How to clean the bathroom? (Casita)

[whoot]

It's that time of year. I have read you can't use Bleach or Soft Scrub. I thought I read you can't use many chemicals, because most them will damage the seals/sealant.

If I need to scrub my shower and toilet, what kind of cleaner can I use, that is safe to go down the toilet or shower drain?

I'm afraid of damaging the plumbing.

[k corbin]

Originally Posted by whoot

It's that time of year. I have read you can't use Bleach or Soft Scrub. I thought I read you can't use many chemicals, because most them will damage the seals/sealant.

If I need to scrub my shower and toilet, what kind of cleaner can I use, that is safe to go down the toilet or shower drain?

I'm afraid of damaging the plumbing.

Vinegar diluted in water with a very small amount of liquid dish soap is great for an all purpose cleaner in the bathroom on walls, floors, ceilings, etc as it not only cleans it also helps prevent mold from growing. The smell will dissipate after a few hours. Just choose a day when you can leave the doors and windows open for a fast air exchange. The dish soap has "surfacants" in it which makes it a more effective cleaning solution than just using vinegar and water without a small amount of soap. The vinegar will kill bacteria as well as mold and mildew. But it won't bleach out mildew stains. For best results mix it with hot water in small batches as you need it on cleaning day. The hot water helps to loosen the dirt faster than applying a cold solution to the surfaces.

It is best not to use bar soaps when you bath as they tend to create soap scum on the shower walls and floor. Soap scum is hard to clean off the surfaces. One of the liquid body washes would be a better choice as they don't leave much soap scum behind.

[TomK]

Originally Posted by k corbin

It is best not to use bar soaps when you bath as they tend to create soap scum on the shower walls and floor. Soap scum is hard to clean off the surfaces. One of the liquid body washes would be a better choice as they don't leave much soap scum behind.

Great question William, and thank you for your information KC. We are about to start using our new trailer with a bathroom. Our previous Scamp only had a porta-pottie. This reminds me of when my grandparents replaced the outhouse at their cottage with indoor plumbing! Does anyone use a product like Shower Clean to spray the shower walls after use? It does work well to help keep our tub and showers clean in our home. We plan to use a rag and squeegee to dry the bathroom after a shower. Maybe that will be enough? Is the bathroom enclosure in a Scamp fiberglass or plastic?

Tom

[k corbin]

Tom one of the big issues with choosing a cleaner for use in an RV is keeping your drain tank's biological system working correctly.

What you use for daily cleaning will matter for camping trips where you are trying to keep from having a smelly tank. So the decision of what holding tank treatment you use is going to restrict what you can use for daily cleaning. It is not such a big issue for an annual cleanup, a situation where you will also be cleaning out and flushing the holding tank so it too is completely cleaned.

If you are using an enzyme based treatment to keep down odors in your holding tank then for your normal daily type of cleaning on camping trips it is essential that you use a cleaner that does not kill those enzymes. So a good place to start if you use that type of holding tank product is to go to the website for the holding tank treatment you have decided to use and see what they have to say about compatible cleaning products.

[Jon in AZ]

KC, when you talk about "biological system" are you speaking of the grey tank, the black tank, or both?

[TomK]

We plan to use Odorlos in the black water tank, but nothing in the gray water tank. Do you suggest using something in there? We had a gray water tank in our 13' but never had an issue with odor.

I am going to ck. with Odorlos for compatible toilet bowl cleaner. That never occurred to me, but makes sense. Thanks!

Tom

[Glenn Baglo]

Odorlos also works in the grey tank.

[charline]

I use Shaklee's product Germacide.(properly diluted), it is wonderful and at home is used in evey place in my home. I even use it diluted to put my tooth brush in to keep colds etc at bay. so I know it is safe and has no odor to have to air out the room.

[floyd]

Ours is still stain free just using a little soap once in a while to keep it clean.
The key is to clean it regularly so that stains don't dry or set.
You can clean it with anything if you do so just before "heading" to the dumpstation, then it won't matter if it can affect the treatment.

On a porcelain toilet, you can scrub it with any cleaner and it is a good practice to clean it when you clean and drain the tank in preparation for storage.

Our gray tank gets soapy shower water almost exclusively and we take care to minimalize the bits of grease or food which goes down the kitchen drain, so it is washed out every time it is emptied, with no need for treatment.

BTW... ODORLOS is the best treatment on the market and cheap when bought in the large container,if you consider the small amount per dose.

[TomK]

Originally Posted by floyd

Ours is still stain free just using a little soap once in a while to keep it clean.
The key is to clean it regularly so that stains don't dry or set.
You can clean it with anything if you do so just before "heading" to the dumpstation, then it won't matter if it can affect the treatment.

On a porcelain toilet, you can scrub it with any cleaner and it is a good practice to clean it when you clean and drain the tank in preparation for storage.

Our gray tank gets soapy shower water almost exclusively and we take care to minimalize the bits of grease or food which goes down the kitchen drain, so it is washed out every time it is emptied, with no need for treatment.

BTW... ODORLOS is the best treatment on the market and cheap when bought in the large container,if you consider the small amount per dose.

All good points. Makes sense to do any serious cleaning just prior to dumping. I'm sure I'm overthinking all this. We were also careful about what went in the gray tank. It always looked clear when we drained it on our 13', and never a bad odor. We do keep up on the cleaning. No excuse for letting that get away from you.

I thought we'd be using our facilities this week, but the weather is holding us back. One storm after another it seems. Looks like the panhandle got a few inches of frozen sunshine last night. It can't last. Soon...

Tom

[Jann Todd]

Originally Posted by whoot

It's that time of year. I have read you can't use Bleach or Soft Scrub. I thought I read you can't use many chemicals, because most them will damage the seals/sealant.

If I need to scrub my shower and toilet, what kind of cleaner can I use, that is safe to go down the toilet or shower drain?

I'm afraid of damaging the plumbing.

Do not use any scrubbing agents for scrubbing type pads on the Casita bathroom except in the porcelain toilets. The scrubbing stuff damages and scratches the fiberglass walls and floor. The bleach messes up the walls and floor also. We don't use any chemical in our grey water tank. Never have had a problem in any RV in 35 years with smell. If there is any smell it is because of the gunk buildup around the drain. Then I pour some baking soda into drain and add some vinegar. It will foam up and after about 15 minutes rinse with hot water. To scrub sink I use 1/2 cup baking soda with 5 drops lemon essential oil and an item called Thieves household cleaner 1 teaspoon. I think other biodegradable cleaners would work also. I mix them well and put them in a shaker jar and use whenever I need it. Usually have some left at end of season. I use this at home also. Safe for septic tanks, sewers, etc. We have a septic tank at home and have to be careful about using anything that kills the bacteria that keeps the tanks going right. The above mix does kill the bacteria that you don't want in your trailer.

[Jann Todd]

[QUOTE=Jann Todd;679349]Do not use any scrubbing agents for scrubbing type pads on the Casita bathroom except in the porcelain toilets. The scrubbing stuff damages and scratches the fiberglass walls and floor. The bleach messes up the walls and floor also. They tell you not to use scrubbing items for this reason not because they will mess up the plumbing. We don't use any chemical in our grey water tank. Never have had a problem in any RV in 35 years with smell. If there is any smell it is because of the gunk buildup around the drain. Then I pour some baking soda into drain and add some vinegar. It will foam up and after about 15 minutes rinse with hot water. To scrub sink I use 1/2 cup baking soda with 5 drops lemon essential oil and an item called Thieves household cleaner 1 teaspoon. I think other biodegradable cleaners would work also. I mix them well and put them in a shaker jar and use whenever I need it. Usually have some left at end of season. I use this at home also. Safe for septic tanks, sewers, etc. We have a septic tank at home and have to be careful about using anything that kills the bacteria that keeps the tanks going right. The above mix does kill the bacteria that you don't want in your trailer.

[J Ron]

Why not use fiberglass cleaner. Marine supply good place to buy them. For badly oxidized fiberglass, Collonite Fiberglass Boat Cleaner is very good, need many rags, I only use it for badly oxidized fiberglass.

Keeping a coat of wax on the walls and commode, inside bowl and outside, will help prevent dirty stuff from sticking to it. I use Collonite Fleetwax or Klasse, an acrilic. Klassee is my favorite. I buy it online. We lived aboard a fiberglass boat 9 yrs. Only a very small amount of Klassee is needed, I apply it with a 2x2 in.square of cloth to prevent wasting product when washing the rag. We've used bleach on the gel coat many times, removing mold, with no damage done. We also wiped the overhead with vinegar to prevent mold.

[J Ron]

We use Ridex in black tank, two to three tablespoonfulls is all we use and we are not troubled by odors. Seems to be the most econimical also.

[whoot]

I ended up using something I found on Amazon for $14:

Premium RV Aqua-Clean Kitchen and Bath Cleaner - UltraFoam - 32 oz - Thetford 36971



It worked well enough, now my bathroom is clean.

[squish]

We use a spray bottle with a little dawn and water.
It's worked to get most things off. If it's really bad I will soak a rag and rig up a way to keep it on the dirty spot.

Once the bulk of the dirt is gone then I use a marine polish and wax it makes cleaning it the next time easier.