Chickery's Travels

Chickery's Travels logo. A blue-green Earth globe with continents surrounded by dots with an arrow denoting movement or travel and "Chickery's Travels" as part of the dotted circle. Next to this is a photo of their blue and white Arctic Fox 5th Wheel with the awning out.
  • Home
  • Campground Reviews
    • Alternatives To National Park Campgrounds
    • Best Luxury RV Resorts For All RV Types
    • Best Waterfront Campgrounds For Every Budget
    • Alabama
      • Gunter Hill Campground (Montgomery, Alabama)
    • Arizona
      • Best Campgrounds in Arizona
      • Aspen Campground (Payson, Arizona)
      • LazyDays KOA (Tucson, Arizona)
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, AZ)
    • Arkansas
      • Catherine’s Landing (Hot Springs, Arkansas)
      • Downtown Riverside RV Park (Little Rock, Arkansas)
    • California
      • Best Campgrounds in California
      • Crescent City Redwoods KOA (Crescent City, California)
      • Sea Breeze RV Park (Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station)
    • Delaware
      • Cape Henlopen State Park (Lewes, Delaware)
    • Florida
      • Best Campgrounds in Florida
      • Blue Angel Naval Recreation Area (Pensacola, FL)
      • Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Southeast FL)
      • LazyDays RV Resort (Tampa, FL)
      • MacDill AFB FamCamp (Tampa, FL)
      • Military Camping in Key West
      • Patrick AFB FamCamp (Cocoa Beach, FL)
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, FL)
      • Walt Disney World’s Fort Wilderness (Orlando, FL)
        • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
    • Maryland
      • Cherry Hill Park (College Park, Maryland)
    • Michigan
      • Port Huron KOA (Kimball, Michigan)
    • Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
      • Boondocking Near Las Vegas
    • New Hampshire
      • Lincoln / Woodstock KOA (New Hampshire)
    • New York
      • Round Pond Recreation Area (West Point, NY)
    • North Carolina
      • Outer Banks West / Currituck Sound KOA (Coinjock, North Carolina)
    • Oklahoma
      • Oklahoma City East KOA (Choctaw, Oklahoma)
    • Texas
      • Best Campgrounds in Texas
      • Alsatian RV Resort (Castroville, Texas)
      • Maverick Ranch (Lajitas, Texas)
      • Texas Wine Country Jellystone (Fredericksburg, Texas)
    • Tennessee
      • Camp Margaritaville (Pigeon Forge, TN)
      • Crossville I-40 KOA (Crossville, TN)
      • Midway RV Park (Memphis, TN)
    • Virginia
      • Fort Belvoir Travel Camp (Alexandria, VA)
      • Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley KOA (Broadway, Virginia)
      • Luray KOA (Luray, Virginia)
      • Lynchburg / Blue Ridge Parkway KOA (Monroe, Virginia)
      • Shenandoah River State Park (Bentonville, Virginia)
    • Washington
      • Crescent Bar RV Resort (Quincy, Washington)
    • West Virginia
      • Harper’s Ferry KOA (Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia)
  • USA
    • Arizona
      • Apache Trail: A Crazy, Scary, Beautiful Drive
      • Lost Dutchman State Park (Phoenix, Arizona)
      • Phoenix Faves
    • District of Columbia
      • Budget Friendly Fun in Washington D.C.
      • Favorite Hikes near Washington DC
      • Indoor Skydiving and TopGolf: Just Another Day of Family Fun!
    • Florida
      • Best Walt Disney World Festivals For Adults
      • Blowing Rocks Preserve – Jupiter Island, Florida
      • Bok Tower Gardens
      • Daytona Beach – The World’s Most Famous Beach
      • Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
      • Gasparilla – Tampa’s Pirate Invasion
      • 3 Days on the Nature Coast 
      • Florida Freshwater Springs on the Nature Coast
      • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
      • Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral
      • Island Hopping at Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island State Parks
      • Must See Sights in St. Augustine, FL – America’s Oldest City
      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, Florida)
      • Sunny Sarasota
      • Tampa
        • Get Back to Nature in Tampa Bay
        • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Spring Training in Tampa, FL
        • The 5 Best Beaches in the Tampa Bay Area
        • Why We Love Tampa
      • Tarpon Springs – The Gulf Coast Town with Greek Flavor
      • Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast
      • What Not to Do When Kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River
      • Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
    • Georgia
      • Visiting Atlanta? Don’t Miss These Civil Rights Museums
    • Illinois
      • One Day In The Windy City – Chicago Itinerary
    • Maine
      • Coastal Maine Vacation
      • Monhegan Island Maine
      • Two Days in Acadia National Park
    • Nevada
      • Planning an RV Trip to Nevada
      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
    • Tennessee
      • Burgess Falls: 3 For 1 Waterfall Special
      • National Civil Rights Museum – Memphis, TN
      • Window Cliffs, TN – I’m Not Afraid of Heights, But I am Afraid of Falling!
      • WWII History in Tennessee
    • Texas
      • Best Eats in Fredericksburg
      • Enjoy a Bird’s Eye View of Texas Hill Country
  • RV Resources
    • 3 Simple Steps to Find the Best RV Campgrounds
    • 5 Years Full-Time RV: Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret
    • Boondocking – What We Learned From Our First Dry Camping Experience
    • Tips for Boondocking Success
    • Essential RV Gear
      • Essential RV Gear Guide
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • RV Must Have: Tire Pressure Monitoring System
      • RV SnapPads Product Review
      • RVLOCK Keyless Entry Door Handle Installation and Review
      • Shop “RV Local” With TechnoRV
      • Top RV Gadgets & Accessories
      • WeBoost Cellular Booster Review
    • Living in an RV
      • 9 Lessons From 2 1/2 Years on the Road
      • Biggest Regret Full-Time RV Living
      • Dealing with my Biggest Full-Time Travel Struggle, Missing Family While Traveling
      • Downsizing: 3 Areas That Make The Biggest Impact
      • Full-Time RV: 2019 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV: 2018 Year in Review
      • Full-Time RV Travel – 2017 Year In Review
      • How Full-Time RVers Celebrate the Holidays
      • How to Prepare for Full-Time RV Travel
      • Internet Solutions for RV Travelers
      • Learn How to RV Full-Time
      • Living in a Tiny, Traveling Home
      • Making Friends (and reconnecting with old friends) While Traveling Full-Time
      • Pros & Cons of Full-Time RV Travel
      • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
      • Short-Term RV Storage: Leaving The RV Behind
      • Top 3 Lessons Learned & Biggest Regret: 3 Years Full-Time RV Living
      • What We Wish We Knew Before Full-Time RVing
      • What You Need To Know Before Selling Everything And Moving To An RV
      • Why We Are Traveling Full-Time In Our RV
    • Maintenance Tips
      • DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel
      • DIY RV Power & Solar Upgrade
      • Easy DIY Project to Protect Your RV Water System
      • An Easy Way to Protect Your RV Water Heater
      • How to Reduce the Likelihood of Tire Blowouts on your RV
      • Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips
      • RV Condensation: What It Is, What It Does, and How To Stop It
      • RV Roofs – What You Need to Know
    • Must Read Books Before Becoming A Full-time RVer
    • RV Organization & Storage Ideas
    • RV Remodel
      • Planning an RV Remodel
      • RV Kitchen Cooking Videos
      • Painting Your RV Interior
      • Update the RV Kitchen – Backsplashes & More
      • Updating Your RV Window Treatments
      • RV Bedroom Makeover
      • RV Remodel Costs with Before & After Photos
      • Vintage Camper Renovation
    • RV Holiday Tour – Decorating Our Small Space
    • RV Hurricane Evacuation
    • RV Misery Can Be Overcome By The Generosity Of Others
    • RV Travelers: How to Read Books While Saving Space and Weight in Your RV
    • Slow Travel
    • Small Kitchen Cooking
      • Cooking Videos
      • Eating Healthy on Travel Days
    • Staying Healthy
      • Traveling with Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, and Other Chronic Pain Conditions
    • Trip Planning
    • Traveling with Pets
      • RVing with Your Cat
      • Traveling with Restricted Breed Dogs
    • Why I Prefer RV Travel Over Flying
    • Your Guide To Planning The Best Family Vacation This Summer
  • Travel Finance
    • 5 Tips to Save on RV Travel
    • 5 Ways to Fund Full-Time Travel
    • Full-Time RV Expenses
      • Annual Full-Time RV Expenses – The Big Three
    • Five Credit Card Strategies To Improve Travel
    • How Much Do Campgrounds Cost?
    • How Much Does it Cost to RV Full-Time?
    • How to Camp for Free
    • How to Start a Profitable Blog
    • How to Save Money on RV Fuel Costs
    • How to Save on Food While Camping
    • How We Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time (And How You Can Too)
    • How We Paid $139,000 of Debt in 2 Years While Full-Time RVing
    • Learn How to Finance Your Dreams
    • The Top 7 Ways to Save Money While Traveling Full-Time
    • Roadmap to Financial Freedom
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report April 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report May 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report June 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report July 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report August 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report September/October 2018
    • RV Purchasing
      • RV Purchasing: Understanding RV Types
      • Benefits of Renting an RV
      • Should I Buy A New or Used RV?
      • The Costs of RV Ownership
      • The True Cost of Financing an RV
      • Why You Should Attend An RV Show
    • Save Money Using the Public Library (On More Than Just Books)
  • Military Travel
    • Guide To Using Military Campgrounds
    • Health Care for Retired Military Full-Time RVers
    • Why Military Retirees Should Fly Space-A
  • Videos
  • About Us
    • RV Shows We’re Attending
    • Contact Us
    • Follow Us
    • Why We Are Full-Time RVers

July 6, 2018 by Guest Post 25 Comments

Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips

Banish black tank smells forever with these simple steps! Don’t be afraid to use your RV bathroom. Not having to use public restrooms or bathhouses when we travel is one of the reasons we love RV travel.

We’ve been living and traveling full-time in our RV for four years, using our bathroom just as we did in our sticks & bricks home. Even in the sweltering summer heat (we spent a couple in Florida), we were able to keep our bathroom and RV odor free by using the method we’ll outline in this post.

Continue on to read our step by step process or watch the video below.

Step 1. Keep the tanks closed until ready to flush.

If you are at a location with a sewer connection, you may be tempted to keep your camper’s black tank valve open and let the sewage flow freely. Don’t. This will result in the dreaded poop pyramid. Ever use a open pit toilet? You know the ones with no water at the bottom. Everything just starts building up. You need a lot of water to keep things flowing smoothly. In fact, I usually refill the toilet and give it an extra flush after most uses just to keep plenty of water in the tank. This will also help dissolve the toilet paper fully. Bottomline: Water is your friend and keep the tank valve closed until you are ready to dump.

Learn how to pay off debt, earn an income, and save money all while traveling full-time.

Step 2. Flush the tank regularly.

It is important to flush your RV black tank regularly. This is easiest when you are at a campground with sewer hook ups. We empty our black tank about every 5 – 7 days. If it is not 3/4 full, we add water to assist in completely draining the tank. We also recommend emptying it before travel to reduce the extra weight (water weighs ~8 lbs per gallon).

  • Open the valve and the drain the black tank completely.
  • Back flush the camper black tank. Our main black tank has the built in backflush inlet that most newer RVs come with. The black tank for the 2nd bathroom does not, so we purchased a Camco Dual Flush Pro Holding Tank Rinser (click image below for more detail). We back fill our tank for 4 minutes. Drain and repeat 1-2 times until the water is clear. I used to run inside and watch the tank monitor, but that got old so now I stay outside and time it.
  • Once the water is running clear, close the black tank valve, and backfill the black tank with about 2 gallons of water. Since we have the built in system, we just time it for 90 seconds. If you don’t have that, you can do it from inside by flushing the toilet and letting the water flow down into the holding tank for that long.
  • We follow a black tank drain and flush cycle with a gray tank flush. We also have two gray tanks — one for the main bathroom (sink/shower) and one for the kitchen and second shower. If are at a site with sewer hook ups, we leave the main one closed until we’re ready to dump the black. We leave the 2nd gray tank open to drain as water is used. If you only have one gray tank and want to leave it open most of the time, we recommend closing it a day or two prior to your black tank flush so you can essentially wash out the sewer hose with the soapy gray water.
  • Finally, when we get back inside the RV, we add two capfuls of Calgon water softener and about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of of liquid dish detergent (some people say Dawn, but we use a generic).

Step 3. Remember, Water is Your Friend

As previously mentioned, using plenty of water is the best thing to keep the RV black tanks flowing smoothly. Don’t be afraid to use it. We both often flush an extra time or two just to add water to the holding tank.

Water availability was a problem we encountered with our first boondocking experience. Also, although we were able to use the portable sewage system, we didn’t have enough water available to back flush the tank as we described above. Our solution was to drive to a dump station every other week. In the future we will bookend boondocking or partial hook up stays with full hook up campground stays.

Learn our 3 step process for finding the best campgrounds. Whether you are traveling by motorhome, fifth wheel, travel trailer, or campground this process can work for you.

Learn More About Your RV Water Systems

Check out our book, A Complete Novice’s Guide to RV Water System’s Maintenance you want to learn more about your RV water systems, from preventive maintenance like flushing the water heater to sanitizing the fresh water tanks. It’s short, full of photos, and written in laymen’s terms. Even better, its free on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!

Sharing is caring! Feel free to share the image below on Pinterest! 

Want an odor free RV? Follow these tips to keeping your camper bathroom smelling fresh! We cover the basics of RV and camper holding tank maintenance. Simple steps, no purchase of deodorizing packets required.

No matter what type of RV you own, you'll need to flush and clean your black tank! Follow our simple GEO method for maintaining odor free holding tanks in your camper. #motorhome #fifthwheel #traveltrailer #camper #sewagetanks #5thwheel #rvtank

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Filed Under: Maintenance Tips Tagged With: black tank, black tank cleaning, black tank flush, black tank flush system, black water, geo method, geo method black tank, geo method black water tank, geo method for holding tanks, geo method for rv, geo method of cleaning black tank, geo method tank cleaning, grey water system, Odor Free RV Black Tank Tips, rv black tank, rv black tank cleaning, rv black tank flush, rv black tank flush system, rv black tank tips, rv holding tank, rv holding tank cleaning, rv holding tank treatment, the geo method

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