from not taking your trash out often, you could keep some cheap zip top sandwich bags in your bathroom.  Then you can wrap (hide) and seal your products before placing in the waste basket. 

 

[Smoky]

What Betty said.

Our coach has a high powered macerator which we really benefit from.  But twice now in two years it has been rendered useless by a feminie product.  I am the one that had to dig it out of the teeth and I was not a very happy camper.

Even toilet paper has to be speciually selected.

 

[Shayne]

OOOOHHHH  Is that what was wrong with the sewer system last week that you couldn't come over with the Admiral?  I couldn't figure it out  but now I know. 

 

[Smoky]

Nope.  Turned out last week the only problem was the calibration on the gray tank light.  It shows a quarter full when it is really empty.  Now I have to find one of those calibration knob tools.  Grrr!

 

[3labs]

Since you're a newbie I'll also mention that you should be very careful about hair going down the bathroom sink (it clogs the pipe) and garbage going down the kitchen sink.  We knew someone who wasn't very careful about debris going down the kitchen sink (like pieces of chicken) and they had terrible odor problems in their gray tank.  These fixtures are not like the ones you have at home where debris goes out the sewer pipe, down the street, and out to a sewer station.  The stuff just sits there in your tank and ferments!  They are not at all forgiving of mistakes and, trust me, neither will your husband be if he has to try to clean up the mess it causes!

If you have other questions like this, please be sure to ask us because we girls on this forum have many years of experience and will tell it like it is.

Thanks Girls....and ummm....Guys... for your input on such a sensitive subject.....LOL! 

I kind of figured it wouldn't be a very good idea to flush stuff like that but I just wanted to check with all you Veteran RV owners, and I'm glad I did! 

Also, thanks for the extra tips regarding hair and food in the sink drains.  I have a terrible habit of clogging up the drains here at home with tons of long hair so I had better keep my long locks tied up while on the road.

Thanks again for all your help!

Tarra  ;D

 

[Smoky]

No problem Tarra.  This area is one of our favorite discussion topics.  I think we have a toilet paper thread stored somewhere that must be a thousand pages long LOL!  ;D

We laugh at this stuff, but it really is a most important topic to get right.  Getting it wrong is surely no fun.  Good question to ask.

 

[Jeff]

Tarra:

You addressed this to the girls but all the experts on what goes down black tanks just had to chime in. ;D ;D ;D

 

[Jim Dick]

What Betty said.

Our coach has a high powered macerator which we really benefit from.  But twice now in two years it has been rendered useless by a feminie product.  I am the one that had to dig it out of the teeth and I was not a very happy camper.

Even toilet paper has to be speciually selected.

Smoky,

Slow learner!!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[Tom]

One of our prior boats had a brass plaque in the head that read "If it didn't go in your mouth first, it doesn't go in the head", or words to that effect.

 

[Shayne]

Good Advice

 

[Sollly]

I bought a Diaper Genie for our bathroom. We all use the "wipies" so that's where they go as well.

 

[ArdraF]

I have a terrible habit of clogging up the drains here at home with tons of long hair

Tarra, you're a girl after my own heart.  I too have long hair.  I have some very long (8 inches) tweezers I bought in Quartzsite that have saved our drains because I can pull chunks of hair out with them.  When we first got this motorhome I put a thingie under the round shower drain cover to see if it would prevent clogs.  I couldn't believe how fast it got clogged up AND it wasn't all my long hair!  A lot of it was Jerry's short hair.  Actually, it clogged so fast I gave up on that approach and just use the tweezers every now and then.  So, keep your eyes open for some extra long tweezers and buy them when you find them. 

ArdraF

 

[3labs]

This area is one of our favorite discussion topics.  I think we have a toilet paper thread stored somewhere that must be a thousand pages long LOL!  ;D

WOW!  I didn't realize this would be such a popular topic!  And here I was totally embarrassed about asking the question!

There have been sooooo many terrific suggestions from everyone.  I love the Diaper Genie idea and will get one of those right away.  I also love Tom's quote and if he doesn't mind I would love to use it in our motorhome, as well as ArdraF's terrific tweezer suggestion, one I will definitely use for sure, except I will buy the tweezers for my husband and let him do the dirty work (I get a queasy stomach from stuff like that).

Thanks again all!

Tarra

 

[Tom]

I also love Tom's quote and if he doesn't mind I would love to use it in our motorhome...

Be my guest. It wasn't my original creation - it was on a brass plaque that was in the boat when I bought it.

 

[Smoky]

Tom:

Are you saying all your boat passengers have to eat toilet paper?  ;D