To be able to wander freely, have the thrill of adventure, and feel the life on wheels, there’s no doubt RVing has become a wonderful pleasure to many.
Being able to dive yourself into nature while driving on the open road is definitely a one-of-a-kind type of feeling.
However, life on the road is tough and there are many challenges that come along with RV planning. And one really annoying challenge is keeping those nasty odors from the RV holding tank under control.
On that note, you know we are to talk about the best homemade RV holding tank treatment that can help you handle this mini calamity situation when living in a camper. Keep on Reading…
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The Best Homemade RV Holding Tank Treatment Based on a Few Factors
To be honest, there are quite a few recipes for tank deodorizer. But your situation plays a vital role in determining which one to work with. Suppose, you are in a dry camping situation without any hookups. In such a case, you want to for determining a mix that needs little water element.
Then again, if you really want the best deodorizers that work really well, then natural materials such as citrus and water are your treasures. Someone who doesn’t want to hurt the environment will prefer these too.
We want to focus on treatments that will provide good control over the black and gray water smells. And at the same time helps on keeping the tank as well as the sensors effectively working.
Washing Machine Inspired GEO Method
This was a homemade treatment that was possibly developed during the 1980s by an RV fanatic named Bruni. From the walls and bases to the sensors and waster of tank, this method proves to be one affordable route for anyone.
And it was heavily inspired by how a regular washing machine function. You see, the interior of a washing machine is never dirty. And that this due to the fact that while cleaning cloth, the bleach, softener, and detergent combinedly plays a role in keeping interior clean as well.
By following this theory, Bruni basically thought about the RV holding tank treatment. Fascinating right?
So, you will use a water softener that would make sure waste no matter inorganic or organic won’t be able to stick with the walls of tank. Also, you need some laundry detergent for penetrating the solid waste and displaces it from the walls of tank. You can also use dish soap here and it will still help in a rinsing way with zero need of scrubbing. To control the smell, you need some sort of bleach or chlorine. The procedure is suitable for gray and black tanks.
The GEO Method DIY Recipe to Create RV Holding Tank Treatment
The recipe needs powdered Calgon, laundry detergent or any surfactant, warm water, and chlorine or bleach. Start by dumping your holding tanks. Then measure 2 cups of Calgon and dissolve with warm water. You also need to add one cup of laundry detergent or the surfactant of your choice. And then put some bleach or chlorine.
You can leave out the bleach or chlorine. These ingredients help in removing the smell. But there also is a chance of it killing any helpful bacteria. And as a result, there can be trouble with breaking the solid waste down.
Make a Cleaning Bomb of Citric Acid
Of course, using acid for your tank may make you slightly worried. But hey, it’s a naturally weak acid I am talking about. Critic acid is usually occurred in citrus fruits and can be used for RV tanks as a powerful as well as safe treatment or cleaning agent.
There are several commercial tank cleaners that already use this ingredient and it’s actually a pretty common one for black water tanks. The reason behind this is its capability of dealing with calcium build-up and effectively removing them.
You basically dump the RV black water tank to start. And then pour two gallons of water down the toilet. Then use the DIY citric acid cleaning bombs (recipe coming up next) and drop one into the RVF toilet.
The bomb will start to fizz inside water and you can flush the toilet once it does. A thorough cleaning will need enough amount of water inside the black water tank, make sure it has. Try to use the cleaning bomb beforehand a trip.
So that when you are driving, the bomb will have a chance to move around the tank. And this will grant better cleaning action. You can use these for grey tank treating as well. Now here is the recipe for how you can make these super-efficient cleaning bombs.
Read: How to Get Hot Water When Camping
Citric Acid, Baking Soda & Borax RV Holding Tank Treatment Recipe
So, the recipe is quite simple and it needs you to use a few more ingredients apart from citric acid. You need one tsp. clean water and one-third cup of citric acid, borax, and baking soda each.
You start by mixing baking soda, citric acid as well as borax in a given amount inside a Ziploc bag that is at least a gallon-sized. The ingredient needs to bind together, so start gradually adding drops of water inside.
Next, you want to put it inside a silicone mold as tightly as possible. There are ice cubes of gold ball sizes that you can use for pressing the cleaning bombs into the molds. Keep this setting for at least the whole night. After the duration, it should be dry and ready to be popped out. You want to further dry the cleaning bombs for the next one to two days. Use an airtight container for storing the bombs.
Remember that the use of water is very crucial as it plays the role of sticking everything together. And the more sensible you are at using enough water, the better bombs will be created. Don’t make the amount too much that the consistency gets ruined up.
Apparently, The Best Treatment
It must come as a surprise for a few of those who are reading this, but actually, the very best homemade RV tank treatment to go for include mainly just water. And that is because this method basically uses not only water but more like a regular practice that involves non-caustic cleaning action.
To be clearer, you are using a few best practices, enzyme products, as well as fine aerobic bacteria, all of these combinedly to keep your tank eliminate any stubborn clogs as well as odors.
This treatment is pretty unique as it prioritizes using enough water to get rid of the liquified waste as well as odors. You will be dumping holding tanks more frequently when habiting this treatment. Here are the basic pointers of impending this procedure-based treatment.
- Ensuring the proper waste flow through the sewer system is the key. So, make sure the toilet bowl never stays empty and has enough water before using the toilet.
- The valve of the black tank needs to be shut off at all moment. Unless you are dumping the tank.
- Some sort of high-quality bacteria and enzyme solution should be regularly used for treating holding tanks.
- After each 3 to 5 dumps, you want to flush out the waste manually. Use a built-in wand, flusher, or rinse for at least half an hour to serve the purpose.
- To keep nasty smell aside, the best practice is dumping tanks every 5 days.
- 4 degrees Celsius is the highest temperature that your holding tank should not exceed. In case, it does exceed, make sure to flush with more water to cool down the interior of tank.
- A deep cleaning session is also highly recommended biannually. You want to flush the system. Make sure to eliminate all waste as well as debris from walls, sensors, and of course base. And finally, confirm lubrication of existing valves and seals.
Wrapping Up
That was some long talk on the best homemade RV holding tank treatment. Hopefully, you have a lot of resources now to implement and be ready for the next trip. Before ending, I would like to include which solution works best for what situation. If you are a drier camping person, go for the citrus bomb method as it won’t need much water. Also, it really helps as a preparation step before starting a trip on road.
However, the homemade RV holding tank deodorizer that would work best as a proactive RV holding tank treatment has to be the last solution that we just went through, using water and implementing some practices. You can combine it with a homemade treatment or a store-bought version.
The GEO method is also a fantastic method to implement that needs no scrubbing and suits best for situations where you are dealing with the nastiest smell. Because here you use bleach or choline, which are supposedly less recommended for frequent treating. But for too terrible odor conditions, the GEO method is still very applicable and savior.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to make use of today’s information on these three excellent RV holding tank treatments.
Philip Robert is an avid camper and hiker who loves nothing more than spending his weekends camping and hiking in the mountains. He has been camping and hiking since he was a young boy and has never lost his love for the outdoors.
Philip is a firm believer that there is no better way to connect with nature and get some exercise than by spending time in the great outdoors. He is always on the lookout for new trails to explore, and loves sharing his experience with others.
“MyOutdoors.net” is a place where you will find a comprehensive guide you need to know about camping and hiking. Philip has the knowledge and experience to help you enjoy the great outdoors.