Oh, the black tank—the pit toilet of RVs. Actually, they are more like a pit toilet than a home toilet, where you flush and whatever is in the toilet begins an underground journey to the local sewer treatment plant.
With an RV toilet, you flush and the contents drop straight down, or through a plastic pipe that descends slightly and eventually deposits the contents into the black tank. When the tank reaches a certain level, you head off to a dump station, attach a special waste hose to a disposal valve, open it, and the contents of both the gray and black tanks flow into the RV park’s sewer system. It’s just like magic! Well, sort of…
But sometimes there’s a problem. Not everything in the black tank flows away. It gets stuck. It attaches to the bottom or side of the tank. You can flush it out with various devices made for that purpose, but they are not 100 percent effective. And if the situation gets bad, the tank can get plugged! And, no, putting ice cubes in the black tank and then driving your rig over bumpy roads is not effective—contrary to what YouTube experts say.
That’s when you summon the local RV waste expert. He has the high-powered hose and other equipment to clean the tank so clean that you could eat off it. (Yuck! We’re kidding about that, of course!)
So, our question today is, have you ever had your black tank professionally cleaned?
Kleentank process at FMCA Tucson. Good job, worth the minor cost.
No issues and want to keep it that way. Decided when our MH was 5 years old to add it to the list when we had a mobile RV tech out to work on a couple of other items.
I said NO because I always clean it myself. Once each year I use a power washer with the proper attachments and clean both my Black & Grey tanks. I feel it is just part of general maintenance.
No I have not!
My 1957 Avion R20 does not have a Black tank. The toilet dumps straight to the ground.
You gotta LOVE the old and simple bathroom technology from the 1950’s!
I get so irritated by companies that use scare tactics to get owners to buy their their product. Like the AD above about making sure you buy a $10 device to test for water in your brake fluid. Absolute nonsense and making ten of thousands with scare.
There’s the “RV Proctologist” in Quartzsite for those who need a cleanout.
I’ve never cleaned my tank other than normal flushing. I can see all corners and clean enough. But I’ve waited in line for those who think they have to be “ clean enough to eat” out of. Between trips I use Ridex septic tank cleaner and it’s goodie me
I also don’t worry about gauges because I installed Sealevel
A sonar device as I understand and trust it 100%
Nope. 45 years RVing as an adult and never had an issue. WATER is your friend…use enough when you flush solids. Don’t leave the black tank valve open if hooked to sewer. Let it fill, then dump and flush.
Bought a used TT for my daughter & SIL years ago that had been a seasonal in a park. Black tank was literally half full of dried 💩. Put in a pouch of Roebic filled with water and let sit two weeks. Flushed it out and it was cleaned completely. No expensive magic chemicals or powerwash services needed and that’s as bad a case as I’ve seen.
We had ours cleaned professionally this year. Our current RV was purchased used from the original owner, who not only lived in it briefly but had it in storage for a year. We just wanted a clean baseline from here on out. Our previous RV of 8 years was always immaculately kept by us.
20 years with my last RV, used plenty of water when flushing, and good use of the background system when I could. Traded that one in on a 1-year-old model last year, and the first time I used the back flush system rinsed out several foreign items that had no doubt been in there almost since the RV was built. Use your back flush system fairly frequently, and you should never need a “professional tank cleaning.”
Bought a used rig 37 ft Tiffin. The black tank gage read 1/3. Had it cleaned and it took over an hour. Solid layer of stuff. If you buy used, have the rig inspected by a professional. This was just the first thing that needed fixed.
Thank you, RV Travel! 🙂 Nope, never. Wanted to get RV #1 done, but never did. Have only had #2 for 2 1/2 years and never contemplated doing the black of it. Thanks again, have great day, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂