Smelly toilet

[mxnick824]

I have problem keeping the smell in my bathroom from being really bad? any good solutions/fixes? thanx!

[h2oman]

First off, welcome to the site.  Actually this is a relatively easy one to solve.  We can all have this prob.  There are several products you can buy to jet wash the inside of the tank.  Or you can use the jet sprayer at the dump station.  There are manual types that you hook up to a hose and stick down the tank and pressure wash the inside of the tank.  Then there are the permanently mounted types that you mount to the tank by drilling a hole and then you can hook that to a hose and clean the tank.  Many people prefer this type.  Either way it will take care of the problem provided you use a good septic safe storage chemical after you clean it out.  It should be cleaned out well after every trip and you'll have far less odor problems.

John

[prevish gang]

Let me ask you a couple of questions before I answer you.... first off, does your toilet hold water between flushes or does it leak out?  Do you use a deodorizer in your tank?  Do you always flush your tank?  Are you the first owner of your RV?  Is it smelly all the time or only sometimes?

I'll be watching for your answer and then see if there is anything else you might need to know other than the solution John offered.

Darlene

[mxnick824]

Yes it holds water, Yes i use deodorizer, Flush it when possible, no im not 1st owner. it will be fine when it is at my house. then when we get to the campsite and for the rest of the trip it is unbarrible. Guess driving stirs it up. The weird thing is i always have water in the bowl but the smell is still really bad?

[jim]

I'm betting the tank has some buildup in it from past use and hasn't been cleaned out really well.
Try using one of the wands that you stick down the toilet with a garden hose attached and see if that doesn't help get the tank cleaned out for you.

[prevish gang]

I'm wondering if maybe your vent isn't working well?  Once when we were camping we had that problem and it had something to do with our vent. A really good cleaning with a wand is going to help a lot.  Some folks have poured ice into their tanks on the way to the campground so that the ice beats on the walls and knocks off debris.  Just don't use bleach because I've been told it breaks down the chemicals that break down the solids in your toilet.  Once you get it good and clean, start adding Calgon water softener and a little detergent in the tank to keep the sides of the tank too slick for things to stick to it. 

Sorry for your troubles.  It stinks (pun intended) to have that kind of problem!  Hope you get it worked out.

Darlene

[2500ram]

Guess driving stirs it up. The weird thing is i always have water in the bowl but the smell is still really bad?

So the smell isn't bad until you drive, then it's bad for the entire trip?  Sounds like you either have a poop mountain in the tank or your vent black tank vent has cracked, poop mountain fix is 20 or so lbs of ice in the tank and alot of quick turns, start and stops for about an hour of driving, put in a few gallons of water half way through to help, but ice only first.   
You say you flush the tank sometimes, is that with a wand (through the toilet drain) or quickie/tornado flush device (hose attached from the outside)?  Reason I ask is "if" you overfill with the quicky or tornado you (or the previous owners) could have burst the vent line, causing an air vent into the trailer.

Either way good luck.  We used to have smell in our trailer and after the tornado flush I've never had it again.  It only took one good cleaning of the tank to eliminate the smell.  I now "try" to clean the tank every 2 or 3 trips but don't worry about it untill the end of the year so I can start fresh in the spring.

Good luck. 

[broken axle]

You could also use the G.E.O. method (look it up online). When My tank gets nasty after about 3 or 4 uses I use this method to clean my tank some people use it instead of chemicals. I use it to clean my tank it works real good. You use laundry soap, bleach,and calgon (water softener & detergent booster). I put the previous items in my tank and use the high pressure toilet wand to clean the tank and fill it to the top then drain. Also you may want to check the vent pipe on your tank go on the roof and try to flush down it with your garden hose to make sure it's clear.  :toilet:Also I have found some of the rv chemicals do not help in keeping your tank odor free. You may want to experiment to find one that works for you. I found one at my rv dealer that makes my poop smell cherry fresh lol. We are seasonal campers so our trailer never moves so the ice method doesn't work for us anymore. Even if you take a garden hose into the trailer with it on straight stream it will blast a poop pyramid unless it's petrified. If you have one of the rv's that doesn't drop straight into the tank but has bends in the drop pipe to the tank you may have to invest into one of the flexible hose sprayers or one of the other tank cleaners you install permanent into the tank.

[Lynn_A]

Thanks for the Calgon tip.  I've not heard of that trick before and it sounds like good preventative maintenance.

I side with the others on checking the vent.  If you have an issue there, it can be easy to cure the smelly problems inside.