No chemicals in grey tank.

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by thecatsandi

I will use chemicals in my grey tank when it is warm outside. Almost never in the winter. If it stinks it gets treated. Chemicals usually go down the shower drain.

Just because you use chemicals sometimes, it doesn't mean you should use them all of the time. Every little bit of green behavior helps also a whole lot of little bits of non green behavior can do harm.

Where do you think chemicals go when they go down the drain? Just because you don't see them anymore, it doesn't mean that they vanish.

[mandolindave]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I would agree that this is the most eco-friendly method in terms of breaking down black or grey tank contents, but RidEx or enzyme treatments typically don't deal with odor control, which the black tanks can produce in abundance.

I think enzyme treatments , while they won't make bad water smell nice, do help keep odor down.

[Silvertwinkie]

I totally agree. I have started (as of last camping season) to find more eco-friendly solutions for my black tank since you're right, out of sight is never really and truly out of sight, it does end up someplace. I never realized before this forum that formaldehyde was in these products. I feel have enough environmental impact putting 39 gallons and up of burned up gas into the atmosphere just getting to and from my destination.

[doug&maggie]

Originally Posted by DEITZ645

We use a Flush King on both our coaches and I always find the discharge flowing through the clear plastic quite interesting.

Yuk!!

[TBRich]

We regularly use chemicals (eco-friendly, enzyme based) for the black tank and occasionally in the grey tank as well...not so much for the odor control, as the p-traps should take care of that, but for cleaning and helping to reduce gunk build-up in the grey tank...yes, it's only grey water, but there can still be gunk build up. We put it down the kitchen, vanity and shower drains to also treat the p-traps...

[Minnie's Mate]

Like TBRich I use enzyme base tank treatment in our gray tank. I rotate between the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and shower so some will settle in the p-trap and keep the "gunk" out of them. We have four that shower daily so we fill our gray tank every day and sometimes have to empty it just to do dishes at the end of the day. I like for the treatment to sit over night to do its thing before dumping the next morning so sometimes I will do a partial gray dump. I am the one responsible for that kind of stuff so when I take my shower or finish shaving and drain the sink, I take care of treating the gray tank or will put the treatment in the kitchen sink when it's the KS's turn.

I have had more than one person tell me that they had serious build-up in their gray tank and it took months to get it cleaned out. These were full timers. So, a little tank treatment on a daily basis isn't too big of a cost to keep everything running smoothly. BTW, there has only been one time that we camped where we could dump the gray water on the ground and I didn't use the enzymes that late summer weekend and it wasn't a pretty picture...or at least it I should say it was an odoriferous one.

[SilverCabin]

We use a gray tank deodorizer/cleaner product I think is sold under the TST brand. It's a lemony liquid and you can get it at Wally World. When we put Daisy away for awhile, we pour a little down each of the drains followed by a gallon of water equally distributed. This sits in the tank while we're not using it and when we are back on the road, we dispose of this tank in an RV dump station. We have never had any problems or smells with our gray tank following this procedure.

When we are traveling (moving each day instead of base camping), our daily routine is to use the pump and water in our fresh tank. Each morning we dump the grey water and refill the fresh tank. This keeps both tanks fresh and clean and we know the pump is working too.

If we are base camping and connected to a sewer, we let the gray water drain until the day before we need to dump the black tank. We save some wash water to use as a rinse for the hose. The only time we add any chemicals again is when we go back into storage.

The "old timers" have told me that when you dump gray water on the ground, where its allowed, you should dump it as it is made to prevent the possible side effects of too much wash water. To be as green as possible with a ground drain: (1) Strain all your wash water to make sure no garbage goes down the drain (you can get a sink strainer at Bed Bath and Beyond); (2) Drain at least 200 ft away from any natural ground water (rivers, streams, lakes, etc.), and (3) Eliminate all antibacterial soaps in your trailer--use only natural soaps. Following these rules you would do no harm.

Randy

[tkowalyk]

We put in digester into the gray tank if we are not using the RV for more than a month. We always use chemicals in the black tank -- I do not agree with Lev that using chemicals in the black tank makes no difference.

[Minnie's Mate]

I put enzymes in the black tank daily and dump it about once every 5 days. When we leave the campground to head home I flush the black tank really well and then let about 2-3 gallons of clear water to collect in the black tank and add a dose of enzymes about once per week until we go camping again. I tried a "green" environmentally friendly product that was pine scented...way too much pine smell. Smelled the bathroom up like Pinezol every time we flushed. I got rid of it and went back to the citrus scented enzyme stuff. I just put some of that down the drains in the sinks/showers daily.

[tpi]

I've never used chemicals in gray tank. I'm careful with dishwashing and very little food residue goes down the drain. Usually the gray water comes out smelling like shampoo or dish detergent.

[SilverCabin]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

I put enzymes in the black tank daily and dump it about once every 5 days.

What product do you use in the Black Tank, and have you been happy with it, i.e., do you get any smell on a hot day with an almost full tank? I tried a free sample of something at Bozeman last year, and by the time our pumpout came (every four days) we were ready for that to go. I've always had good results with Thetford's formaldehyde free liquid, but the enzyme treatments sound interesting.

Randy

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by SilverCabin

What product do you use in the Black Tank, and have you been happy with it, i.e., do you get any smell on a hot day with an almost full tank?

Randy

Our Airstream dealer gave us a starter kit that included the orange powder, I forget the name, and we've never had a smell in the Airstream, even at Ft. Wilderness over the 4th of July week. Now, the effluent that comes out of the tank, now that is a different story (but not like a week's worth, probably like a day's worth). But I put a pouch in every day and break one pouch and wash it down the sink/shower drain every day after showers and drain the gray tank the next morning before showers. It is available at Wal-Mart.