Grey Tank Clogged

[RG@2434]

Parked ina resort for 3 months useing washer Dryer on regular basis.Used extra soap hot water regularly with dishes and also wiped frypans etc before draining to tank.Tank had to be power flushed and cleaned to release and tech said greasy sludge was evident.Could this have been the Extra amount of soap we added that maybe clogged with the clothes Washer?Thought the extra soap and hot water would lessen chance of grease buildup?

 

[Neal]

I'm not sure what size port is on the bottom of your tank but my guess is it's a 3 inch port like mine. They may step down the plumbing (pvc piping) but I would find it hard to believe that could get stopped up. I put Cascade (liquid type) in my tanks every few months as it seems to handle that type of product in dishwashers nicely, so I use it for tank treatment, nothing else for me. No issues to date. Maybe try some Cascade liquid and let it set overnight and then flush a time or two and see if that helps?

There could be a clog somewhere else and therefore there is no air vent which is needed for it to drain. Cascade in all the sinks feeding to the tank is what I'd do. Are any sinks not draining? Shower? If everything is draining properly then that should be an indication the plumbing to the tank is good.

 

[Rich W.]

Regular dish soap and laundry soap are sudsy and can foul things up. Dishwasher detergent as Neil pointed out, breaks down crud, and it doesn’t suds up, so it’s great for cleaning tanks and keeping them clean.

I always periodically added some powdered cascade to both my tanks and never had problems with clogging or the tank level sensors. I learned this the hard way after adding either laundry or dish soap (don’t remember which) to my tanks thinking this would clean them. It took weeks to get the sudsy crud out and off the sensors.

So…..dishwasher detergent yes, all others as little as possible. With laundry, keep the soap to a minimum. Nice soapy grey water is great for flushing the slinky, but in moderation. All that said, it still seems odd that your grey tank system clogged. Also keep the grey tank valve closed until the tank is nearly full for a good flushing of the system after dumping the black. Leaving the valves open is asking for trouble.

 

[Rollin Ollen]

Parked ina resort for 3 months useing washer Dryer on regular basis.Used extra soap hot water regularly with dishes and also wiped frypans etc before draining to tank.Tank had to be power flushed and cleaned to release and tech said greasy sludge was evident.Could this have been the Extra amount of soap we added that maybe clogged with the clothes Washer?Thought the extra soap and hot water would lessen chance of grease buildup?

I suspect sitting for three months may have been the biggest part of your problem. I just sold our 2011 Winnebago last month. All tank monitors read correct even after seven years of full time use. We just made sure that our black and grey tanks were fairly equally full before we dumped. That meant often dumping lots dish water into the black tank and we always tried to make sure they were both well agitated before we dumped. In the black tank, we added about a 1/2 cup of Dawn plus 1/2 cup of Borax and about a gallon of water after dumping. I think the most important part of the process was dumping when they were both full and agitated. The grey tank did not get any additives at all but the gauges always read correct.

 

[lostinfla]

We've been using a (found on internet) mix of 8 oz Pine Sol and 1/4 cup Calgon bath beads mixed in 1 qt of water to add to the tanks. (Don't use the whole thing, just add about 8oz after every dump) This was touted as a replacement for tank treatment for smell. Also, I make sure the black tank is flushed out well after our last stop and add the mixture again with a few gallons of water to slosh around on the way home, then dump when we get back. Over the 9 years we've owned this coach, we've never had a problem with the tanks.

 

[redbaron]

Another thing I see far too often is people leaving the gray tank open while connected. I let mine fill to 85-90% before draining, then close again.

My thought is that the longer it sits full the more cleaning it will do to ensure everything is removed.

 

[Neal]

We've been using a (found on internet) mix of 8 oz Pine Sol and 1/4 cup Calgon bath beads mixed in 1 qt of water to add to the tanks.

I've seen this "myth" and personally don't do it as I'm not a fan of using Pinesol. It's an acidic solvent. I did a quick google to see how it may affect rubber gaskets and other sealants used in the plumbing system:

Pine-Sol, like other acidic or solvent-based cleaners, can degrade rubber gaskets over time. It's recommended to avoid using Pine-Sol on rubber surfaces or in areas where it might come into contact with rubber. If you're using Pine-Sol for cleaning, ensure it doesn't come into contact with rubber components or that the rubber is protected.

People really need to be careful of the "RV engineers/chemists" on the web, I've seen that formula touted on Facebook groups. Quite frankly, the only thing needed to handle tank smells is keeping all faucets and toilets used to ensure water is in p-traps. No thetford liquids, additives, etc. needed. You're not going to make a 50 gal sewage tank NOT smell regardless of what you put in it IMHO. Water is the smell blocker (p-traps).

 

[redbaron]

Ya everyone has their favorite thing to flush down the tank.

Mine is Tacos, Brisket, Potatoes and cookies.

 

[DennisT]

I've seen this "myth" and personally don't do it as I'm not a fan of using Pinesol. It's an acidic solvent. I did a quick google to see how it may affect rubber gaskets and other sealants used in the plumbing system:


People really need to be careful of the "RV engineers/chemists" on the web, I've seen that formula touted on Facebook groups. Quite frankly, the only thing needed to handle tank smells is keeping all faucets and toilets used to ensure water is in p-traps. No thetford liquids, additives, etc. needed. You're not going to make a 50 gal sewage tank NOT smell regardless of what you put in it IMHO. Water is the smell blocker (p-traps).

This formula is actually from Kleen Tank which happens to have a deal with Newmar for a discount on tank cleaning.

The solution is diluted about 3 to 1 when mixing and you are only adding 4 to 8 oz of the solution to the tank.

They recommend adding 3 - 5 gallons of water after adding their mix which dilutes everything even more while in the tank.

 

[Neal]

This formula is actually from Kleen Tank which happens to have a deal with Newmar for a discount on tank cleaning.

The solution is diluted about 3 to 1 when mixing and you are only adding 4 to 8 oz of the solution to the tank.

They recommend adding 3 - 5 gallons of water after adding their mix which dilutes everything even more while in the tank.

Thanks for clarifying the source. It may be a good formula for their job of tank janitorial services...it's a hard no for me and obviously each RV owner does what they want. I've done a lot of work putting drainmaster valves in mine, redoing the 1.5 inch plumbing to 3 inch so I know what's involved in the plastic tanks and plumbing such as sealants, gate valves using o-rings, glues, etc. For routine tank management I'm not using anything like pine-sol.

Back to the topic, maybe the OP does need a professional tank cleaning which is offered at various rallies as well. Hope they can resolve the issue with the gray tank situation.