# Bubbles-From Soap In Grey Water Tank



## tomstacey616 (Apr 13, 2011)

So, obviously bubbles in grey water tank is making the sensors read funny, does Calgon reduce bubbles or what do you all add to your tanks to reduce bubbles?


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## outback loft (Sep 22, 2008)

Good luck on getting the sensors to ever read correctly. I don't even pay attention to them as they almost always read 2/3 full. I check the black by looking down inside when I flush, and the gray I can sort of gauge when I am getting close.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I believe that the Calgon will help the bubbles. The tank levels are notorious for not reading correctly. See my old post on it.

Grey And Black Water Tank Fullness - A Very Uncontrolled Experiment


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Salt works to kill soap bubbles. 
My youngest son poured a whole box of Tide in the washer, years ago, and turned it on, before I caught him. I called Tide, and they said either bar soap or salt would work. I used a LOT of salt!!








Darlene


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## 5th Time Around (Jul 8, 2008)

You could also use De-Foamer for spas. When the bubbles in the spa get to much (from risidual soap in the bathing suits) you put it on and they bubbles go away. I had to use it in my dishwasher when I used dish soap instead of dishwasher soap and my dishwasher was foaming from the sides. It worked really well.


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

5th Time Around said:


> You could also use De-Foamer for spas. When the bubbles in the spa get to much (from risidual soap in the bathing suits) you put it on and they bubbles go away. I had to use it in my dishwasher when I used dish soap instead of dishwasher soap and my dishwasher was foaming from the sides. It worked really well.


WOW!! Do I ever wish I had known this when I did the same thing with a dishwasher! My sister-in-law was FUMING MAD!! LOL
Darlene


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## Lmbevard (Mar 18, 2006)

You can get some antifoam where they rent or sell the steam carpet cleaners. It doesn't take much. Use to have some that I got for developing film, but hard to find anymore. I would take and fill the tanks at least 1/3 full of hot water with some sort of cleaner in them before taking off some where so that the water slosses around good and then empty at the campground. Can't really use ice in the gray tanks thou. I did try a bag of ice a couple of times in the black tank to get it clean but didn't have much luck. I would imagine that there is a lot of grease and soap scum build up in the gray tanks that is causing the problems.


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## Jewellfamily (Sep 25, 2010)

I had an old janitor at a the rec center tell me that a urinal cake will dissolve and stop bubbles (i'd recommend small ones). This was just as he was pushing his way through a wall of foam into the jaccuzi room where a little kid had taken all of the hand soap from the dispensers in the entire bathroom and had loaded the jaccuzi with it for him.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Jewellfamily said:


> I had an old janitor at a the rec center tell me that a urinal cake will dissolve and stop bubbles (i'd recommend small ones). This was just as he was pushing his way through a wall of foam into the jaccuzi room where a little kid had taken all of the hand soap from the dispensers in the entire bathroom and had loaded the jaccuzi with it for him.


Nothing says relaxing like getting into a jacuzzi that smells like a urinal cake!!!


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## tomstacey616 (Apr 13, 2011)

Some great thinking and use of chemicals for "other uses!"
So yea, 3rd camping weekend out and our grey water tank "seemed" to fill quickly... very very short showers, minimal water used doing dishes... etc... emptied out once in a "blue boy" that was 15 gallons and went from "F" to "1/3".... hmmm. Makes ya think..
Also, I'm going to try the ICE method on the black tank.. continues to read "F" when it's empty... used calgon and one chemical thingy in a bag the last 2 trips.....

Thanks Y'all!!!
Tom


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## Traveling Tek (Oct 15, 2010)

I too gave up on my sensors. after one month worth of use none of them were reading right. Gave up on all of them. You can tell when bath is full cause the tub won't go down, same with kitchen sink. Toilet, you just look. I only check my fresh water level anymore. Nothing else works right. The gauges were sort of useless when they did work anyhow. 1/3 2/3 full is sort of lame to try to guess in a big rectangle tank.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Traveling Tek said:


> I too gave up on my sensors. after one month worth of use none of them were reading right. Gave up on all of them. You can tell when bath is full cause the tub won't go down, same with kitchen sink. Toilet, you just look. I only check my fresh water level anymore. Nothing else works right. The gauges were sort of useless when they did work anyhow. 1/3 2/3 full is sort of lame to try to guess in a big rectangle tank.


Yes, a slight lean messes up the whole idea anyway. If that weren't bad enough, the sensors are often mounted diagonally going up the tank, so depending on which way the lean is either 2/3 really means 1/3 or 1/3 really means 2/3.

I know I can go a weekend in the galley easily without filling that grey tank. I know I can take several showers over a weekend on that one. When the shower backs up that tank is full. I know I can go a weekend off the freshwater if I limit the showers and do dishes miserly.

That's my technique. I can't remember the last time I looked at the tank level lights.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I often wondered how much of a "Gilligan" factor there is in the the goofy sensor readings. Who installs the sensors? Do they come preinstalled in the waste tanks or does Gilligan eyeball where to drill the holes where ever he sees fit to put them?


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

thefulminator said:


> I often wondered how much of a "Gilligan" factor there is in the the goofy sensor readings. Who installs the sensors? Do they come preinstalled in the waste tanks or does Gilligan eyeball where to drill the holes where ever he sees fit to put them?


I think it is an eye ball level. A few that I have looked at were just screwed into the tank wall and there was no indication of a boss that would say this is where the manufacture wanted the sensor to go.


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

Calgon will make the bubbles worse. If you have ever had the sales pitch for a water softener, one thing they show you is how soft water makes more suds. So if you want to have fewer bubbles you need to either stop using as much soap OR find some harder water and don't add Calgon.

As far as the sensors go, I agree with everyone else, they are more entertainment than functional. You would think with all the technolgy we have in this world there would be a a way to accurately measure how much room is in the "sh*tter". I don't like standing in front of the house in my bathrobe dumping it in the storm drain!


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## tomstacey616 (Apr 13, 2011)

SLO Outbacker said:


> Calgon will make the bubbles worse. If you have ever had the sales pitch for a water softener, one thing they show you is how soft water makes more suds. So if you want to have fewer bubbles you need to either soft using as much soap OR find some harder water and don't add Calgon.
> 
> As far as the sensors go, I agree with everyone else, they are more entertainment than functional. You would think with all the technolgy we have in this world there would be a a way to accurately measure how much room is in the "sh*tter". I don't like standing in front of the house in my bathrobe dumping it in the storm drain!


I hear ya... For an experiment, I'm going to try to rinse out my Grey tank tonite by filling and emptying a few times, to get the calgon out.... and see how i do this weekend for trip #4!!

As far as the lights.. yea, more entertainment for the kids than functional.... "daddy, you just went #1 and it's now full, what am i supposed to do?" Kids......


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## Partsman Ed (Aug 26, 2008)

CamperAndy said:


> I had an old janitor at a the rec center tell me that a urinal cake will dissolve and stop bubbles (i'd recommend small ones). This was just as he was pushing his way through a wall of foam into the jaccuzi room where a little kid had taken all of the hand soap from the dispensers in the entire bathroom and had loaded the jaccuzi with it for him.


Nothing says relaxing like getting into a jacuzzi that smells like a urinal cake!!!








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That is too funny


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