# After Black Tank Dump - What To Do - Smell



## daveo (Mar 23, 2008)

After you dump a black tank - are you supposed to add water? I dump and a few weeks later after no camping the bathroom smells? Suggestions? Thought about adding water and one of the blue tank things after dumping?


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

After dumping you should add some water and something to neutralize the smell. I use the blue stuff others use different things it's really your preference. The water is important. You should add about 5 gallons. If the trailer sit's for long periods in hot water you may to add some additional water from time to time since it will evaporate and go up the vent. If there is anything still in the tank without water it will dry out and you'll never get it out of there.


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## chuck&gail (Mar 8, 2010)

I always add one gallon to each waste tank after dumping. Keeps "stuff", and seals, from drying out. If tank smells I add a PottyTab.

In winter I add about a quart of RV antifreeze and a cup of peanet oil to each tank. Peanut oil acts as a valve lube.


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## Rob_G (Feb 16, 2006)

I do the "natural" method. Once emptied, I add about 5 gallons of water, laundry detergent, and 2 cups of calgon. Cleans up nice on the way home. Ever seen a dirty washing machine?


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

We dump the black tank and add a 5 gallon bucket of water with a blue tab - haven't had any problems yet. I've heard that the calgon keeps things slippery to avoid things sticking.....

Also, throwing your cooler ice down after camping has been suggested to help agitate and clean up the tank during the ride home - that is - if you have somewhere to dump at home...

The only smell we have encountered is a - sulfur type smell - right after dumping the tanks. It doesn't last long, but, its pretty strong.


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## Jelly Donut (Apr 13, 2009)

Dump tank at CG, usually there is a hose at the dump station and I run some water through the tank. As I pull out of the CG, I stop at the store and buy a bag of ice or 2 (depends on how long we were using the black tank ). I dump the entire bag of ice into the tank.... When I get home, I dump the black tank into a 5 gallon spackle bucket, then dump it into my toilet at home. Throw some blue stuff in and I'm good to go!


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Do you have any sort of flusher, like a quicky flush installed and if so do you use it? I had the same problem. I used the detergent/softener combo with green stuff and still had problems. Would dump the tank and it would smell worse after the dump than before it. I tried dumping five gallon buckets of water down the toilet when dumping and using a wand but nothing helped. I finally installed a tornado rinser and use a clear elbow on the trailer dump connection so I can see what is coming out. When I dumped at a park the first time after installation, I couldn't believe the paper that was coming out. I mean after the tank was empty and I turned the flusher on, I would get big wads of paper every few minutes. This went on for at least a half hour. After seeing nothing but clear water for about ten minutes I called it good. Now every time I'm at a park with sewer hookups, I let it run until the water is clear for ten minutes and I haven't had a smell problem since.


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