Toilet paper....??

[THEPILL]

I read somewhere that you can pretty much use ANY toilet paper.
It's a myth to use only "RV" paper.

Any truth to that?

Thanks.

Shane

[easyride]

If you want to plug your black tank,then go ahead and use Charmin,I`m a plumber and it takes a long time to break down. I`ll stick with RV paper. Dave

[blmitch5]

Im out of town this week but when I get home I'll get you the name of a natural (drop in) tank cleaner. It says that it will break down the toilet paper. Sounded good.

[thecatsandi]

Originally Posted by THEPILL

I read somewhere that you can pretty much use ANY toilet paper.
It's a myth to use only "RV" paper.

Any truth to that?

Thanks.

Shane

I have been using Scott single ply "safe for septic" toilet paper for several years. No Problems.

[THEPILL]

Originally Posted by easyride

If you want to plug your black tank,then go ahead and use Charmin,I`m a plumber and it takes a long time to break down. I`ll stick with RV paper. Dave

Cottenelle <sp> is what I was looking at actually.

SHane

[AirsDream]

Use the search function - several threads on here about that.

There is a "mason jar test" that will give you some idea. It works something like this: take a quart jar. Fill it 3/4 full with water at temp comparable to where you camp. Throw in three or four sheets of toilet tissue of the brand you are interested in. Let it sit for an hour. Then shake it up for a few seconds. If the paper dissolves, you're probably o.k.. The less dissolved, the higher the risk.

I have had good success at home with a septic system with Scott tissue, but in the Airstream, I only use RV paper. Your choice / your risk.

[THEPILL]

Here is the link where I read it. Interesting read.

All About RV Septic Systems

SHane

[DreamStreamr]

Ditto Michelle -- we've used Scott single ply for six years, four years on this trailer. We do NOT use chemicals in the black tank, tried them on our first Airstream trailer and abandoned it five years ago. Zero problems with tank management.

Do our best to wait until tanks are full before dumping them. Dump black one first, then let grey "rinse" the black water from sewer hose.

We learned early on to do the TP test -- put a square of your paper in a tumbler, and a square of another choice of paper in another. Add water to both tumblers, let it sit awhile. Stir gently. Watch the Scott single ply break apart. If proposed paper doesn't, don't use it.

[Pat Conway]

We prefer RV toilet paper for use in our Thedford system. With anything else you will see paper fragments interspersed with the blackwater when dumping. While in the tank, these paper fragments may get hung up on your tank sensors and cause false readings. The paper fragments also get caught on the dump valve gaskets and cause your black water dump valves to not close completely before long. This also goes for the gasket in the toilet bowl that opens and closes with every use. Making sure you add enough water in the bowl before flushing so that the paper goes completely down the pipe instead of caught up in the mechanism will help this situation. Also, dumping at your destination when able to, instead of when leaving the campsite, will help mix up the tank contents. Am sure you realize you must keep the blackwater dump valve closed until time to dump the system or you will get "black hills syndrome" in the tank. We like to leave our grey water accumulating also so that you can rinse the "slinky" with it after dumping the black water. Our trailer is 22 years old and the dump valves lasted 21 years before needing replacing and our sensors still give us proper readings. My two cents-hope this helps, Pat

[r carl]

It may be that Charmin is the only one not to use.

[moosetags]

We use the two ply Thetford from Wal-Mart. The last thing we want is a blank tank problem. We have not had any problems yet.

Brian

[Ahzmyrah]

Your black water tank is not a septic tank. Nothing is in there long enough to break down like a household septic system. You are just storing the waste until the tank is full. So use toilet paper that will easily dissolve enough to flow out the sewer hose. This trip we have been continuously using our system for close to nine months. Started out with RV paper and then switched to single ply paper, what ever was on sale, with no problems. Be sure to use enough water; it makes everything flow much better, out of the bowl and out of the tank. If you boondock excess water will fill the tank much faster but we have found the grey water tank generally fills before the black gets even close.

[sempi2]

Originally Posted by AirsDream

Use the search function - several threads on here about that.

There is a "mason jar test" that will give you some idea. It works something like this: take a quart jar. Fill it 3/4 full with water at temp comparable to where you camp. Throw in three or four sheets of toilet tissue of the brand you are interested in. Let it sit for an hour. Then shake it up for a few seconds. If the paper dissolves, you're probably o.k.. The less dissolved, the higher the risk.

We did the Mason jar test. Used RV tp from Camping World vs Costco brand - septic safe - tp. The RV tp won out hands down. We now only use RV stuff. Why take a chance on plugging something up?

[Isadora]

I think you can use anything you want. Just don't flush it if it isn't RV paper. That's what waste paper baskets are for. If you have a septic tank at home, anyway, it's just something you get used to.

[sempi2]

Originally Posted by Isadora

That's what waste paper baskets are for.

True a couple of years ago we vacationed at Playa del Carma, Mexico and every place we went requested that we not flush ANY tp. That took some getting used to.
But for the trailer we use rv tp.

[2airishuman]

t p ?

who uses THAT stuff nemore?

isn't there a hand held sprayer RIGHT near the head?

that's the rv bidet, no paper needed.
___________

i use a LARGE metro area yellow pages.

of course the 1000 page book is entirely on a dvd,

so wiping is tricky.

but it can be REused 1000s of time...
_________

i tried using the newspaper...

but the kindle screen was very hard to get clean...

cheers
2air'

[DD.KARAOKE]

Originally Posted by Isadora

I think you can use anything you want. Just don't flush it if it isn't RV paper. That's what waste paper baskets are for. If you have a septic tank at home, anyway, it's just something you get used to.

I lived on a boat for ten years, and now I live in my Argosy. In both instances, the way I see it is simple.

DON'T PUT ANYTHING INTO THE HEAD THAT YOU DID NOT PUT INTO YOURS FIRST!!!

[richie rich]

Just don't squeeze it,unless you're Mr. Wipple. Personally,I'd take a walk in the woods and bury the evidence. Maybe in a few thousand years someone will trip over this rock and say to his buddy, "look Fred it's got pieces of corn in it."

[holder310]

After reading this thread and in particularly Pat Conway's response, I sure wish we had read (and followed) his reasonings! We started off using household toilet paper... and noticed that the dump valve wouldn't close! It was stuck half way open and half way closed. Ah, well, 40 year old dump, it needs replacing due to age, right? I think wrong now. DH noted toilet paper stuck in valve when he took it off. NOTHING BUT RV TOILET PAPER FOR US NOW! Or, we could do what Isadora suggests.

[Mikethefixit]

All our TP comes from the Yellow Store(Dollar General). Not sure of the brand.It made by Georgia Pacific I think. I did the mason jar test before we used it in da traylor. It breaks up fine almost as soon as it hits water. Thats another thing make sure you flush first before using the head the first time after its dumped. Water in the tank first is important. 3 years now no problem yet.
Also if ya wanna clean a little. When ya leave home on an empty tank,buy 10lbs of ice and dump down the head. The ice will mover around as you travel and melt and you will have enough water in there to get er started.
GOOD LUCK