Oui1213
Active member
Is it ok to use bleach in sink and toilet? Does it hurt your black tank?if so what do you use?
It's not exactly a black & white situation (pun intended). Since the waste is sometimes in the tanks for several days, some natural digesting takes place, breaking up solids and paper and dissolving food wastes to some degree. It doesn't hurt to aid the natural bacteria and help get rid of the goo that clings to tank walls, sensor probes and valves.Black and gray tanks are holding tanks, not septic tanks. Fermentation/digestion products should not be added.
While that is true, the action of a septic system is a natural one that starts anywhere there is a mix of human waste and water, if allowed to do so. It actually begins to happen almost immediately but it is a factor of time. Even a septic tank system is only a series of 2 tanks(in them most common configuration) with the first one designed to allow early breakdown of solids and then that effluent moves out from the middle of the tank and flows into the second tank where it again waits for the activity to take place and it again has an exit from the middle of that tank and out into a drain field where the liquid then drains, as long as it is working well. Septic systems are sized to be able to retain the effluent from a residence for 3 or 4 days, based on theoretical amounts of use for the size of residence. The minimum acceptable time for retention of effluent is 48 hours. Since most of us do not dump our RV black tanks for longer than that, it does allow the natural activity to liquify most of what is in the tank, but since we use it on a regular basis, not all solids will be liquid but a great enough share that you should be able for the liquid to carry any remaining solids out when you dump.Black and gray tanks are holding tanks, not septic tanks.
Funny, many RV tank additives contain formaldehyde to suppress bacterial growth in the holding tanks since you don't want the gases to be generated.It's not exactly a black & white situation (pun intended). Since the waste is sometimes in the tanks for several days, some natural digesting takes place, breaking up solids and paper and dissolving food wastes to some degree. It doesn't hurt to aid the natural bacteria and help get rid of the goo that clings to tank walls, sensor probes and valves.
Yup - natural activity in the tank, no need to supplements - heck you don't really need them at home either if your system is designed correctly and pumped per schedule.While that is true, the action of a septic system is a natural one that starts anywhere there is a mix of human waste and water, if allowed to do so. It actually begins to happen almost immediately but it is a factor of time. Even a septic tank system is only a series of 2 tanks(in them most common configuration) with the first one designed to allow early breakdown of solids and then that effluent moves out from the middle of the tank and flows into the second tank where it again waits for the activity to take place and it again has an exit from the middle of that tank and out into a drain field where the liquid then drains, as long as it is working well. Septic systems are sized to be able to retain the effluent from a residence for 3 or 4 days, based on theoretical amounts of use for the size of residence. The minimum acceptable time for retention of effluent is 48 hours. Since most of us do not dump our RV black tanks for longer than that, it does allow the natural activity to liquify most of what is in the tank, but since we use it on a regular basis, not all solids will be liquid but a great enough share that you should be able for the liquid to carry any remaining solids out when you dump.
That data, as well as a good explanation of how septic systems work can be found at the page Septic Tank/Absorption Field Systems: A Homeowner's Guide to Installation and Maintenance.
All true enough in the general case, but that doesn't explain why some tanks stink while others have no odor at all,
Actually, Simple Green is corrosive to aluminum, that's why the company makes Simple Green Extreme for aircraft;it is safe to use on aluminum.Simple Green is our goto unless we are purposefully sanitizing. No other additives are required in gray or black tanks. We've used most of the "RV Recommended" products... all of it is simply soap, emulsifiers and surfactants = no real magic. Dawn works well also as it cuts grease. Simple Green also kills mold and mildew and can be used on virtually any surface in the RV - so, we always have it on-hand (I mean; on a sponge - LOL).
We will use bleach to sanitize the fresh water tank once a year, as well as, all the fixtures and hot water heater -yes, with water filter removed when sanitizing - or if we smell sulphur from the sink taps which is most commonly bacteria from the hot water tank.
We've never had to resort to exotic cures, such as ice cubes, jet-dry, etc. etc. Maybe we're just lucky or have gotten ahead of the problems we read about.
Glad you commented and glad there is very little aluminum in our waste path...Actually, Simple Green is corrosive to aluminum, that's why the company makes Simple Green Extreme for aircraft;it is safe to use on aluminum.
Then why does everyone add the treatments to the black tankBlack and gray tanks are holding tanks, not septic tanks. Fermentation/digestion products should not be added.
As @Gary RV_Wizard did say - water is your friend... but I'd avoid starting something cooking ....
Because it's the path of least resistance to attempt to solve a larger problem. There are many folks that use nothing but water and have zero odor or drainage issues. From that standpoint there is zero reason to buy something just to ultimately drain it away for no good reason. Some additives are more preemptive than prescriptive, such as the "bio geo" method of tossing in some dawn and borax. Whether it "helps" or not is debatable but it's inexpensive and can't "hurt". Then there are the tank adjuncts that can actually create problems, which I got to experience myself. The PO of my RV used something that created struvite in the black tank and I literally had to get elbow deep up the business end of the tank to chisel it out, and replace the damaged blade valve. (There are some good utoob videos about struvite.) So my take on it is to think carefully about why and what you'd add to either the gray or black tanks other than water and maybe a bit of surfactant.Then why does everyone add the treatments to the black tank