Welp, one of our guests for the last two weeks didn't get the memo and has been putting wet wipes in the toilet. Lots of wet wipes. Any suggestions for getting them out? The wipes... not the guest. Though I'm ready to throw the guest out too at the moment.
I gather they are now in the tank why not open valve and stick a garden hose down toilet on full and try flushing them out
Johnh
Same for the guest!
That's where my head was at too. Thinking I'll put some water softener salt pellets in the tank and try and swirl them around with a hose. I used to have one of those "magic wand" tank cleaners that I could stick down there... don't think I do anymore though.
The big rub is that we're on septic here at the house.
Hate to recommend a sieve for draining black tank, BUT............... or is that Butt?
Anyone want to buy a U320?
That will be a heck of a "Disclosure Statement".
Collect them all, any way possible, and return them to the back seat of your guest's car with your hearty thanks.
Then put a big strainer in the toilet
Ok this thread has made me laugh. Im not laughing at you but with you. Keep us updated on the progress of this stinky situation. Pun intended. Again I repeat with you not at you
@Elliott. :D
Elliott how convenient is the lid to the septic tank for the house? My previous tenant had a girl friend flush the wet wipes down the toilet, they float, and plugged up the leech line and things backed up. Lifted the lid on the tank and used a grass rake to remove them and set aside to dry. A few days later put them in the trash.
Remove the commode and you should have a 4" hole direct to the bottom of the tank. Use any type of grabber to fish them out. I didn't say anything about this being fun, but experience will tell you it works.
Nick
Do you have a gravity drop toilet, or a vaccu-flush? If vacuflush they will be trapped in the vacu-flush pump.
If you remove the commode add a new seal
So after further inspection, the wipes are septic safe! I'd still rather not have them in my septic or coach but it's a bit of a relief. I threw one in a bowl of water and it's already breaking down after an hour. I'm going to let them stew until the tank's full and then blast it with this bad boy after I dump: Amazon.com: Camco RV Flexible Swivel Stik with Shutoff Valve - Creates... (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006IX7YC)
I decided against my original idea of throwing water softener pellets in there since I don't know what that'd do to the bacteria in the septic tank.
@craneman I have risers on the tank that make inspecting it easy so I'll do as you suggest with any remaining...uh...floaters.
Maybe a wet vacuum cleaner. It would be a shitty job but might clean out you
tank.
I would think that after a few dumps of a FULL tank they would come out with no issue.
Calgon liquid at Walmart
Camco 39085 Rhino Blaster Pro W/Gate Valve
Amazon.com: Camco 39085 Rhino Blaster Pro W/Gate Valve : Automotive (http://amzn.to/3AkBYGP)
Is there a dump station around Prescott that goes into the city's sewage system? Wouldn't hurt anything and it wouldn't be in you septic tank for you to think about. Maybe have the friend help >:D
I heard they had a service for emptying wipe filled waste tanks in Quartzsite.
Don't know what it involved.
I think I'm going to be ok just dumping it in my septic tank. My test subject is breaking down to smaller than food particles in the bowl. I'll just have to blast the black tank well to get any bits off the sidewalls so the javelina sensors don't go wonky.
May I take a raincheck until my bulkheads and fuel lines are due for replacement?
Did you ever install a third valve? Every time i dump i fill the gray tank with the potable water. You could also fill Fill the black tank full. Drain the black tank, close third valve back fill with gray tank . Close gray and dump black again. I generally get three full back washes when dumping and drain fluid is always clear on last dump cycle. On my 3610 I do not have clear view of tank at toilet drain even with dump tube removed. Its only like 14 inches long, right below dump is the the sloped 45 of the tank. I'm confident your is configured differently. If my tank is completely full i can see fluid threw the toilet but only about 4 inches deep in view. If this doesn't work ill bring down my 75 foot 3/4 drain snake. We can destroy everything.
Scott
Looks like problem is not as bad and you thought it was going to be. I was thinking getting one of the roll around tanks. Fill that up. Put a filter on the sewer drain and start pouring in that to catch the wipes.
I have been told by maintenance people that wipes are the second worse things for grinder pumps in lift stations moving sewerage.
Yea I have the third valve and usually do as you suggest when I dump. This is about the ONLY area my 5th wheel was superior in anyway... it had a hose inlet right into the black tank for flushing it and it worked wonders (when all the pex joints weren't leaking... which was never now that I think of it).
That's actually a great idea
I believe Jim (Fourdaysoff) has that similar flush system on his tank and also likes. I hate the idea of cutting another hole in the take in fear of cracks propagating from it later.
Our coach came with waste water tank flushing hoses installed by one of the prior owners. I tried using them a couple times early in our ownership, but concluded they were more hassle than they were worth. Didn't seem that effective, plus they are a waste of fresh water, which we desert dwellers abhor. And, a working water faucet is not always available at every dump station.
I agree that fitting a 3rd dump valve and using it to back flush the black tank with gray water works great. We use exactly the same procedure as Scott. We have a clear plastic connector section on both ends of our dump hose so I can see whats coming out of the tank. Two or three back flushes does the job every time! Never had any odor problem in our holding tanks.
Scott,
Rather than just cutting a hole for one of those wash out spinner things that are held on by 2/3 screws, you can go with a spinweld threaded boss and you will be fine. Make sure that you get a boss that is the proper material.
Mike
Elliott you may have a flush valve as I found one on my coach. It's really hard to get
to. It is in behind the grey paneling on the opposite side off the dump valves near the
top of the tank. Also take the coach for a drive with the tank about 1/2 to 3/4s full
and let everything slosh around and then go dump. That usually cleans everything out.
Ya'll folks don't have near enough anxiety in your lives if you're worrying about wet ones in the black tank. Just sayin.
Chuck, when I went to find out why my flush valve was not working well, I found it stopped up. Replaced from Amazon two more and they both work great now!
I might try replacing ours, if I cared, but I don't. The "3-dump valve back flush" procedure works so well for us that I have no interest in hooking up a water hose and using the other system. Too much extra hassle. But I'm glad to hear yours work!
My Son had bought a 5th wheeler that the previous owner had plugged up the black tank. Took us a while but got the tank to flow some and was able to semi dump it. We then got 20 lb bag of ice and drove around. Went back to dump station, dumped and ran water through tank. Repeated again with the ice and some water, drove around and finally got where we felt the tank was clean and the sensors were working correctly. Of course this only works where you can dump the ice into the black tank.
Anyone have any luck with the probiotic produced by Tank Tech in keeping your tanks clean?
Had a bad bill up of old paper on bottom of tank that had turn as hard as a rock it was plugged would not drain I was told to pour boiling water in to the tank and it worked clean all the old stuff out
Depending on your location, find a listing for your local RV PROCTOLOGIST and the will use a six hole conical nozzle on a 1/4" EXTREMELY HIGH PRESSURE WATER PUMP which the will push in through the dump valve and water blast ALL of the contaminants in the TANK, OUT THE OTHER END of your dump hose. If you happen to have a CLEAR PLASTIC TUBE WITH CONNECTORS ON EACH END to insert into the hose connection you will be able to see all of the debris go by!
ENJOY!
Drop a cherry bomb down the hole and step outside. You won't have to pick any wipes but you may hose down the interior:).
Wet wipes sink immediately, They were one of the few things that could be thrown overoard offshore,
I always drained my Black tank as soon as I got home after a drive, RV,
Then flushed the drain hose with my grey water, Both tanks empty from the same outlet,
Both tanks are always empty for storage,
It avoids the solids from congealing on the bottom of the tank,
The Black tank was just fluid after a long drive, It pulverises what ever is in the tank to a fluid orange slop,
I do like the idea of a bag of ice, or two, placed in the Dunny and a long drive to break the solids up, if needed,
As ice floats, A near empty black tank would be better for the ice to break up solids on the bottom of the tank,
A windy road or stop start driving would be best for breaking up the solids,
Brian, check out Youtube for the ice in the black tank thing. Videos show none of that stuff works.
Ive never had a problem with my black tank, Norm, As I drain it always after a long drive,
Now the boat is another issue, Its manually pumped out, Not gravity,
Pump self destructed, and the pipes were still full,
I got drowned in 3 week old contents as I pulled the hoses off to install a new Dunny,
I was not impressed,
Brian, I have never used ice since a year after buying our coach.
What I do after emptying the black tank, using the third valve and gray tank to do a thorough job of flushing is to put about one gallon of water in the black tank after dosing it with 1/2 of a small bottle of Dawn dishwashing soap and a cup of Calgon water softening crystals. Absolutely amazing how clean the tank is after the drive home.
Tried flushing so I could see if dosing the tank worked, and nothing but clear water comes out.
The aforementioned guest (my brother) returned and has been paying his penance by participating in the joys of oxidation removal.
Sounds like a job for BROTHER!