smelly galley

[kiwi2000]

So am I supposed to put the black water stuff into the galley and gray tanks?
It does not say so on the keystone manual only the black tank is supposed to get treatments.

But the galley stinks!

I tried dumping and putting in about a gallon of water for the trip home in the galley. Then dumping the galley.That seems to work...for a while then the stink returns. We are very careful with food particles and such entering the galley tank.

Should I be putting the same chemical as the black tank into the gray and galley?

The dealer says I should save my money and not use two separate products and use the same stuff, agree?

[Firestorm]

My High country 299 has done this before, smells under sink, I put a half a box on arm/hammer baking soda down ran like two cups of water down, let sit for awhile, haven't smelled any thing foul again, I think its a venting problem, but who knows if it does it again that's what i will do

[ussnitro]

i would use the same products!!! its not gonna hurt nothing and will keep bad odors away

[kiwi2000]

K...........

[hankaye]

kiwi2000, Howdy;

The smell under the sink ...been several threads on this.
the Black and the other gray tanks have vents that run up and out thru the
roof. Sometimes, yours may be one of them, where in the galley tank vents to the space under the sink.
It's the pipe that comes from the floor and abruptly stops. the top of the pipe has a slotted cap and it may have become ineffective (fancy way of sayin' it quit workin). Should just in screw by hand or may need some gental encouragement.

hankaye

[Bushman512000]

I use some cheep fabric softiner from the dollor store in all the tanks to keep the tank slick and fresh smelling also some oxadoll soap when useing to help flush the Black and a bag of ice about every 4 trip out to clean the probs ice must be used just before the trip so it will act as a scrubber...Bushman:D

[kiwi2000]

all good advice, thanks

[SteveC7010]

There should be an "S" trap or "P" trap in the drain line of the kitchen sink. The purpose of the trap is to prevent sewer gas from coming back up the drain pipe into the kitchen. It does this by trapping a small amount of water in the "S" or "P" which acts like a cork.

When you drive down the road, the movement of the trailer may push the water out of the trap allowing odors back up into the room. Those of you who are seasonal are not immune to this because the water can also evaporate out of the trap over time.

So, making sure there is water in the trap is as simple as running the faucet for a few seconds.

It may not be the cause of the odors in all cases, but it's the easiest to fix.

[mhs4771]

Many of the newer units are not using conventional "P" traps, instead they use something new (forgot the exact name for it) it's just a short section of straight PVC pipe with a rubber flapper located inside (requires less space). The flapper is suppose to be a one way valve, letting water flow to the tank, but close to prevent smells from coming back. If you have this type of system the flapper could be stuck open or just plain bad letting smells from the holding tank into the unit. Just a thought.

[SteveC7010]

Many of the newer units are not using conventional "P" traps, instead they use something new (forgot the exact name for it) it's just a short section of straight PVC pipe with a rubber flapper located inside (requires less space). The flapper is suppose to be a one way valve, letting water flow to the tank, but close to prevent smells from coming back. If you have this type of system the flapper could be stuck open or just plain bad letting smells from the holding tank into the unit. Just a thought.

I haven't crawled under the kitchen sink yet on the Cougar so I am not sure which I have. But I get a gurgling sound sometimes when the sink drains. Jumping on the floor will get the gurgling going again for a few seconds. The flapper thingie might just explain why that is happening.

The trailer is in storage at the moment, but I can see some plumbing work in my near future once I verify which trap system it has.

Edit to add: Here's a link to one waterless drain trap" http://drainmaster.com/hepvo.html

[bennydog]

We had a smell galley when we opened the trailer up at the beginning of the year. I kept thinking it was coming from the head. DW walked in one day and announced that the sink stunk. Turned out to be a dead mouse in the trash can under the sink. I'm just saying...it could be something besides the tank :)

[5mary6]

I also use milk and honey bath stuff to keep the tanks slick..Works well. In additon get yourself so ODOBAN, use that in all your drains and tanks. Never have a smell. I love the smell of my black tank and hoses after using ODOBAN. Took my old camper in for service and they commented on how nice my tanks smelled! LOL

[CUFFS054]

Mary,
could you give more info on the "milk and honey" treatment?

[5mary6]

We buy it at WalMArt. It is a bath treatment. We pour a little in all the drains, to get into the ptraps and then flushes into the holding tanks. It basically greases the pipes and tanks so "stuff" does not stick to the pipes. makes everything flush really nice. Noticed a huge difference when dumping the tanks that everything is smooth.

[curlyfungirl]

I picked up some yellow disolving tabs from CW. I haven't had any problems with odor. They have a nice lemmony scent too.

[MadMax]

kiwi2000, Howdy;

The smell under the sink ...been several threads on this.
the Black and the other gray tanks have vents that run up and out thru the
roof. Sometimes, yours may be one of them, where in the galley tank vents to the space under the sink.
It's the pipe that comes from the floor and abruptly stops. the top of the pipe has a slotted cap and it may have become ineffective (fancy way of sayin' it quit workin). Should just in screw by hand or may need some gental encouragement.

hankaye

Hankaye,
I just came across this posting of yours and I am also experiencing smelly sinks. I took a look under the sink and I do have the pipe with the slotted cap. I unscrewed the top and the cap portion stayed attached to the bottom threaded portion that goes into the pipe. What exactly do you do to 'encourage' it? I looked through the slot and can see what looks like a round rubber flap with a spring keeping tension on it. Is it necessary to unscrew the cap itself and move the rubber flap in and out a few times?
Sorry to be a pest, but I am frequently breaking things by doing it wrong so thought I'd check before attempting.

[hankpage]

MadMax, The easiest way is just to replace it. They are called cheater vents (http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100204205?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=cheater+vent&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=100204205#.UUIDPlfNl8E) and are available at home stores and plumbing supplies. You can test yours by blowing through it but for sanitary reasons you might not want to do it. When you have spent most of your life with your hands in other peoples toilets, this test is nothing. :D
They only cost about 6 or 7 dollars, Hank

Comments from Festus2 will be ignored!!!!!

[Festus2]

Hank -
Have no fear. I'll butt out and refrain from stealing any of your thunder. :D

[MadMax]

kiwi2000, Howdy;

The smell under the sink ...been several threads on this.
the Black and the other gray tanks have vents that run up and out thru the
roof. Sometimes, yours may be one of them, where in the galley tank vents to the space under the sink.
It's the pipe that comes from the floor and abruptly stops. the top of the pipe has a slotted cap and it may have become ineffective (fancy way of sayin' it quit workin). Should just in screw by hand or may need some gental encouragement.

hankaye
I checked and I have the short pipe under the sink with the slotted cap. What is required to check/fix this cap to stop the smell? Does it need replacing or is there something that can be done to the rubber flapper to fix it?

[JRTJH]

The cap is a one way vent to keep the drain from "burping" every time you drain the sink. They cost about 6 or 7 bucks at any big box or hardware store. Once the rubber valve gets dry, it's going to "leak stink" no matter what you do. So, you have 2 choices, tape a plastic baggie over the whole thing and put up with the burping or buy a new drain vent and unscrew the old one, throw it away and install the new one. Some things just aren't worth the effort to try to repair. "Stinky leaks" is one of them IMHO.....

[Htfiremedic]

I checked and I have the short pipe under the sink with the slotted cap. What is required to check/fix this cap to stop the smell? Does it need replacing or is there something that can be done to the rubber flapper to fix it?

It is called a StufoVent. Lowes, rtc has em