sewer smell

[TNTBaker]

I hear ya Dave. HOWEVER, I run soooo much water between clothes washer, dishwasher, shower etc. that there is no way anything stands a chance of "building up" in the water route-out for grey. I keep black closed and dump weekly. IF we were in a situation where we were NOT running lots of water for some reason, then I would CLOSE the grey and add chemical. Grey tanks have (in my opinion) a ranker odor than black tanks if they are left to ferment food bits on their own. YUCK. (Evidenced by the terrible odor of sink water leaking in a VERY small amount under the sink!!)

[travelin' texans]

On ours I leave the gray from shower/washer/lavatory open, but keep kitchen & black closed 'til ready to dump. The dishwasher/kitchen sink are the only things draining into that tank & gives plenty to flush out hose. With bath valve closed, I'd be out daily draining after showers & laundry.

[TNTBaker]

That's a good plan too. We usually go and close the grey the day before dumping black to get a good flush, but with two tanks, that's a good idea!! We have had many a lively discussion about Todd shutting the grey and not telling me and then days later it's ME standing ankle-deep in the shower. NOT COOL.

[0nTheRoad]

Keep em all closed except when dumping, our grey [2] fills often [shower, washer and bath sink] so it gets dumped every third or fourth day, the galley [1] tank about once a week or less. Black about once every week or so. I always try to have abundant water in both grey tanks before dumping the black, also rinse the black tank at least twice before dumping treys.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Dave&Ginny

I never keep my valves open. I wait until the tanks are full and then I dump them. I don't like the idea of my trailer being the vent for the septic system. If for some reason, there's a critter in the septic system I don't want an open tube into my tanks.

Dave,

I agree. I keep all the valves closed until I need to dump the tanks about every 6 to 8 days. The only time I have ever noticed any sewer odor or tank odor is when I dump the tanks and that time was only because I opened the toilet flush valve during the process. I didn't do that again!!

[Dave&Ginny]

Guy, I hope you make it to the rally....it would be nice to see you and Phyllis again

[travelin' texans]

We had sewer smell when flushing black tank until I added a hose shut off to flush port in the convenience center.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by TNTBaker

Grey tanks have (in my opinion) a ranker odor than black tanks if they are left to ferment food bits on their own. YUCK. (Evidenced by the terrible odor of sink water leaking in a VERY small amount under the sink!!)

I totally agree! Spilled some gray from the galley on my hand once and couldn't shake the smell for 2 days.

And even with that pugent odor, some folks feel entitled to dump the gray to ground in the campsite

[Oriana]

We keep all closed and dump every 5 to 7 days. We use the dishwasher every day and it's surprising how little water it uses.

[atom ant]

That's true on the Dishwasher Andy! After using it and seeing how little water it actually uses, I don't worry about leaving the galley valve closed until I'm ready.

The wash machine on the other hand Still only uses a little water, but it got me once so I always leave the gray open when hooked to sewer until I'm ready to dump all, then I store up the gray to wash after the black and galley.

[Tobys Home]

X2 Brad. Pre treat grey tanks every other time to clean them and keep closed as long as possible. It's easy for us because we are seasonal campers and don't have to worry about hauling that weight around. Black tank is treated every dump and flushed at least three times. With that being said the back blast from the sewer line when dumping still emits a slight odor.

[lwg]

I can say with certainty that in some campgrounds if you leave your gray tanks open you will get sewer smell coming out of your rooftop vent. Then it becomes a problem for everyone around you.. I also don't like the idea of creepy crawlies coming into my coach from the sewer. This is a real problem in Phoenix.

Just some food for thought. We run our clothes washer and dishwasher daily and I typically have to dump the grays every other day or so. Been doing this for a year now and it's just become one of my chores.

[atom ant]

That's a good point. Sewer gases would be free to back flow through your tank and out the roof - along with creepy things. I may rethink my gray.

[TNTBaker]

Perhaps it is a location specific decision, like most things "RV". For example, we are on a small septic system, where we are the only users (no other connections). It's a closed system, so creepy crawlies not possible. Gasses haven't appeared so far. Also, unless I am mistaken, if things are working properly, gases should never vent into the coach. Yes, the roof vents, but not inside. If you smell sewer inside, then something is wrong. You could consider it a "red flag" that something is stuck or not working, I believe.

As for the creepy crawlies... YIKES! I had never thought of that, and it is the stuff nightmares are made of!!!! I DEFINITELY will rethink leaving my grey open in parks on a sewer system!!

[lwg]

TNT that's likely the case. I think with a Septic you're correct, they tend to not smell, even when you open them up to clean them out.

As for sewer gases you shouldn't get them into your coach but you definitely could out of the roof vent. Then if you have your MaxxFan vents open you might get the smell for sure.

Really just something to be aware of, I think some folks don't realize they are venting stink to the neighbors for some reason. And not all parks seem to do this. Of course there's tons of variables and no way to know for sure who has their grays open and who doesn't, or who just so happen to be dumping it hence the smell.

As for the critters, I hadn't thought about it until my uncle who lives in Phoenix pointed out that the worlds largest cockroaches they have down there actually come up from the sewer lines. Some houses get them for seemingly no reason, then the plumbers point out that if they don't have screens on their washer drains they can come up through that! Yuck!

I also noticed a lot of cockroaches seem to be in the areas of the manhole covers for sewers so it adds some validity to the thought as well.

[johnboytoo]

Sorry, you are wrong, wrong, WRONG !!!

The world's largest cockroaches are in Houston

well, maybe a few in other areas too - but my wife says so !

[TNTBaker]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Oh how could you do that?!

[atom ant]

agreed, no gases should come in the coach (p-traps and mechanic spring loaded vents), but a direct path out the roof.

I've had campsite septics with horrendous smells! That's why I refuse to camp in one where the neighbors sewer hose goes under your picnic table like so many do.

[TNTBaker]

Well, if I stink, I SURE HOPE someone tells me! LOL!! They should put those mechanical vents upside down in the roof vent! Only open when needed to release vacuum.

[RifRaff]

I have taped our siphon vent under the bathroom sink, odor has went away. It IS A GREY TANK ISSUE. I crawled up on the roof, and ran a scope down to each tank, only the grey 2 tank has the vent pipe with water in it. All 3 tanks do have roof vents, I now flush the Grey 2 tank monthly by dumping soap into sink and then filling tank until I see water in shower drain, drain repeat, then I put rid ex type into grey tank 2, since then I have had no issues with smell in 3 months.