How to keep things moving along.

You can do your part to maintain the function of your RV’s waste holding tanks. Just follow these helpful maintenance tips:

Before You Leave for a Trip Fill your gray and black water holding tanks about 1/3rd full of fresh water. The sloshing motion of your moving RV combined with the water in the tanks will help break down solids, gently clean the tanks, and help with the overall health and maintenance of your RV’s waste holding tanks.

During Your Trip or As You’re Using Your RV Keep both the gray and black holding tank valves closed, even if a dump is available. Your tanks sensor panel should read “3/4ths FULL” to “FULL” before dumping. If they don’t and you need to dump, top off both tanks with fresh water for an accelerated exit flow.

When you leave the RV park, resort or campground, dump the holding tanks and fill each one 1/3rd full with fresh water for your trip home or to your next destination. This will help keep your tanks lubricated and the “sloshing” of the liquid minimizes ongoing maintenance needs.

After Your Trip Top off both holding tanks with fresh water and dump before storing. Be sure to winterize (if applicable) and add a lubricating antifreeze to tanks before storing long-term. This is a critical maintenance need.

Want a Low-Cost, Tank-Safe Deodorizer? In our opinion, there is not one chemical that is currently on the market that truly cleans the tanks and the sensors as they all advertise. Every black tank chemical company claims that their product breaks down or liquefies waste.

Indeed, that is exactly what they do. They create a sludge or thick pancake-like batter in the black tank and make it harder to keeps holding tanks completely clean. In other words, these chemicals make a big “mess” in your tanks and increased the need for more frequent maintenance. Try this instead:

Mix 40 ounces of Pine-Sol with enough water to just about fill a gallon jug. Top off with a one cup or eight ounces of Calgon Bath Beads. Use eight ounces in each tank (or more in especially hot weather or if your tanks will be filling up slowly over time).