RV toilet paper vs "Septic safe" paper?

[CoolCat]

Are they interchangeable?? We're in for a long haul and RV TP is not readily available. Is there a problem with "septic safe" ??

[Wayne&Sam]

It's fine.

[OTRA15]

Welcome to the forum CoolCat!

To be conservative, the TP should be single-ply, and proper TP etiquette should be followed for RV black water holding tanks:

-- water and holding tank chemicals in tank before solids/TP go in
-- minimum use of TP -- nothing else goes in tank except human waste
-- low proportion of TP to total tank contents
-- TP is allowed 2-3 days to break down
-- trailer is taken on the road to agitate contents just before dumping
-- black water tank is topped off +/- before dumping
.....(do not dump an almost-empty tank -- need a whoosh volume of liquid going down)

This much detail may seem crazy, but you would be surprised at what some people have had to fish out of the discharge end of an RV sewer pipe! Not a pleasant job . . .

[AnnArborBob]

Any "septic safe" TP is fine, single-ply is better than double-ply. Even though you may "double up" the single-ply, it seems to break down more quickly than the double-ply. We've been on the road for eight months now and DO NOT use "RV TP," only single-ply "septic safe" available at any store.

[AWCHIEF]

RV/Boat TP, What a wonderful marketing schemes. Wish I had thought of it first.

[AnnArborBob]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

RV/Boat TP, What a wonderful marketing schemes. Wish I had thought of it first.

RV/Marine TP is a clever way to charge more for an inferior product. Now if only there was "Aviation TP" they could charge as much as gold!

[OTRA15]

RV/Marine TP is in fact fabricated differently, so you have to be careful with how hard you push on it when trying to remove solid material from certain areas -- the paper will tear at just the worst time . . .

Maybe that is seen as an inferior product from some angles, but you will never find this specialized TP as "paper" compacted at the discharge end of the sewer.

Depends on priorities IMO -- had enough sewer discharge problems because some people abuse the regular TP protocol . . . .

[UKDUDE]

This tongue in cheek test may be of interest to you:
http://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/toil...with-children/

[larryglarson]

We now have a macerating toilet in our 2016 FC so we flush the paper but previously we put the paper Ina step can beside the stool. No odor, no problems.

[msimon]

Originally Posted by UKDUDE

This tongue in cheek test may be of interest to you:
http://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/toil...with-children/

Huh. Illuminating.

[moosetags]

We have a fairly substantial history of RV black tank usage. We are closing in on 1,800 nights of Airstream camping over the last ten years.

We use our in-house toilet pretty exclusively, and rarely use any campground facilities. Until about two years ago, we used Camco brand RV toilet paper exclusively. The prevailing wisdom was that this was the way to avoid black tank clog problems. We never made any effort to curtail the use of toilet paper. All went very well, and we never had a single issue in this area.

Then about two years ago, we read a thread here on the Forums similar to this one. Several member said that they were using Angel Soft Brand 2-ply Septic Safe toilet paper. We decided to give it a try. We are now at about 400 nights of camping using the Angel Soft and have not yet experienced a single toilet clog issue.

We do usually fill the black tank to 90% capacity before dumping, and there is most often substantial road travel to mix things up.

As to using single ply toilet toilet paper vs. 2-ply, we much prefer the 2-ply. We tried using single ply years back and found that we just used twice as much to get the job done.

As to cost, the Camco 2-ply RV toilet paper is about $1.25 per roll at Wal-Mart, and even higher at an RV store. We can routinely find the Angel Soft on sale at Publix for about 35 cents a roll. That's a pretty substantial price difference.

Brian

[sallye]

We have a totally different solution to this "problem." Our solution is a battery operated stainless steel (so it matches our AS!) wastebasket that we keep in the bathroom. When you wave your hand over it, the cover opens - which is what the battery / sensor is for.

We simply drop all toilet paper into the wastebasket, with a plastic liner of course, that so no paper at all goes into our tank. When it gets full, we just dispose of it and add a new liner. Easy.

And the answer to your next question is "NO." Things only smell when there is water present, which there isn't in the wastebasket. The antomatic lid helps also.

We owned a summer house for 30 or so years, and it had an "ify" septic tank and field. We started doing this because of that, and it worked so well for 30 years that we never had to pump it out. We tried once, but there was not enough in there to pump. It sort of tells you how much of a problem TP is to begin with. . . . .

Anyway, we buy any old TP and never worry about it.

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by larryglarson

We now have a macerating toilet in our 2016 FC so we flush the paper but previously we put the paper Ina step can beside the stool. No odor, no problems.

Do all the new Airstreams come withe macerating toilets. I had one in my sailboat that was broke about 50% of the time.

[Jaxon]

We use septic safe toilet paper and never have had a problem - have also used the stuff we have at the house and never have had a problem either (this is our 5th AS).

One thing I’ve done prior to moving from one location to another is flush one of those dishwasher detergent packets (with spot-free rinse!) & plenty of water, down the commode. The movement and agitation on the road helps dissolve it and clean the black tank. When I get to the RV site, I dump the contents and rinse the hose with whats left in the gray water tank (usually just a shower & some dish water). So far, it’s kept the level indicator accurate due to clean(er) walls in the tank. Never had a problem with black tank odors, either.

[AnnArborBob]

Toilet paper and related black tank issues seem to cause a lot of anxiety in the RV community, and Airstreamers are no exception.

After thousands of toilet uses and hundreds of black tank dumps (all successful I might add) I find that the secret to a healthy black tank is to dump when it is at least 75% full (or more) and to use a lot of liquid when using/flushing in between dumping the tank. I also use our "black tank flush" at least 1/3 of the time when dumping (some people will dump a bucket of water down the toilet or run a hose with a special attachment in lieu of using the black tank flush when dumping.)

Under normal use, our tank easily lasts two weeks with just the two of us and since we often stay in one place for less than two weeks, we usually end up dumping dish, shower or fresh water in the black tank to get it to the proper level for dumping. It does not pay to limit the addition of liquids to the back tank with each use as the lack of liquid in the black tank in between dumps seems to lead to the buildup of solids in the tank. I suspect that a lot of weekend and short-term campers don't really get their black tanks up to a proper level before dumping, dump with less than full tank and thus end up with a buildup of solids in their black tank over time.

Also, if you are going to store your trailer for any length of time in between uses, I highly recommend that you first dump the tank properly then add water and your favorite treatment to about 20 to 25% of it's capacity. One of the worst things you can do is to let your black tank get "dry." Obviously this does not apply for a winterized trailer where you should still leave a half gallon or so of anti freeze in the tank.

By following the above we have never had any black tank issues.

[banderabob]

I always learn from the Forum. Had never thought, or been told about putting water on the toilet before using it. BTW, our choice is single ply Cottonelle, which we use at home with our septic.

[Foiled Again]

The drop it in a can sounded gross to me, but I tried it lately. I never let it "ferment" and in the event of an "act of congress" at the oval office I make a special trip to the dumpster. Good exercise. The Sewer Solution works even easier.

I'd burn it, if I had a fire where nothing was going to be cooked, but I know that when great grandma lived in Kansas, cow chips were a source of heat and cooking fuel... so perhaps I'm being too fastidious.

Paula

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

The drop it in a can sounded gross to me, but I tried it lately. I never let it "ferment" and in the event of an "act of congress" at the oval office I make a special trip to the dumpster. Good exercise. The Sewer Solution works even easier.

I'd burn it, if I had a fire where nothing was going to be cooked, but I know that when great grandma lived in Kansas, cow chips were a source of heat and cooking fuel... so perhaps I'm being too fastidious.

Paula

Your granny's cow chips were the sun-dried product of ruminant herbivores. Our personal byproducts ain't quite the same, even if you're vegan. You're not being too fastidious!

[KJRitchie]

We use Angel Soft in the trailer. Did the jar test and shook it up a few times and it disintegrated fine. They only issue with it is the rolls are not as large so you go through more.

Kelvin

[16595]

I have never had a "clog" in the black tank. Our problem is the drain valve not sealing. I switched to the RV tp but that has not been a solution.

On trailers that only had black tanks - long ago - the valve was visible and accessible. Dad had a tool to clean the valve seat and life was good. I long for the good old days in this respect.

So, am I not rinsing adequately? Not enough water on the initial dump?

Suggestions?

Dwight