Do you need special toilet paper for your RV? Is some better than others? What type should you use, and does it really matter? Let’s break it down…
Here’s the typical blurb used by RV toilet paper pushers:
“Enjoy luxurious 2-ply comfort in an RV toilet paper that dissolves rapidly to help prevent clogs. Soft, snowy white XYZ Brand is highly absorbent and 100% biodegradable. Two-ply, yet it breaks up fast to make emptying your holding tank easier.”
Just what the doctor ordered for your RV holding tank, right? Until you get down to the bottom line price: Roughly $2.00 a roll for that soft, luxurious feel that won’t clog your tank.
What type of toilet paper should you use in your RV?
It’s a question that many new RVers ask: Do I really need to use “RV” toilet paper? Perhaps those that have first tried “non-RV paper” are tossing and turning on their beds, visions of seven-headed wild beast-like clogs churning under their bed.
Without meaning to create a stink, the simple answer is: Save your money. The greatest cause of clogged black water holding tanks doesn’t have to do with what kind of TP used, it’s how you use it. Here’s a simple test that many have employed over the years to verify holding tank suitability.
Take a jar, fill it with water. Put a couple of sheets of your favorite brand inside. Toss the lid on the jar, and do the James Bond Toilet Paper Martini Test: Shake it, don’t stir. After a few seconds of rigorous agitation stop and examine the results. If the toilet paper has begun to disintegrate, it’s good enough for your RV holding tank.
The real trick to keeping your holding tank “clog-free” is to make sure you flush with plenty of water, and don’t dump your tank until it is at least 3/4 full. Using too little water, or dumping “too soon” will not allow for a good flush out of the tank, running the risk of building up solids.
RELATED
- Video: Do you REALLY need special RV toilet paper? Compare and see!
- Is reusable toilet paper a good idea in your RV?
#nrv #rvt739 #rvt980 ##RVDT2130
We use Scott RV toilet paper. I think there are several brands that work. Far and away in this discussion is the phrase, “Water is your friend”. I make sure we have several gallons of water in the black tank after I dump. I am so make sure to use generous amounts of water whenever we flush. I will say it again – “Water is your friend”. Keep this in mind and you will never have issues.
Regardless of the answer, it is good to periodically revisit this question. Thank you for inspiring us to do that! 🙂 😎
Installed the RV Bidet from clean camper (amazon has it ) comes with all fittings and the hose easy install now I use NO TP
I use “flushable” wipes. The key is to have a small trash can with a lid next to the toilet to put them in.
I usually wait to the next stop to dump black tank. That lets the contents agitate and brake down. I also have used Costco paper for many years with no problem. If we don’t have a full tank when leaving a park, I fill the black nearly full before leaving. that leaves enough for stops between camps or on our way back home.
This sounds like a reasonable plan. We follow a version of this. I will dump and do a couple flushes of the tank, but then I will add 5 gallons or so along with some water conditioner and a small amount of blue dawn. We then travel to our next camping site. When we arrive and get set up I will dump and flush and you would be suppressed what gets flushed out. But flushing the black tank is a good idea!
I’ve read a lot of articles regarding which TP is best. Of all the articles, the Walmart brand TP was the least expensive and broke down just as well as the more expensive ones.
Our rig has indirect flow to the black tank. Below the toilet there’s about a 45 degree angled elbow and about two more feet of 3″ pipe before it empties into the tank. Twice I’ve had to break up tp that sat in the elbow. We were using Northern brand tp at the time. Since then we’ve switched to septic safe and haven’t had this problem. Not all rv’s have the tank directly below.
When my wife and I bought our first small Jayco ( we’re now on our third trailer) we decided against putting tp in the toilet. On most trips all that goes into the toilet is urine. We have a septic system at home so tp goes into a special trash can with a cover. We use the campground toilets for anything solid unless we’re boondocking then we make sure the tank gets rinsed thoroughly when we return home.
My Auntie told me years ago that, when I got an RV, never ever put TP in the toilet. We keep a small bag next to toilet for TP. Also have started this practice at home with septic system.
I would love to see Thetford develop an RV toilet with a bidet sprayer. I have one on my home toilet, and it cuts paper usage way down (thus also bulk in the holding tank) and does a better job too.
You can install a bidet on your RV toilet yourself fairly inexpensively. We have a Dometic toilet and installed the Bemis SlimEdge bidet. The toughest part was finding the parts to Tee the water line and adapt to the bidet’s input within the space behind the toilet. The installation was otherwise easy.
As a hemorrhoid sufferer, I love it. My spouse doesn’t care for the cold water only connection and limits her use in the chilier months while RVing. And it has proved impossible for her to break her habit of using jumbo sanitary napkin size wads of TP (they don’t flush easily in a residential toilet either).
There is one (perhaps significant) difference to using a bidet on an RV toilet. A residential toilet automatically lets the bidet water escape the bowl through the trap. With nearly all RV toilets, the user may have to manually release the bidet water from the bowl during use.
We installed an aftermarket bidet sprayer
Quilted Northern Plush for the last 20 years, it doesn’t matter what paper you use providing you use adequate dihydrogen monoxide.
Please use PPE for all chemicals……..
I hope this in jest, although dihydrogen monoxide does kill hundreds every year…
Amen! Dumping your tanks (black and grey) too early is a major cause for clogged/stinky tanks. I have to add though that we only use Scott’s RV Rapud Dissolving TP. Always have. Always will. We don’t leave our tanks open (including the grey) tanks. We dump them when they’re full. We’ve not had a problem yet in more than 5 years.
One plug, we only use Camp Champ produts, RV Super Digest & Odor Abate, in our holding tanks. No other product compares (IMHO).
Scots single ply or walgreens brand. I actually like the walgreens brand better because it is smaller rolls. Discovered long ago a lot of water is the key to keeping stink down too. We usually only use treatment in the hot summer or when boondocking & it will be a week or so before we can empty
When we first bought our RV, years ago, we did what we thought was the right thing to do and bought a 4 pack of RV TP. Used twice as much every time we used our toilet. Then we did the shake test above with our regular home style TP and the RV TP. No noticeable difference. We still have 3 of the 4 TP rolls.
RV toilet paper AKA sand paper. For decades I have been using Kirkland brand (Costco) TP with no problem. It’s septic safe.
And then there are seasonally stationary RVs – heck even a one-week stay… the truth is, the waste tanks as currently designed practically require agitation to keep all particulates suspended for easy drainage. And they use far more water than many residential toilets to flush out the tank during the dump process. We need a better design.
Oh and the hype on the number of plys is kinda silly. Take a 2-ply tissue, fold it a couple times before use, and what do you have?
Bibbity bobbity Poo
Good one, joel!
LOL.