Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 01-04-2013, 10:46 AM   #1
Winnebago Owner
 
tbomn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Minnesota and Mississippi
Posts: 52
Grey water tank cleaning

I have searched the forums here and have gotten some ideas for cleaning the grey water tank, but nobody has mentioned Rid-X. I was wondering if using Rid-X (septic tank cleaner) would hurt anything in the plumbing or tank? The website says it is all natural bacteria that works on the grease and other stuff that accumulates in the system. I was thinking that if I used it when the tank sat partially full, it would work on the "stuff" and then would evacuate when I dumped it. What do you think?? Good idea? Bad idea?
__________________
Joe and Joan...Retired Educators
Maggie..Calico, Clayton..Silver Tabby
2003 Winnebago Adventurer 38G, 2013 GMC Terrain
tbomn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2013, 11:51 AM   #2
Winnebago Camper
 
joeplazek's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: CAISTOR CENTRE
Posts: 9
If it doesn't hurt the black water tank I can't see it hurting anything in the grey tank. All plumbing should be the same. Unless someone has something to ad that I am not aware of.

joe
joeplazek is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2013, 12:04 PM   #3
Winnebago Watcher
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 2
Enzymes don't eat plastic...would not think a bacteria would either.
we use enzyme for tough stains in laundry also....works great!
__________________
2007 Holiday Rambler Endeaver 40PDQ
trouble&rose is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2013, 01:48 PM   #4
Winnie-Wise
 
garykk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Southern NM
Posts: 327
The trouble with rid-x is it takes a long time to work, its not an overnight thing...
__________________
2014 Phaeton 40 QBH
2015 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4
garykk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2013, 08:39 PM   #5
Winnie-Wise
 
1ciderdog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 478
I'm not sure you need to clean the grey tank - it most often is filled with soapy water from showers & dish washing. If I wanted to clean mine I'd simply add more dawn dish soap and lots of water. Just my thought.
__________________
Bob, Sandi & Marmaduke the Big Pug
SW OREGON 2004 Journey 39K, 330 Cat
If towing: a 2006 Mini Cooper or 1995 Wrangler
1ciderdog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-04-2013, 08:50 PM   #6
Winnebago Owner
 
336muffin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 50
About twice a year we fill all the sinks with hot water and the shower. We stop up the shower with a rag. We have two sinks in the bathroom and a twin sink in the kitchen. With the grey tank drained and valve still open we pull the stoppers on all the sinks and shower. This "purges" the grey tank and you would not believe what comes out! A friend taught me this several years ago. We are very diligent with our tanks and never leave the valves open except to dump.
__________________
American Tradition 42R-Cadillac SRX Blue Ox Koni 5050XL MCD Scangauge D Samsung rf197
Fulltime since 2012
336muffin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 06:17 AM   #7
GG1
Winnie-Wise
 
GG1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: WHITING,NJ,USA
Posts: 470
The only thing that worked for us is a product by ROEBIC Industries. S G P it is designed to cut grease and other household residue in tanks. They also have a product for gray water rv tanks but its hard to find the S G P is sold in the plumbing dept of Lowes or Home Depot. We have the external level gauges on the tanks and had bad grease build up inside with inaccurate level readings last season, the only thing that solved the problem was the ROEBIC products I tried all the standard rv tank products nothing worked except the ROEBIC stuff. Fill your tank with 40 gallons of water and 8 oz. of the ROEBIC drive around for a few minutes let it it sit overnight and dump. Now I use the product monthly. Check out their web site they also have good customer service on the phone.
__________________
07 Itasca Ellipse 40fd, 2014 Honda CRV, greyhound lab mix, pit pointer mix(RIP bessie) , shar pei mix, stupid cat, wife
GG1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 06:31 AM   #8
Winnebago Camper
 
jzick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 18
We normally sit a month or longer in our motorhome. When we do move from place to place, I typically add a cap full of liquid laundry detergent and some Calgon wetter to the empty grey tank and let it slosh around while we drive from place to place. When it fills and needs dumped you can tell from the appearance of the liquid coming out that something has been cleaned from the inside of the tank (seen through the clear part of the hose connection).
jzick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 07:21 AM   #9
Winnebago Owner
 
ChiefJohn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Anywhere, USA
Posts: 200
Second the Shop Roebic Laboratories, Inc. Drain Soap, Grease and Paper Digester at Lowes.com SGP -- add to all your tanks when travelling and let it go to work.
__________________
John & Marilyn Yoder, Sophie & Misha (Bichons)
2008 Vectra 40TD, WIT-151980 FMCA F265880
ChiefJohn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 07:44 AM   #10
Winnebago Watcher
 
Terry43's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChiefJohn View Post
Second the Shop Roebic Laboratories, Inc. Drain Soap, Grease and Paper Digester at Lowes.com SGP -- add to all your tanks when travelling and let it go to work.
John,

How often do you use this product?

Thanks,
Terry
__________________
Alabama Campers on Mission; https://www.alabamacom.org
Terry (WK4B) and Nancy
2011 Dutch Star #4344 - 2014 Buick Enclave W/Blue Ox Aventa LX Tow Bar and base-plate
SMI Air Force One brake
Terry43 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 08:41 AM   #11
Winnebago Camper
 
Campingman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Big Bear Ca.(Sugarloaf)
Posts: 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbomn View Post
I have searched the forums here and have gotten some ideas for cleaning the grey water tank, but nobody has mentioned Rid-X. I was wondering if using Rid-X (septic tank cleaner) would hurt anything in the plumbing or tank? The website says it is all natural bacteria that works on the grease and other stuff that accumulates in the system. I was thinking that if I used it when the tank sat partially full, it would work on the "stuff" and then would evacuate when I dumped it. What do you think?? Good idea? Bad idea?
First you do not have a septic tank. You have a holding tank and hopefully you don't hold it very long. Rid x is not the answer.
__________________
Mark & Carole RVM54
What a long strange trip it's been.
2016 Cherokee 254Q 6743#s wet, 2016 F-150SC Sport 2.7 EcoBoost (curb weight 4940#s)
ProPride P3 1400#Bars.
Campingman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 08:54 AM   #12
Winnebago Owner
 
ChiefJohn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Anywhere, USA
Posts: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry43 View Post
John,

How often do you use this product?

Thanks,
Terry
Terry, we normally "treat" our tanks during our annual migration south (Bama) and again in the spring -- couple of days each time. The company also makes an RV specific product which we have not used -- IMO the product we got from Lowe's does the same thing. RV & Marine treatment Products by Roebic Laboratories, Inc. - 203-795-1283 - Specialty
__________________
John & Marilyn Yoder, Sophie & Misha (Bichons)
2008 Vectra 40TD, WIT-151980 FMCA F265880
ChiefJohn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-05-2013, 06:49 PM   #13
Winnebago Owner
 
CampDaven's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Fulltime, USA
Posts: 111
In 20 years, never needed to. It was all water and soap. Did anyone have symptoms I never saw?
__________________
Dave and Nola, RVM1
The Journey is Our Destination!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
https://davenola.blogspot.com/
CampDaven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2013, 08:37 AM   #14
doc
Winnebago Owner
 
doc's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Dixie !! (north Georgia) USA
Posts: 140
Actually there is some very nasty stuff in a gray water tank. Bits of food and grease from washing dishes, tooth paste and saliva from lavatory, various soaps and such from the shower - and I am sure none of you ever whizzed in the shower while showering. Bar soap does build up a residue on the plumbing pipes.
I have no answers except to say that the plumbing in most houses have no clogs and buildup where laundry water (detergent) enters the plumbing system. Is hot water and laundry detergent the answer? Very hot water with this might be partial solution.
doc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-06-2013, 09:43 AM   #15
Winnebago Owner
 
ChiefJohn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Anywhere, USA
Posts: 200
Quote:
Originally Posted by doc View Post
I have no answers except to say that the plumbing in most houses have no clogs and buildup where laundry water (detergent) enters the plumbing system. Is hot water and laundry detergent the answer? Very hot water with this might be partial solution.
Ditto Doc, our laundry and shower go into one grey tank and the dishwasher and kitchen sink into another. Toilet and bathroom sink go into the black tank. I'm not as concerned about the drains/pipes as we routinely use "Liquid Plumr" to remove any hair/grease/etc. buildup.
__________________
John & Marilyn Yoder, Sophie & Misha (Bichons)
2008 Vectra 40TD, WIT-151980 FMCA F265880
ChiefJohn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2013, 10:06 AM   #16
Winnebago Watcher
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 1
Can anyone tell me why my tank gauges say 2/3 after emptying tanks on my 2002 HR Scepter
mrbadboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2013, 10:26 AM   #17
Winnebago Camper
 
jzick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 18
Quote:
Can anyone tell me why my tank gauges say 2/3 after emptying tanks on my 2002 HR Scepter
Probably because the sensors have a piece of debris stuck on them or are coated with dirt/slime, etc. It is common for tank sensors to do what yours are doing and many of us have learned to ignore the gauges and use sound/experience to judge when tanks are full. We tend to sit in one spot for a month or so when traveling. As we travel to our destination sensors are cleaned from the liquid sloshing around in the tanks (with a little soap added) so when we arrive at our destination the gauges read correctly. After a few tank fills and dumps, however, the gauges gunk up and do not read correctly. It has never been a big enough problem for us to think about doing something, but there are external sensor systems (See Level) that seem to work much better.
jzick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2013, 10:33 AM   #18
Winnebago Owner
 
dennis45's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: BC
Posts: 77
Check out this product. I have used it for years. It works like they say it does and it is very economical compared to all the other magic potions on the market.
/Happy Camper - Odorless Holding Tank Treatment Black and Grey Water
__________________
Dennis & Carol
2003, 4006, 41' DutchStar, [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Spartan, ISC 8.3L W/BanksPower - 2013 Honda CRV, BlueOx Baseplate, Aventa Bar & Patriot Brake. And the 04 Bird, Sunshine Car.
dennis45 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
tank, water


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Grey water into black water holding tank jbprac Plumbing | Systems and Fixtures 18 04-26-2013 08:53 AM
Cleaning the grey water and black water tanks the57man Plumbing | Systems and Fixtures 6 08-18-2009 07:23 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Winnebago Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:54 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.