Fresh and Gray water additives

Two weeks ago, when I emptied my gray water, it smelled awful, similar to rotten eggs. So I poured a half cup of bleach down the sink then filled the fresh water with about 3-4 gallons of water and then drained it again, and the odor was gone and the only smell was the bleach.

Is there any tablet type product that I can buy that will basically do the same and prevent the gray tank smelling so bad?

Also, outside of bleaching the freshwater tank, which we do every spring, is there another product that we can use during the camping season to assist with keeping the fresh water fresh?


Thanks, Jerry 
 
2019 Honda Pilot AWD and 2018 T@B 320-CS hanging out on the left edge of Lake Erie.

Comments

  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,420
    edited September 2020
    Many campers here use Happy Camper tank treatment additive in both gray and black tanks. 
    Cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,461
    @JP2558 - make sure to wipe off any food thoroughly from dishes before washing.  How long are you waiting to dump your tank?  I would not let it sit in between camping trips.  We use Happy Camper in both gray and black tanks during and after camping.  You can also use the GEO method using Dawn and Calgon or Borax.  
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
  • VictoriaPVictoriaP Member Posts: 1,489
    Never ever ever leave water in the fresh tank to sit unused for more than a day or two. It grows bacteria, especially in the summer. People have gotten Legionnaire’s disease from RV tank water. When you’re headed home, empty the fresh water into the grey and black tanks for rinsing those out, then open the fresh water line drain under the trailer.

    Happy Campers is the most brilliant product on the market. No odor and no nasty cover fragrance. Always mix with some water first, then pour down the drains.


    2019 320s BD Lite, white with blue (“Haven”)
    2015 Subaru Outback 3.6r (unsafe 200lb tongue weight limit until 2020 models)
    2020 Subaru Outback XT
    Pacific NW
  • JP2558JP2558 Member Posts: 219
    @Sharon_is_SAM, @VictoriaP, We wipe down plates before washing so very little residue goes down the drain. I dump gray water either before we leave camp or during the unpacking when we return home. Mainly it is Dawn dish detergent, dirty dishwater, and maybe some toothpaste. I typically clear any remaining fresh if it won’t get used within a few days. We don’t drink the fresh water, but only use it for washing dishes and hands, but I would like to be able to ensure it is safe for consumption even if we don’t intend to ingest it, we might cook with it or rinse the dishes.

    Thanks, Jerry 
     
    2019 Honda Pilot AWD and 2018 T@B 320-CS hanging out on the left edge of Lake Erie.
  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,461
    There are fresh water tank products out there.  You may want to read this:  https://www.rvtravel.com/does-your-rv-need-drinking-water-freshener/

    Also, are you filling your fresh water tank with chlorinated water, well water, campground water?  Are you using a filter when you fill your fresh water tank?
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
  • VictoriaPVictoriaP Member Posts: 1,489
    Anything that goes down the drain—microscopic food residue, soap, body oils, bits of skin—it all ferments in the grey tank. Happy Campers will break down these substances and the bacteria created and in the process, eliminate the odor. After dumping, you mix half a scoop to a full scoop depending on tank size, into a gallon of water and pour it down the drains. Easy peasy and no more smell, without using bleach.

    As for the fresh tank, something like Camco’s TastePure can help: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQLQYM/ It’s really just a more expensive form of bleach, but as you said, it will help keep the water safe for consumption in all ways, including inhalation via water vapor produced by the sink or shower. Again, it’s not meant for storing water for longer than a few days between trips and isn’t a substitute for sanitizing periodically, but it does freshen things a little.
    2019 320s BD Lite, white with blue (“Haven”)
    2015 Subaru Outback 3.6r (unsafe 200lb tongue weight limit until 2020 models)
    2020 Subaru Outback XT
    Pacific NW
  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,420
    edited September 2020
    Victoria, you can store fresh drinking water, if it is treated (city water) or well water that has been treated and filtered, in proper food safe purpose built tanks for much longer than a few days.  Your bottled drinking water is stored in plastic bottles, not much difference.
    We have gone a week, no issues.  We have water storage tanks on our property with 4,000 gallons of water, but it is processed with an ozone system.  We then add this water to our TaB.  We use the water for cooking, washing and drink it of needed.  A good filter system like the Berkey takes care of anything that might get into the water.  Using the Camco product you referenced should be all that is needed to keep the water safe for several weeks.  
    That stored, we are discussing a water storage system that is being used daily, including the TaB water system.  If you are storing your trailer and it is not being used, than you should drain the tanks to keep them clean.  It takes time, some heat, and tanks that are not being used, no water circulation, to allow for growth of mold, algae, etc.  
    Properly treating the water is the best course of action, of course, and using common sense.  If it smells bad, do not drink it.  If getting and drinking bottled water makes you feel safer,  good.  But both are stored water in
     a closed container.  
    Whilst the TaB has poly resin tanks, made with FDA approved resin that complies with FDA standards 21 CFR 177.1520 (1) 3.1 and 3.2 for the storage of potable water, it is a type of plastic tank, and needs to be kept clean.  Doing the regular sanitizing procedure should keep the tank clean and safe.  I would do this at least monthly during camping season, even if using the trailer for extended times.
    cheers

    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
  • JP2558JP2558 Member Posts: 219
    @Sharon_is_SAM, We fill our fresh tank with municipal, treated, (Lake Erie) city water.

    Thanks, Jerry 
     
    2019 Honda Pilot AWD and 2018 T@B 320-CS hanging out on the left edge of Lake Erie.
  • JP2558JP2558 Member Posts: 219
    Thanks everyone for your valuable input. @Sharon_is_SAM, thanks for the link. I guess I will just continue using city water and occasionally add bleach to the fresh water, and use it also to keep the gray water from becoming obnoxious.

    Thanks, Jerry 
     
    2019 Honda Pilot AWD and 2018 T@B 320-CS hanging out on the left edge of Lake Erie.
  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,461
    @JP2558 - your use of the fresh and gray tank sound identical to ours.  Not sure why the gray tank got stinky.  I don’t think it is due to your fresh water.  I would just stick to your fresh water tank routine and change only one thing at a time - like add Happy Camper or try the GEO method for your gray tank.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
  • VictoriaPVictoriaP Member Posts: 1,489
    Denny16 said:
    Victoria, you can store fresh drinking water, if it is treated (city water) or well water that has been treated and filtered, in proper food safe purpose built tanks for much longer than a few days.  Your bottled drinking water is stored in plastic bottles, not much difference.
    We have gone a week, no issues.  We have water storage tanks on our property with 4,000 gallons of water, but it is processed with an ozone system.  We then add this water to our TaB.  We use the water for cooking, washing and drink it of needed.  A good filter system like the Berkey takes care of anything that might get into the water.  Using the Camco product you referenced should be all that is needed to keep the water safe for several weeks.  
    That stored, we are discussing a water storage system that is being used daily, including the TaB water system.  If you are storing your trailer and it is not being used, than you should drain the tanks to keep them clean.  It takes time, some heat, and tanks that are not being used, no water circulation, to allow for growth of mold, algae, etc.  
    Properly treating the water is the best course of action, of course, and using common sense.  If it smells bad, do not drink it.  If getting and drinking bottled water makes you feel safer,  good.  But both are stored water in
     a closed container.  
    Whilst the TaB has poly resin tanks, made with FDA approved resin that complies with FDA standards 21 CFR 177.1520 (1) 3.1 and 3.2 for the storage of potable water, it is a type of plastic tank, and needs to be kept clean.  Doing the regular sanitizing procedure should keep the tank clean and safe.  I would do this at least monthly during camping season, even if using the trailer for extended times.
    cheers

    Of course you can store water...to an extent. I’m actually refreshing my emergency water storage this week, and it’s been four years. Water’s fine, no smell, it’s only being replaced out of an abundance of caution. And of course your tank water is typically fine while the trailer is in use daily.

    Neither of those is what we were discussing. Last summer, I left the Tab partly filled with city water, and pretreated with the same chlorine additive I posted, for just under two weeks mid summer...a fairly cool Seattle summer where we barely kissed 80°. (I know better, but it was a crazy summer and I thought I was headed back out, trip was cancelled.) The reek of sulphur throughout the trailer when I opened the faucet was nasty, and the system required sanitizing with a larger amount of bleach not once, but twice, to remove the smell completely. The difference? My emergency supply is kept in a dark, cool basement that very rarely exceeds 65°. The Tab is partly exposed to the elements...under a carport, but west facing so it gets some afternoon sun, and it’s barely insulated compared to the basement. Water will quickly grow bacteria and algae under such conditions if not circulated regularly. 

    I stand by exactly what I said. Do not leave water UNUSED in your tank for more than a few days during camping season. 

    The whole “to drink or not to drink from the tank” thing is one of those really polarizing issues among campers. Personally, I drink from mine, used a Brita filter last year and bought an Epic Water Nano this year that filters pretty much everything.
    2019 320s BD Lite, white with blue (“Haven”)
    2015 Subaru Outback 3.6r (unsafe 200lb tongue weight limit until 2020 models)
    2020 Subaru Outback XT
    Pacific NW
  • Denny16Denny16 Member Posts: 5,420
    OK, thanks Victoria, misunderstood.  I see what you are saying about leaving the tank partially full whilst not being used, especially in warmer summer weather.  
    Cheers
    2018 TaB400 Custom Boondock,  Jeep Gladiator truck, Northern California Coast.
  • DougHDougH Member Posts: 1,110
    We used to have world famous microbiologists weigh in on these threads...

       https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/83800#Comment_83800
    2021 Jeep Gladiator, 2021 tiny toy hauler, Austin TX
    Former steward of a 2017 T@B S Max

  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    Maybe if I type @Ratkity, she will respond😉
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
  • DougHDougH Member Posts: 1,110
    Don't we have to click our heels thrice?
    2021 Jeep Gladiator, 2021 tiny toy hauler, Austin TX
    Former steward of a 2017 T@B S Max

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