My embarrassing moment...

[Gene]

Laura,

Did you offer to shake the MoHo guy's hand?

I hate the slinky with the removable ends. We made the mistake of buying one of those at first. The ends come off in mid dump or leak. Then we bought a slinky with the ends glued on—brand name Revolution, made by Camco. We found it at Walmart for an approx. 20' one and bought another 10' from Amazon. Sometimes you need a really long hose, for ex., at the Terraport at JC. Works well. And yes, we have a Flush King for flushing the tank—you can watch your personal matter flow through to make sure the tank is clean, though I think they never get completely clean.

This is not one of the pleasant aspects of RV's. The MoHo guy has to do it too and some day his time will come. I hope a lot of people are watching. For some reason, I have been appointed sewer guy. I am unsure how husbands get this job, but it does mean I can relax while Barb is cooking and say when she asks me to help, "I didn't wash my hands after I did the sewer job, where's the food?" She hands me the soap and directs me to the bathroom. This approach never works, but I keep trying.

One more thing: to see where the bathroom sink drains, turn on the water, open the toilet flapper and listen for water coming into the tank. If you hear it, it probably goes into the black tank. I think I did that to check several years ago.

Gene

[Gringo]

camo toilet paper....that's the ticket!! We need new colors!! Something other than white...We need Roadside Sand.....Pine Straw Brown, Gravel Gray, Woodland Camo....Putting Green.....Concrete...Blacktop...

[Gene]

There is a good reason toilet paper (or "bathroom tissue" for the more sensitive, though they probably stopped reading after the first sentence of the OP) is white. Think about it.

Gene

[rebelstand]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

There is a good reason toilet paper (or "bathroom tissue" for the more sensitive, though they probably stopped reading after the first sentence of the OP) is white. Think about it.

Gene

Very true!

[airdreamers]

Laura,

You poor thing, lets hope it never happens again.

An incident that could happen. Make sure you always close the valves before putting on the cap, especially the black tank. Picture open valves, cap on boon docking a few days. Lets go to empty at the dump station, oh no, valves open. Well just close them and remove the cap (I don't think so!!!!). Valves are stuck open, cap on, you get the picture, it's all in your imagination now!! Don't let this happen to you!

[richie rich]

Reminds me of the Ann Margret pork and beans scene.

[richie rich]

see.

[Gringo]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

There is a good reason toilet paper (or "bathroom tissue" for the more sensitive, though they probably stopped reading after the first sentence of the OP) is white. Think about it.

Gene

Yeah, I see your point.

Guess I better just feed everyone lots and lots of spinach...

[funkill]

Thanks for the info and humorous antidotes.

After reading through the info from Silversled, I'm thinking the bleach (on soil) was a fairly good choice given the situation.... It was fun to read the papers and apply some of my microbiology coursework.

I did find this on the web (Bio-Clean) and wish a smaller container was available (2 lb container for $49.99). I would like to have a bit in case this ever happens again but will try to prevent it by purchasing a more secure slinky as advised by Gene.

Laura - who looked just like Ann Margret - but had her mouth closed!
---------------------------------------------

Bio-Clean: Distributed by Statewide Supply

TREATMENT FOR BROKEN PIPES AND SEWAGE SPILLS

Bio‐Clean can be used on sewage spills from backups, broken pipes, blow back from cleanouts, or even restaurant grease on tile floors. If the waste is wet, simply sprinkle Bio‐Clean over the spill. If there is not a lot of moisture, mix Bio‐Clean and water in a bucket and pour over the area. Use plenty of Bio‐Clean since you don’t know the concentration of the waste. Bio‐Clean will eat up the waste and eliminate the odor.

[Gene]

The nasty fact behind all this is that when someone has a spill, very few people are going to clean it beyond some cursory rinsing. It is very easy to have a spill and most, I am guessing, are small, but still nasty. I've had the slinky come loose from the end (before I replaced it), or the end part be poorly locked onto the sewer drain (easier to do than you might think). Fortunately I haven't had the slinky start leaking from holes that developed in it.

After stopping the leak and then looking around to see if anyone saw it, I expect a lot of people just leave it and get out of there. One can assume the area where people have RV drains, i.e., anywhere on a pad, and at the campground drain, are not places you want to roll around playing with babies and dogs. Sun and rain/snow help clean it up over time. Exposure to some bacteria may help us become resistant to it and children who are too protected may have more allergies, so maybe we should roll around. But we would have to bring a microscope to make sure what is dangerous, so sitting on the ground at a pad is probably not desirable.

I'm sure everyone has been told to wear rubber gloves when doing sewer work. Putting them on and taking them off without touching the outside of the glove is difficult. How many times do you touch things—clothing, containers for slinkies and such—with the contaminated gloves? As soon as I put the gloves on, I know my nose will itch and will become unbearable—should I scratch it with my wrist, or maybe my foot? I'm not flexible enough to use my foot and my shoes aren't too clean anyway. RVing is not for the cleanliness obsessed, or you have to have a husband.

Gene

[rebelstand]

Husbands are most helpful for this matter. They are also good for taking out the trash but somehow I still have to do my share of poop patrol with the dogs. If any wives have an idea on how to get out of this task please let me know.....

[Gringo]

I wouldn't touch that line with a ten foot pole...

[Foiled Again]

I don't wear gloves when I hook up or unhook the Sewer Solution. IMHO it's that foolproof.

I can mentally see a bunch of you going eeeeeeuuuuuwwwhhh!
However... how can I say this delicately?

1. I don't wear gloves when I use the "oval office" - I do wash my hands afterwards.
2. How many parents wear rubber gloves when changing diapers? "Three Men and a Baby" did contain that famous line "I'll give you a thousand dollars if you'll change that diaper" but most of us do change diapers even for other people's children without a mask OR gloves.
3. I've poked holes in gloves by accident or pinched and tore holes in the fingers resulting in messes getting spread around inside gloves. Ergo, I wash my hands even when I wear gloves.
4. I may be slightly allergic to the rubber ones or the talc irritates my skin. So I gotta wash my hands after wearing them.
5. Have you seen the stuff that comes out of your GRAY tank? It's gross too - grease, coffee grounds, soap, hair and stuff that looks curdled. Do you wear gloves when you pull hair out of the drains? Didn't think so.
6. When you hook up your white water hose, do you spritz the supply faucet and threads before hooking up your hose to it? Why would you? Ever see a dog cock it's leg against anything vertical? Now THAT is where you want a little more hygiene, not when you dump.

About the only part of emptying a black tank with the Sewer Solution that would remotely require gloves would be when removing the used SS to store it. However I always rinse it in clear water and if particularly messy, spray a bit of bleach & water on it.

AND I WASH MY HANDS AFTERWARDS. Hand washing, Eh, what a concept! Simple and sanitary and just as sure - if not moreso - than using gloves and not washing.

Sincerely, Paula

[Wayne&Sam]

Howard Hughes never used a slinky.

[richie rich]

shop vac

[Phrunes]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

I don't wear gloves when I hook up or unhook the Sewer Solution. IMHO it's that foolproof.

I can mentally see a bunch of you going eeeeeeuuuuuwwwhhh!
However... how can I say this delicately?
[*]I don't wear gloves when I use the "oval office" - I do wash my hands afterwards.[*]How many parents wear rubber gloves when changing diapers? "Three Men and a Baby" did contain that famous line "I'll give you a thousand dollars if you'll change that diaper" but most of us do change diapers even for other people's children without a mask OR gloves.[*]I've poked holes in gloves by accident or pinched and tore holes in the fingers resulting in messes getting spread around inside gloves. Ergo, I wash my hands even when I wear gloves.[*]I may be slightly allergic to the rubber ones or the talc irritates my skin. So I gotta wash my hands after wearing them.[*]Have you seen the stuff that comes out of your GRAY tank? It's gross too - grease, coffee grounds, soap, hair and stuff that looks curdled. Do you wear gloves when you pull hair out of the drains? Didn't think so.[*]When you hook up your white water hose, do you spritz the supply faucet and threads before hooking up your hose to it? Why would you? Ever see a dog cock it's leg against anything vertical? Now THAT is where you want a little more hygiene, not when you dump.
About the only part of emptying a black tank with the Sewer Solution that would remotely require gloves would be when removing the used SS to store it. However I always rinse it in clear water and if particularly messy, spray a bit of bleach & water on it.

AND I WASH MY HANDS AFTERWARDS. Hand washing, Eh, what a concept! Simple and sanitary and just as sure - if not moreso - than using gloves and not washing.

Sincerely, Paula

If you did wear a PAIR of gloves, how would you take them off? Should you use the left dirty one, or the right dirty one to grasp the cuff near your clean arm? OR, use your teeth, like most people do after doing dishes with the ole playtex gloves? YUCKY! Hahaha

[Gringo]

Gloves harbor germs. Get one of the new water heaters, and then just sterilize your hands in the shower for ten seconds after hitting the dump.

[Gene]

The answer is one of those Japanese robots.

Gene

[Gringo]

Or an incinerator that reduces it all to ash. Which could be discretely dispersed a teaspoon per mile along the nations highways. Fertilizing the wild flowers on the median strip....


The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind...



(hey, it IS Dylan's 70th birthday....ya know...)

[newroswell]

I guess it's optional at the dump station, but there's a lot of good reasons to use gloves working with oils, chemicals, sealants, glues, that don't wash off easy. I prefer to have the gloves already on in case of an emergency.

YouTube - ‪Proper Disposable Glove Removal‬‏