Gray-water odor issues

[the_bosco]

It doesn't seem constant but when I dumped last night I had a gray water odor coming from the closet (which is currently loaded full ). I was able to lift floor a few inches and peer beneath, which revealed nothing of consequence... Well at least nothing spewing, sparking or mangled beyond repair.


We'll probabley dump at least once or maybe twice more before getting home. Should I worry about this now, or tough it out and deal w/ it at home?

[Uzzah]

Not familiar with you floor plan, but is the an obvious reason that there would be grey water in the closet? Things like, is the closet between the kitchen sink and the grey water tank? I had an old Prowler trailer that when the grey water was full, it would "slosh" out the shower pan, and then run where ever gravity would take it. Usually straight to where my clean clothes where stacked by the bed. Perhaps there is a grey water pipe routed through the closet.

My other thought would be that there is just something smelly in the closet. Either way you are going to have to empty that closet to figure it out. If it was me I'd be looking into it before I get home. Maybe not fixing it, but at least knowing what is going on.

[Phoenix]

If nothing was wet, you may just need to add some odor-controlling chemicals to the grey water. We have some plumbing under our bed, which sometimes emits odors. These smells often increase in warm weather, especially here in Arizona where it's 110+ in the summer.

[cameront120]

Is the vent to the grey water inside the closet in question? Is there a joint in that vent that has come loose enough for odour to escape?

[Gene]

Some people have discovered vents were not glued together. Check them for tightness and if they are loose at the joints, use ABS glue (if the pipe is black) or universal glue for PVC, CPVC and ABS.

Gene

[slowmover]

Loose vent piple connections aren't uncommon either along it's length or at the tank connection. Nor are mud dauber nests in the vent piping. Check for both, correct, and have a good time.

[fltlevel510]

I also agree with the loose fitting or failed in line vent. There are three in line vents in my 30', one under the kitchen sink, one in the closet and one under the sink in the bathroom. On occasion when both fantastic vent fans are on and not enough windows open the fans seem to suck gray tank odor from the vent in the closet. Turn fans off or open more windows, no problem. Use Air Conditioning, no problem. There is also a chance of odor coming from a P trap. It is not uncommon for the trailer to sit and the water in one of the P traps to evaporate and allow odors to escape, usually the shower when it is used for storage.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by the_bosco

It doesn't seem constant but when I dumped last night I had a gray water odor coming from the closet (which is currently loaded full ). I was able to lift floor a few inches and peer beneath, which revealed nothing of consequence... Well at least nothing spewing, sparking or mangled beyond repair.


We'll probabley dump at least once or maybe twice more before getting home. Should I worry about this now, or tough it out and deal w/ it at home?

You most likely will find that the cause is a bad sewer vent pipe cover gasket, as they only last 2 to 3 years.

Replacing all of them, adding a screen, with a new gasket and sealing them with Vulkem sealer, solves the issue.

Andy

[the_bosco]

We're traveling tomorrow but it should be an early day. Guess I'd better empty the damn closet.

[Sky]

Originally Posted by fltlevel510

I also agree with the loose fitting or failed in line vent. There are three in line vents in my 30', one under the kitchen sink, one in the closet and one under the sink in the bathroom. On occasion when both fantastic vent fans are on and not enough windows open the fans seem to suck gray tank odor from the vent in the closet. Turn fans off or open more windows, no problem. Use Air Conditioning, no problem. There is also a chance of odor coming from a P trap. It is not uncommon for the trailer to sit and the water in one of the P traps to evaporate and allow odors to escape, usually the shower when it is used for storage.

Exactly same problem here. Smell is coming from the vent/valve under bathroom sink, only when fans are on with door and windows shut. I'm going to try and replace them today, and I'm praying they are not glued on. Anyone have trouble removing the old air check valves?

[xrvr]

Almost every AS I owned would suck odors from the vent stacks into the trailer through the fantastic fans. The stacks vent it to the roof and the fans would suck it back in if the closest ceiling vent were open and the fan farthest away was blowing out.jim

[Sky]

Screwd right off, not glued. Replace with an identical "air check valve" I bought at Lowe's for $6. Oder is reduced when fans are on, but not completely gone. I'll try more plumbers tape around threads, but I have a feeling one of the other fittings is loose in there. There is no doubt the Oder comes from inside the bathroom sink cabinet. Never a dull moment.

[robert claus]

After our last trip, I thought I smelled sewer gases in the trailer. I thought that maybe there was food left in the sink drain line as we'd had just enough water to wash dishes (and we had alot of dishes). I put fresh water down the drain to flush it. The odor was still present. We had used the oven, and I had left the oven control at the "pilot light" position, in case we needed the oven again, but the pilot flame had gone out. So, what I detected was a minute amount of LP that was feeding the pilot circuit. Turning the oven control to off eliminated the odor.

[Gene]

In ours the bathroom sewer vent is really close to the bedroom Fantastic Fan. That fan should be set to exhaust only. If it is installed with the wiring backwards, it will act as an intake fan. Then you can remove the inside cover and reverse the wires going to the fan motor to make it exhaust. Some fans have a reverse switch, but the fan should only be set to exhaust.

Usually our black tank doesn't smell bad for about a week, but sometimes sooner. If there's no chance (or desire) to dump and flush the black tank, we just pour more deodorant down the toilet. Running the bathroom exhaust fan helps a little. And staying away from beans helps too.

Gene

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by Gene

...snip...
Running the bathroom exhaust fan helps a little. And staying away from beans helps too.

Gene

Can't disagree about beans.

But my experience with the bathroom fan is 180 degrees opposite yours. I find closing the fan fixture and the lid when flushing helps a lot. When the bathroom vent is open (especially with the fan on and air being sucked up out of the trailer) plus the toilet seat is up, black tank odors just get drawn right up with the breeze.

I'm going to back flush this weekend at my site. The draw bar at the blank tank has been feeling tighter and despite a complete full tank flush every time (without fail) before storing, this weekend didn't get off to a great start in that department :-)

[Gene]

The valve on our black tank, and the one on the grey tank to a lesser degree, is hard to open and close. There's a solution sold in RV stores that is supposed to loosen up the valves and works to some degree. Eventually I know I'll have to take it part and clean it, but I'm hoping to delay that for many years. I think toilet paper gets stuck in the valve seals and hardens and food particles gets stuck in the grey tank valve seals.

Sorry the bathroom fan doesn't work for you, but it is a temporary solution until there's a chance to backflush the tank.

Gene

[dannydimitt]

Originally Posted by Gene

In ours the bathroom sewer vent is really close to the bedroom Fantastic Fan. That fan should be set to exhaust only. If it is installed with the wiring backwards, it will act as an intake fan. Then you can remove the inside cover and reverse the wires going to the fan motor to make it exhaust. Some fans have a reverse switch, but the fan should only be set to exhaust.

Usually our black tank doesn't smell bad for about a week, but sometimes sooner. If there's no chance (or desire) to dump and flush the black tank, we just pour more deodorant down the toilet. Running the bathroom exhaust fan helps a little. And staying away from beans helps too.

Gene

Except for Dove Creek beans from Adobe Milling in Dove Creek SW of you Gene ! We stopped there last month and left with about 40 pounds of some of the best beans on the planet . Dove Creek beans and Olathe sweet corn ! It's whats for dinner