Best Toilet Chemicals?

[Borrego Dave]

Mr lynn, IMHO, you may be over thinking this. Try something that's been offered and see how it works out for how you camp, short or long trips between dumps. YMMV but I've never had a problem with smells or a rubber seal failing for what I use. Not sure if anyone else has ever run into a problem at a septic tank dump station that wouldn't let you use it because of the EPA and some of the chemicals in commercial additives. Might be just a California thing but I was OK to dump.

[Alf S.]

Originally Posted by Mr Lynn

So now we have Alf using bleach (after water softener and laundry detergent), and others using products like Happy Campers and Odorlos, which claim to biodegrade effluent and argue against bleach, which kills the 'good bacteria'.

Color me confused.

Then there are folks we've met who say, "We don't do number two in the camper." But there's a reason why we bought a camper with a toilet. Number one was never really an issue when we were tent camping in the woods. . .


/Mr Lynn

Hi: Mr Lynn... Sorry to add to your confusion... but the Geo Method is as easy as #1, #2, #3!!! To make it more simple you can use dishwasher detergent. That combines the bleach with a low sudsing detergent to take care of #1. The Kalgon softener makes your tanks slippery to take care of #2. Now you have more time to read a good book in the "Loo".
Works for us!!!
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[charlsara]

We have the Thetford cassette system in our LIL Snoozy. It is more like a port a pottie than the tank systems. I have tried several additives. I have come around to the Thetford blue liquid. There is a faint "good" smell and the solids break up quickly. it may not be the cheapest.

[Ian G.]

The Happy Campers site has good information on the different treatments and how they work :: Happy Campers - Compare ::

[Beeser]

Happy Campers seems a bit expensive for US buyers because of shipping. Not so much for Canadians.

[Beeser]

I mentioned struvite in an earlier comment. Has anyone experienced this forming in their black tank?

[Darral T.]

Vote #3 for ODORLOS. I've used (based on Floyd's recommendation) for the past 6 yrs and will not use anything else. As he recommended, by the "bulk" bottle and it will last for years.

Camping World also sells it. I bought the largest bottle they had when I got one of their promo's.

[Mr Lynn]

Originally Posted by Ian G.

The Happy Campers site has good information on the different treatments and how they work :: Happy Campers - Compare ::

Happy Campers describes their product as "a stand alone monohydrate, highly concentrated mineral blend in an anhydrous form."

What the heck is that? What minerals? And how do they introduce and promote 'good' bacteria?

/Mr Lynn

[Darral T.]

Wow...the Happy Camper treatment is expensive AND it says it works like the
bio-active chemical which is the way Odorlos performs.

Happy Camper: $55 64 oz
Odorlos @ CW: $17 68 oz

[Glenn Baglo]

I have no intention of sticking my head in the black tank to check their claims.

[Dan Meyer]

I don't use any chemicals in my black tank unless it begins to smell. That only happens when I end up up with 'stuff' in the tank during warm weather (85 or higher), and it sits for a few days. Only then will I use the usual 'blue death' they sell everywhere.

--Dan Meyer

[starbrightsteve]

The only time I noticed any odor was when I flushed the toilet in our casita when the bathroom exhaust fan was running. So...I don't flush and exhaust at the same time! As to what chemicals to use, we bought some when we started with Casita's 6 years ago but never got around to using them because we never noticed any odor problem. They sit on a shelf in the garage. We always travel with a gallon of water in the black tank and the grey tank empty. We do dump both tanks when ever there is an opportunity and use a black tank wand to rinse the black tank at the end of our camping season. After rinsing we dump at the state park a quarter mile down the road. I may have a wealth of struvites in my tanks but I really could care less.
I think folks are being a bit, ah....anal about this odor issue. But.. If you are going to let your half full black tank sit parked in the driveway for a month until your next outing, then you better use one of the miracle chemicals that are available for you to buy.

[Darnelle]

Originally Posted by Johnny M

What about the Odorloss and Happier Camper products
for use in a porta pottie?

We use Mr. Clean in our porta potty. Love it. No odors. Hate the blue stuff.

[Mr Lynn]

OK, I just ordered a 68 oz. bottle of Odorlos.

Camping World was only $17, but wanted $12 for shipping. I got it for essentially the same price from an eBay store called Tweety's, $28.44:

Odorlos PA352LU53 Holding Tank Treatment 68 oz Bottle | eBay

Thanks for all the suggestions and preferences.

/Mr Lynn

[Darral T.]

Good choice! Let us know how you like it. Since I have a small 9gal black tank, I always use more than called for. NEVER 1 odor problem since using this.

(I canNOT believe someone would not use ANYTHING in their black tank ) Oh well!

Originally Posted by Mr Lynn

OK, I just ordered a 68 oz. bottle of Odorlos.

Camping World was only $17, but wanted $12 for shipping. I got it for essentially the same price from an eBay store called Tweety's, $28.44:

Odorlos PA352LU53 Holding Tank Treatment 68 oz Bottle | eBay

Thanks for all the suggestions and preferences.

/Mr Lynn

[DeBreez]

On short trips we often don't dump until we get home. Our sewer cleanout is easy to access from our driveway and it's less hassle than the campground dumpstation.

We use Happy Camper, bought from Amazon. Haven't tried anything else yet.

Btw, Happy Camper is a powder, Odorlos is a liquid. So you can't compare based on volume.

[Mr Lynn]

Originally Posted by DeBreez

On short trips we often don't dump until we get home. Our sewer cleanout is easy to access from our driveway and it's less hassle than the campground dumpstation. . .

I've been wondering about creating our own dumping station, as the closest to us is an RV store maybe 20 miles from here. But it would be a long run from the side yard where our new (to us) Casita resides to the Christmas Treee in the basement.

When we were adding a second story onto our house, 20 years ago, we rented a Dutchmen trailer for me and my wife and one of our kids to live in during construction. Our plumber ran an above-ground PVC line from the trailer to the septic tank (now a holding tank) in the back yard, so I guess it's possible, but that was temporary; we would probably have to bury it now.

Interesting idea though, if likely to cost a fair amount.

Maybe a topic for a new thread?

/Mr Lynn

PS Actually, we didn't rent the Dutchmen; I bought it, and then sold it four months later for what I paid.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by Mr Lynn

We're new to the RV world. I gather we should add chemicals to our Casita's toilet/black tank. Which are the best, and can I get them on-line? There are no RV places nearby.

/Mr Lynn

Look at your regular hardware store most of them carry chemicas for portable toilets. I am not talking about Home Depot or Lowes, but places like Ace, True Value and Do-it-Best hardware store. Also any store for boat/marine supplies will also have the chemicals for portable toilets. Sporting goods stores are another good place to find this product.

If you are going to order from the internet then a dry powder will save you a lot on shipping cost. Why ship water too?

[Mr Lynn]

Thanks K, but I was asking for opinions on the best chemical additives. Walmart sells lots of them, but based on comments here, I decided to try Odorlos, even though it is more expensive than Walmart's. So we'll see.

/Mr Lynn

[Darral T.]

When we first got our Scamp, I went to Walmart and found a good deal on some "KOA" (good name supposedly...right??) chemical for the toilet. BADDDD mistake. It was the worst I ever saw. I think it was only a deodorizer or something. I'm one of the ones that recommended Odorlos and have never turned back. That is ONE item where you "get what you pay for". And if you DONT, you WILL pay for it in your stinking toilet!