Septic smell in trailer

[dflowboys]

No matter how much chemicals we put in holding tank when we travel it smells up the whole trailer. Any body else have this problem.

[ctbruce]

Just to be clear, this happens when you are going down the road?

[dflowboys]

Yes more so after using.

[ctbruce]

Do you have your vent fan on and the lid up?

[JRTJH]

Do you travel with the roof vents open?

EDIT: OOPS: I'll let Chip finish this one

[ctbruce]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Do you travel with the roof vents open?

EDIT: OOPS: I'll let Chip finish this one

Great minds think alike. Feel free to add in.

[JRTJH]

Let's see, several things come to mind, all involve the roof vent in the bathroom (and the other's when towing).

First, if the fan in the bathroom roof vent is on when the toilet foot pedal is pushed down, the fan will draw air from inside the black tank (through the tank roof vent). That is the easiest way to "introduce the smell"....

Second, if the bathroom roof vent is behind the bedroom air conditioner, the A/C blows air across the vent, creating a "venturi effect" which pulls black tank air into the trailer when the foot pedal is pushed.

Third, if the black tank vent pipe is behind the air conditioner, it will blow air across the vent stack, pulling air out of the black tank and pushing it across the bathroom roof vent. Depending on the "pressures in the trailer" it may pull that "smelly air" down into the bathroom if the fan is turned off.

So, if the fan is on and you flush, expect a gush of "smell". If the bedroom A/C is on and the fan is off when you flush, expect a gush of "smell". If the A/C is on and blowing evaporator air across the black tank vent stack, expect a gush of "smell".

If you're towing and have the bathroom roof vent open, you may pull "smell" into the trailer from the black tank vent stack if it is forward of the bathroom roof vent. Even if the bathroom roof vent is closed, if any other roof vent is open, it will create a negative pressure and pull air into the trailer through the toilet if it is flushed.

Sounds like you've got one or more potential sources to consider.

As a final thought, no matter what you add to the toilet, it's still going to smell like sewer, maybe with a "fresh, flowery scent" but "poo is poo and smells like poo" So the objective is to avoid pulling the black tank air back into the trailer.

[travelin texans]

It could also be the kitchen/galley tank, while traveling the P trap could drain leaving no barrier from that tanks odor, which from my experiences can at times smell worse than the black tank. Are you adding chemicals to the galley tank?

[{tpc}]

I was going to suggest that with the gray tank too (chemicals). Thetford makes a gray tank chemical which is worth trying. We try hard not to let any "food" past the sink traps, but at some point, something is getting in there no matter how hard you try. That could cause a smell. A friend of ours was emptying his gray into a bucket for removal during a trip one time and the smell was terrible. A little bit of that stuff and it cleared most if not all of it up for future trips.

A couple of suggestions for the black. First, next time you dump the tank, clean it out really good. Blank tank flush, wand in the toilet, etc etc. Hopefully you can do this at a time not to back up a dump lane, but take your time and do it right. After you feel it is as clean as your going to get it, assuming you use a "scented packet", I would put two scented packets in the tank (make sure the valve is closed lol), and I would carefully tear them open when putting them in through the toilet. Then put about 4-5 gallons of water back in, more maybe if you have a tank bigger than 30 gallons, and leave it like that until your next trip. Driving after doing this should help dissolve all the chemical into the water while it sloshes around in there. Be sure to leave some clean water in the bowl so the seal doesn't dry out which could let out smells as well.

IF that fixes it, then you know what to do for the next time. You might not need to open the packet the next time or use a wand when cleaning, but just depends. You can probably just use one packet then as well.

Also be sure your running enough water into the tank after you use the toilet. I think I tell the kids count to 6 after #1 and 12 after #2 while keeping the pedal pressed down.

[flybouy]

I don't know what your floorplan is as there is no listing in your post but if you have a outside kitchen or forward shower you may have a sanicon trap instead of a traditional P trap. They can evaporate water and leak fumes. Our outside kitchen drains into the blank tank and if we are not going to use it for more than a week I'll dump a cup of vegetable or olive oil down the drain to seal it off. Also one other thought...you say you are using chemicals are you mixing that with with a few gallons of water?

[Msuboy200]

Check the seals to your toilet and sinks. Just fixed a similar problem, the seal to my toilet was worn. Got a new one and replaced it. No more smell

[slow]

If your toilet is a Dometic, check out this thread: http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...ad.php?t=29289

[itat]

Here is something else to check.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=m0SIN71seig

[LuvsPalmTrees]

Slow - we had that happen but it was the upper and lower section of the toilet that had the leak. I just contacted them and they sent one to me, overnight new toilet and DH replaced it.

[n1282x]

If your rig has a black water flush fitting on the outside and your smell seems to be coming from inside the bathroom. Look under the bathroom sink you may have to take off a wooden panel, there is a vacuum breaker fitting that frequently sticks open allowing black water smell to come in. Underneath your bathroom vanity you will find a vacuum breaker in the black tank flush hose. You can search this forum for other inputs on this. You can go to Home Depot and replace that fitting with a threaded PVC elbow in your problem will be gone and also your black flush will work much better in the future

[Rubicon100]

Our Passport has always had the stinkys too. We finally figured out it was the grey tank. Now we put a little bit of dish soap down each drain and then keep the drain plug closed unless using of course. We do all of them including the tub and bathroom sink. We've had the problem talked about earlier with the vents open and someone uses the toilet and wow that is really a lesson learned quickly.. Good luck and don't give up you'll find the culprit. Dan

[BadmanRick]

We had a similar problem. Here is what we did to stop it.
1- Changed the black tank outside roof vent with a Siphon 360 roof pipe vent cover. Check this link. https://youtu.be/CVcwc28PinQ
Also the install video https://youtu.be/fgcO1gJE1so
I checked the other vent covers like the Camco Cyclone sewer vent cover but it needs a substantial amount of wind to work correctly and they need a lot of maintenance to have them work properly . The Siphon 360 works even in very light wind from any direction no moving parts.
The original cap vent cover had no clearance on the vent pipe and would not vent.
Also change the gray water vent if it is a separate pipe. Mine is under the refrigerator roof vent so it is protected.
2- Use Odorloss tank treatment in both tanks. Best tank treatment I have found.
3- Make sure all your roof vents and windows are CLOSED while you are traveling on the road.
4- Check the toilet base. Make sure it is not loose. Mine came loose and smelled from there.
This has helped us no more smell.

[SoGaDually]

We had the same issue with the sewer smell and it was real bad after traveling down the road for awhile. If you look on top of your roof you may fine that you that you have a sewer vent located behind a A/C unit. In our case we had two directly behind the A/C. When traveling down the road the air flowing across the top on the A/C unit will cause an air turbulence forcing air back down the sewer vent pipe causing the sewer odor inside the RV.
I fixed our problem by installing two Camco 40595 White Cyclone Sewer Plumbing Vent. The Cyclone fixed the issue with ours. No more sewer smell in the RV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggfDRpCRKJc

[Crookedread]

I had a neighbor complain to me that his toilet really stunk. I was new to living in a trailer full time and so was he so I couldn't really help him. After reading the forums, I realized that he was leaving the black water open all of the time so the solids fell out of the fluids and were retained on the bottom of the tank. After flushing a few times the smell went away, or at least was reduced to expected levels. This is pretty basic but thought I would add to the forum for any newbies.

[Rubicon100]

BadmanRick, I think I'll check out the roof vent and make sure the toilet is tight enough. Thanks for the info on the vent I'll probably change it just to be sure. Dan