gray tank smells

[Poppyof5]

Anyone try baking soda down the drain ?

[JimD]

When I sanitize my fresh water tank I will pump it into the gray and black tanks afterwards, add some extra bleach, and let it sit for a few days. Seems to get rid of the smell.

[Poppyof5]

Originally Posted by JimD

When I sanitize my fresh water tank I will pump it into the gray and black tanks afterwards, add some extra bleach, and let it sit for a few days. Seems to get rid of the smell.

Great idea thanks

[houstonstroker]

Is the smell inside your rv?

[Poppyof5]

Wife says she smells something.

[CAG]

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers...s%2C260&sr=8-3

Organic material in the grey tank can put off an odor that is worse than the black. I use this in both tanks. It cleans up the residue that can linger into the next session.

While bleach works it can put off more of a smell than the grey tank material itself.

[GHen]

I have read a lot of good reviews on Happy Camper.
I need to pick some up also....

[che57vy]

A little Pinesol in traps helps, and do not let sinks and shower traps dry up

[Poppyof5]

We use happy camper in our blk tank every time and i do use it every now and then in the gray. I personally don't smell anything but when the boss complains i try to see if there is something else i can try.

[WeRJuliian]

It's worth keeping mind that most park dump stations rely on a septic system.
These depend on microbial action to digest the waste that settles out from the black tank output..

Too much bleach will, literally, kill the septic system, so it may be better to do your bleach flushing st home, where you can drain into the city sewers... they have rather more robust treatment plant !

[RetiredOne]

Originally Posted by Poppyof5

Anyone try baking soda down the drain ?

Could be a bad vent or bad AAV inside the cabinets that's allowing gases to escape into the coach.

What model rig do you have?

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by WeRJuliian

It's worth keeping mind that most park dump stations rely on a septic system.
These depend on microbial action to digest the waste that settles out from the black tank output..

Too much bleach will, literally, kill the septic system, so it may be better to do your bleach flushing st home, where you can drain into the city sewers... they have rather more robust treatment plant !

Very True!

[Brownie]

May be a plugged roof vent. I've had that smell for a couple of weeks - particularly noticeable after a shower. The other day, I gave the roof a good scrubbing and washed a ton of debris from under the vent caps while rinsing. I no longer have that smell inside. Next time you dump and close the valves, you may want to try dissolving a black tank packet in a drain for each grey tank. Let it set inside until the next time you dump. It helps!

[Jagiven]

Lots of good comments. AAV, is a type of vent fixture that is located, under each sink, made of injection molded parts, which is spring loaded. Sometimes they get stuck open, and odors can escape.

Our shower trap, is known to loose a bit of water while traveling, which then allows odors to escape. I keep a rubber drain stop in it while traveling.

Bleach in the tanks; my 2 cents, say do not do it. You kill all the bacteria including the good stuff. I always keep a few gallons of water in the tank after dumping. Periodically I add a 1/2 cup of liquid fabric softener down the drain. No more odors, and the sensors usually become more reliable, after a couple treatments.

[TaftCoach]

X3 for Happy Camper in the black and occasionally in the gray tank.

[33 RLDS]

Originally Posted by CAG

https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Campers...s%2C260&sr=8-3

Organic material in the grey tank can put off an odor that is worse than the black. I use this in both tanks. It cleans up the residue that can linger into the next session.

While bleach works it can put off more of a smell than the grey tank material itself.

That's the truth !!! Once when I used my blue tote to empty the gray, I need a clothespin on my nose

[JimD]

I noticed some gray tank smell in the rig awhile back. Turned out that while driving the smell would emanate from the sink drains. I suspect that the vehicle movement undid the j-trap water seal so the odor came right up the pipe.

Now I leave all sink stoppers firmly in place while driving. Haven't had the smell return.

[CAG]

I will add this testimonial for Happy Camper. In 20+ years of various rigs I have tried a number of tank treatments. With the rig before this Jayco my wife mentioned several times (guys you know what "several" means) that she could smell the tanks when we would be getting ready to go somewhere, or if it had been sitting in storage for a time. I could not smell anything but tried a number of things to clear up the problem. I saw Happy Camper on some site someplace and decided to give it a try.

I did several steps here to resolve this. Firstly I used Dawn and about 10/15 gals of water with each outgoing trip and let it slosh until arrival. I would then dump the tank(s). I then used Happy Camper while we were RVing. After the last dump and flush before coming home I would do the Dawn/water again and dump at the storage lot before buttoning things up. I would then leave a little water and HC in the tank. No more complaints about odor with the 5th wheel.

There was some tank odor when we purchased the Jayco (slightly used) and after two trips and HC treatments that is gone also. There is no odor between dumps while camping.

So, my wife is a happy camper and so am I.

[GHen]

I had a black tank vent plugged twice now. Toilet was burping, even with an empty tank. I’m not sure how the issue develops. One time I had to removed the roof vent and pour gallons and gallons of water down it before it opened up to the Black tank. It appears that all three of my tanks use the same vent, so that also make it difficult to clean it just to the black tank.

The AAV valves mentioned above is also something I didn’t think about. Even the expensive one in our house can have issues. I was warned about a high failure rate by both a plumber and the plumbing inspector. The cheap ones in the RV could also have failures. Thanks for the tip on this one.

[Patchesrv]

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