Maintaining Your RV Toilet and Why You Should
Your mobile RV toilet is not particularly difficult to keep running, but it is one of the most essential parts of your RV that should undergo regular maintenance. Most RV toilets function like normal household toilets, except that the toilet’s sewage tank is located in the RV instead of an external sewage tank that is handled by a city or town. In other words: you are responsible for the wastewater you generate.
Regular maintenance on your RV toilet will keep it running smoothly, prevent odor buildup, prevent clogging and overflow, and more. Regular maintenance for your RV toilet consists of a few easy but vital steps.
Step 1: Prevent Odors with RV Toilet Chemicals
Sewage odors are among the most common problems with RV toilets, due to the simple fact that the sewage tank is located in the RV itself. To help prevent a odor problem, you’ll need to purchase an RV-specific toilet chemical. DO NOT buy chemicals designed for regular toilets as they are often too harsh and can wear down your pipes!
RV-specific toilet chemicals are primarily intended for odor control. Some brands are also used to help dissolve toilet paper and toilet debris, which can make it easier (and less gross) to empty your sewage tank. The most popular brands are Enviro-Chem and Aqua-Kem. Odor control can come in a powder, liquid, or packet format.
Step 2: Blocking and overflow prevention
Home toilets (and regular sewage tanks) can usually take a bit more of a beating than an RV toilet. You should avoid putting anything in your toilet that cannot be dissolved or broken down by the chemicals in your RV toilet. This includes napkins, paper towels, q-tips, baby wipes, pads, and other feminine products, etc. Even one of these items can create a potential blockage that could leave you dealing with a sewage buildup or a blocked toilet.
You can avoid even more problems like overflow and blockage by purchasing toilet paper designed specifically for RV toilets. This tissue will dissolve much easier and faster than regular toilet paper and will help you out in the long run.
Step 3: Regularly empty your tank
Emptying the waste water tank regularly is essential to reduce odors and prevent potential build-up problems. You may be tempted to empty the tank as often as possible, but don’t. You should only empty your tank once it’s at least 3/4 full, for two reasons: a) a fuller tank will actually move faster through your sewage hoses and b) it gives toilet chemicals your RV more time to break down your waste and toilet paper. But you’ll need to be careful not to empty your tank for too long, as this can cause an even stronger odor problem.