I always keep a toilet pod half a cup of dawn detergent and 3 to 5 gal of water in my black tank at all times so it cleans going down the road. I always keep 3 to 5 gallons in my shower grey tank and half a cup of dawn detergent and half a cup of dawn detergent in my kitchen Galley sink along with 3 to 5 gallons of water to keep the tanks clean while traveling never have smells and the sensors all work. And always a good 20 minute flush fill flush with the black tank 6 years no issues. Great video 📹 👍.
When he mentioned that RV tanks are holding tanks and NOT septic tanks, that really hit me. He’s absolutely right! You DON’T want things breaking down in your tank. You want the tank to hold it until you can properly dispose of it. Great video and solid advice!
While Jim is right--they're not the same, he's also not right. A septic tank is designed to entirely break down--to digest waste--to a point it can percolate back into the environment, typically through a leaching system. I don't know that the intent to break down waste in a waste tank to the pancake batter level has ever been the case. The intent is generally to loosen solids, whether that be TP or 💩, to a state that makes it more...transportable...to convey through your stinky slinky. Agree with Jim though, you'll experience the best results by not using packed wads of toilet paper and using plenty of water. Remember, *the solution to pollution is dilution*.
@@EckdahlWrestling Yep! But a tank full of water with solids (TP and undigested waste) floating in it empties fastest and quickest, leaving little behind. Those additives just make a sticky mess that stays behind -- for years -- unless professionally cleaned periodically.
Thanks, Trail Boss. That advice really seems to hit home with a lot of RVers. As I said, you want your tank to contain "floaters" not "sinkers." A tank full of mostly water with waste floating on top empties faster and better, smells less, and is an overall healthier tank.
Just a PSA about making the Pine Sol/Calgon mixture (spoken from experience): when you mix these two together, they foam up. A lot! So be sure you're mixing them in a large enough container to account for that. I mixed 24 oz Pine Sol (half the bottle) with 1/2 cup (4 oz) Calgon Bath Beads in a 2 quart Nalgene bottle - that one was fine because it's open and large although the foam rose to the top of the bottle. However, I also mixed Calgon into the remaining Pine Sol in the bottle - that was a disaster! Tried putting the cap on to prevent the massive foaming but that just added pressure, and trying to open the cap resulted in my kitchen sink and window being sprayed with the mixture! When the foam subsides, you can fill your container with water and it will be fine. I've used the Geo method with good success before, so I know this will work well and is much cheaper than buying ready-made stuff.
Try this. Struvite is like a soft rock that is crystals formed when you mix hard water, urine, and fecal matter. It sticks to the tank and causes sensors to not work correctly. To clean struvite from tank you need acid. Calgon has ph of 8.4? Borax has ph 9.4. Either works. You need detergent to clean the surface of the struvite so the acid can dissolve it. Most say to use Dawn. Foams a lot. So, I use Laundry detergent (Tide pods) or dishwashing detergent. Low foam and work very well. Two times and it got out what previous owner of RV left in the tank. Sensors work great. Add Calgon or Borax every tank. The detergent is once in a while afterward. Best wishes.
Water water water!!! Definitely going to try the solution mix! Since I’ve been running water filter the anode rod hasn’t disintegrated as bad. Great video and great information!
Saw a similar video on another channel some months ago and it really changed how I think about these tanks and maintaining them. These videos are so helpful because unless you are tent camping, you will have to deal with these holding tanks in maintaining them.
Great video. Confirms my suspicion that it's a holding tank, not a septic tank. I have been adding Dawn dish soap with Calgon and 5 gallons of water before we travel home. Let this mixture slosh around during the trip home to clean the walls and sensors.....seems to have been working well. Poop seems to be Jim's bread and butter!!
Super helpful! Thanks guys! Bought a used trailer and we’ve been trying to flush out the black tank as we have learned it wasn’t taken care of well by prior owner. Yuck! So looking into getting our tank cleaned soon!!!!
Good video, I'm sure you asked Jim, about leaving the gray tank dump valve open all time? I'm sure he said do not, they tanks are holding tanks and are designed to work off of volume and flow.
The only time(s) I recommend leaving a gray tank valve open (and NEVER a black one!) is when doing laundry or a whole lot of showers in a row (think: large family after a day at the beach). Leaving the gray tank valve (or any valve, for that matter) only encourages clogs and other problems as liquid seeps out and solids (and, yes, the gray tank has solids) are left behind.
This is the second time I'm seeing Jim in a video...he's the man! I bought a little used camper just to make sure we'll use it enough before upgrading, and one of my first purchases was the Flush King. I find I'll still get toilet paper coming out after a couple flushes, so just draining and being done must leave so much crud behind 🤢
Jim did mine this weekend at the Lippert Getaway as well. Not sure that it got my black tank sensors working, but we will continue to test that. I was surprised at his explanation of why Happy Camper is bad. We will try Jim’s recipe and see how that does. We got the same grades as you. Really appreciated that Jim shared the recipe he uses.
As always, I like to hear how our customers are doing after a cleaning. Can we get misreading tank sensors working 100% of the time? No, and we can't guarantee that either. Sensors rust, wires fall off (or were never attached in the first place!), diagnostic boards fail, and other reasons. BUT, are your tanks as clean as they were when they came from the factory? Absolutely!
Interesting… I’ve never saw a service like this… we never had any issues with our tanks until about a month after I told my wife that we’ve never had issues lol. I never look at our sensors either… but it’s usually just a weekend trip for us as well
I'd honestly recommend that you get the service done once to assess how your tanks are. A big part of our service is helping you to understand what is happening inside and to give some advice on what to do better (or differently).
Great timing on this video. I just bought one of these fittings for my pressure washer, but haven't used it yet. His info does kind of throw me for a loop, we're also weekenders without full hook ups. I usually have a good opportunity to fill/dump/flush/repeat at the dump station on the way home. Seeing yours gives me a good feeling mine is probably ok as well (I've seen scales come out in some of these videos). I was about to switch to rv digest it, but now I'm not so sure. I've got a full hookup site in Oct., maybe I'll jet out the tanks and make a decision then. As you said...or kinda said, if it ain't broke don't fix it. As usual thanks for the video.
Yeah, I saw that too. Later on, as Jim was draining with the flush king's valve, he crossed his arms with the gloves on. Certainly less gross than feeding the cleaning wand and pushing his glasses up, but whenever I touch any of that stuff, you'd thought I was doing a sanitary surgical experiment. I ain't touching nothing! Frankly, I think Jim's high pressure hose would need to have more control to really effectively wash out the tank as it is. Does it help, probably, but unless you could really control that business end to spray more of the tank, how much are you really getting washed down? I was actually hoping he was going to send a scope down the pipe to see where he was washing. That'd certainly confirm its effectiveness. That said, I've seen demonstrations that the Flush King doesn't really do a good job of cleaning tanks. As Jim mentioned, he was really just filling the tank. In my opinion, that's not much different than my son washing dishes by just letting them fill up. I get his point, it's faster, but I like the idea (the concept really) of at least he spray port washing down the areas it reaches. I'll typically run the tank flush a while with the valve closed, just to add some water to the tank to have the power to flush out larger solids--never letting it get full enough to waste that much water, or pressurize the tank. I've had good luck with that.
@@EckdahlWrestling The cleaning head at the end of the wand jets out water in a 24" (or more) high-pressure jet. It's more than enough to completely clean the tank. I have a scope, but honestly the spray of water is like putting a camera into the Niagara Falls -- there's just no way to see what you are cleaning in there. In the end, I rely on 8 years of experience -- literally thousands of holding tanks cleaned -- to know what's going on inside and when I'm satisfied that the tanks are cleaned. As for the Flush King, it actually isn't doing that much cleaning at this point, rather it's a rinsing function after the hydrojetting process. Filling the tank? Absolutely! At a much higher rate and with much more forceful overall pressure than you can with the black tank rinser. Plus, the Flush King allows me to rinse the gray tanks -- something only higher end (or after market additions) RVs have the ability to do.
@@jamestome5219 I've seen you've responded to several of my comments--and I genuinely appreciate that. I respect that you've made a business out of dealing with other people's 'business'. Doing this for 8 years and literally cleaning thousands of tanks, I can appreciate what you've been through to build your business. The pressure (at the pump) you're working with is very comparable to the pressure you'd see at a good car wash. Just like the car wash, the pressure probably is adequate to remove the bulk of the stuff stuck to it--as it would a muddy car. So if someone has a considerable amount of build up I'm sure your hydrojetting is probably helpful, but for someone who takes great care to keep their tanks clean...maybe it's just peace of mind. But, "...just like new...", I'm still skeptical. The notion of using a scope: I'm sure all that water moving around inside a relatively small box would be ineffective while it's being used, but why not scope it after, to demonstrate how clean it is? Please, don't show us a before... ;) One curiosity, how do you steer the wand? That is, how do you control it through a wye to go from one drain pipe to the other tank? How many gallons per minute are you running? On the Flush King: I remain unconvinced it's an effective way to rinse a tank. The flush king does not apply any force of water into the tank. It's going from a 3/4" garden hose to a 3" drain pipe. Across the length of the drain, it's really just backing up and flooding the bottom of the tank. Someone else actually did a YT video with a clear tank demonstrating it. Draining a full tank, it's like after washing dishes--like a nice, dirty lasagna pan--with a sink full of dirty, soapy water. When I'm done, I pull the plug and all that stuff that was floating (and we all agree floating is better) ends up settling on the sides and bottom of the sink. I don't just plug up the sink and fill it all the way back up to wash that out, I turn on the faucet and usually use the spray setting to rinse what's left. Certainly, having some amount of water in the bottom to help convey remaining pieces out is helpful, but filling it all the way up seems like it's just wasting water. Obviously, there is not normally an internal mechanism to flush/rinse a gray tank, it is what it is--even if I suggest the Flush King is grossly inefficient. I appreciate your offer to clean my tanks. A guy who stands behind his service--even when I remain skeptical--is good in my book, so as I said, I totally respect what you're doing. I won't ask you to drive all the way out to me to prove me wrong, but if/when we cross paths, I'll be sure to remind you of your offer.
My toilet sits on top of the black tank, as many do. I made my own cleaning spray wand to use through the toilet, because the ones you buy are garbage, which will do a far better job than this pressure washer. It leaves the tank spotless. Yes, I know many toilets are piped to the tank. The only problem I ever have is if something clings to the level sensor terminals. My cleaning method easily cleans this. I don't use any tank products and I don't get odors, poop pyramids or any other problems. People obsess over holding tanks and handle dumping like they were handling nuclear waste. Elbow length gloves, rubber boots, grimaced faces and everything at arms length. All completely unnecessary but humorous to watch while waiting at the dump station. A little common sense and an understanding of your own equipment is all that is needed. As for water heaters, I had to make my own flushing tool for that too for the same reason. Do the flushing when the water is still warm. The mineral deposits will be soft and flush out more easily. What people don't seem to know is that even after you drain the heater there's still a quart or more of water in it that needs to be siphoned out before any storage.
I don’t agree with his “don’t use digester additives”. It only becomes “pancake batter” if not enough water is used! Use plenty of water even if boondocking!
I still do the "geo method" dawn/calgon but I think the pinesol/softener would be fine. I was planning on buying some unique and doing it before winterizing.
Unique not recommended so much, for the same reason as I mention in the video. Think about it: What kind of tank drains better: One with pancake batter in it or full of water with some "floaters"?
Hey Corey, have you been using the Kleen Tank solution in your tanks? Was wanting to give it a try, was curious what your opinion was? Currently using Unique RV Digest.
We did for a trip or two… it was not good at controlling odor. Went back to Happy Camper. Uniques original stuff didn’t do well with the odors either. They sent us their new maximum strength stuff and it’s doing well.
I think he mentioned it in the video. Similar to this. www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H-8082/Pressure-Washers-and-Hoses/Mi-T-M-Industrial-Electric-Pressure-Washer?pricode=WB1740&gadtype=pla&id=H-8082&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw8diwBhAbEiwA7i_sJbsH0sHKybJar0oyZlVEx5D_toAHn8ELY5mXkeKysytEGodcUKGRPBoC7RoQAvD_BwE
You can use a pressure washer, and hydro jet. I purchased my jet online for $40. I use it for house drains, gutter downspout and rv tanks. You buy what ever length you want 25' and up. This is an old post so you might have already found your info, but just in case there you go.
No, I had just cleaned it prior to him performing this service and his method is the same as mine. Here is that video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kOmgqgvN208.html
No, back in Happy Camper… it just works. I think we would be more inclined to use Jim’s mix if we were full time but considering we dump after 2-3 days Happy Camper rocks.
Darik: Honestly, this is one time when Calgon (and the bath kind, not the clotheswashing liquid or the dish/dishwasher detergent) is the best bet. Same goes for the PineSol. Watch out for Pine-based cleaners using pine oil: It's super caustic and eat away soft rubber seals in your RV's tank's gates and seals.
Not quite the same as the GEO method. I don't use Dawn or any other dish detergent and highly recommend you DO NOT use Borax. It's pretty alkaline and can cause damage to soft rubber seals.
No, it cannot. In eight years, I have never had the pump or cleaning heads damage the tanks. I do have competitors, however, who are running 4,000-5,000 PSI. That I would be very concerned about, especially if your RV has a macerator toilet (as most will in the coming years) as those tend to have a delicate pressure switch that super-high pressure will definitely damage.
Nutshell: Give us a call (844-KLEENME) to have our service done. Our website also has tons of great articles, as does of special Q&A website: askkleentank.com
Ok just wondering we have the flush king from our previous trailer that did not have black flush. We have never used it on this trailer that has a black flush. Maybe will try it next time our sensors are not reading correct. Thanks. This year we started using happy camper in our tanks and no smell and the sensors were great. We are only weekenders.
It will not come as clean as he suggest. That jet only sprays behind and not in front. Better than nothing. A wand down the toilet with a spinner or straight hose works great.
Not actually true. I do have spray heads that also spray ahead and use those in some circumstances. In the case of 5th wheels and travel trailers that have twisty, complex pipe layouts and distant (underneath) tank architecture, the backwards jet is ideal for reaching the tanks. With it's 24"+ high-pressure spray, it easily cleans every inch of the tanks and pipes attached to it.
This tech has literally said the opposite of everything rv owners are told about their septic system (use any toilet paper you want, don't use tank additives, etc). Sounds very odd to me and even though he's a pro, sounds fishy. Many other pros for YEARS have said the opposite. Maybe he's trying to drum up some business lol.
Notice what he said about RV tanks though - the tanks are NOT a septic system, they are simply holding tanks. The - ahem - “material” doesn’t stay in the tanks long enough to actually break down to a liquid. We have a septic system at our home and in 30+ years of using a septic system we have it pumped out every three years and believe me there are still plenty of solids even with all the bacteria that’s in there that’s supposed to ‘consume’ it. There’s no way a product will enable bacteria to grow fast enough to liquify an RV holding tank’s contents. In my opinion he’s spot-on.
I believe he whole heartedly believes what he is advising. On the other hand my tanks looked good so I’m torn… I don’t like fixing what isn’t broke. I think Jim’s advice should certainly be considered for full timers.
@@bobr7867 You might see my other comment about Jim's interpretation about holding tanks versus the septic tank. As I said there, I disagree with Jim's comparison to a septic tank as I think the concept is to loosen solids so that they can more easily flush out versus the notion of a septic tank's optimum performance to consume solids to a liquid. As you said, the performance of even a septic system isn't perfect. Municipal/industrial wastewater treatment facilities rely not only on the bacteria to consume waste, they also rely on a significant amount of air (aeration to enhance the bacteria's ability to live, eat a lot, get fat, and multiply) and mixing (keeping solids from dropping out of liquids). I'd say that if you're getting 1 month's worth of waste pumped out after 36 months, you're getting 35 months for free.
@@WanderingWeekends Cory, you do a good job taking care of your tanks, something I can sadly say 90% of RVers do not do. I was glad to give you a clean-up for the video and provided you some sound advice moving forward. Is the service only for full-timers? No -- everyone could benefit from at least a diagnostic cleaning. And a big part of our service is discovering how you are caring for you tanks and going over some recommendations.
I'm shocked... Jim touched his face, arms, hands, etc. wearing contaminated gloves. Seeing dirty tank water slipping from his cleaning setup is unsanitary!
Funny he never explains anything about the anode rod, or why the atwood water heater doesn't use an anode rod. Simple Anode rod isn't used in an atwood because the tank material is aluminum which is a naturally corrosion resistant metal. Suburban uses a steel tank lined with ceramic (on some years) and use an aluminum or magnesium anode rod. To put simply through the action of electrolysis the softer metal (aluminum or magnesium) is sacrificed to natural corrosion instead of the steel tank. The reason atwood (now dometic) doesn't want you to install a anode rod is they are aftermarket. And some are dissimilar metals which fused in the tanks... This is the only way to drain your tank once it's fused your pretty much SOL. I wonder how much this guy charged you. He must be making a killing, but his lack of knowledge is alarming. This is year one rv tech stuff nothing crazy.
So, I hate to be pessimistic. But, I feel like his is a really good salesman….. don’t use anything the manufacturer recommends, just pay me to come clean your tank🤷🏼♂️
Sorry but i am going to Disagree with using the solution that he recommends. All you are doing is Killing good bacteria and masking the smell. Unique Brand and Tank Tech Rv doesn't just break down the the waste into a paste, it puts good Bacteria into the tank to eat the waste turning back into water. Also this is bad for septic systems as it changes the PH balance in the septic system which again kills the good bacteria. I know people like things they can make themselves to try and save money but these ingredients are a chemical not good for the environment. I could go on more about this but you get the point there is no good Science behind this treatment. I do not work for either of these companies but i am also in the Tank cleaning business and have researched and used the two mentioned above. And seen the damage that the homemade one can cause.
These crappy videos are going to bring down your channel….watch out! (Just kidding) Thank you for this awesome tutorial video! Not getting into the nuances of exactly what toilet paper or tank chemical, I have no doubt that if you use the cleaning techniques the tech showed here that you stand a chance of having functional waste tanks much longer than you would have. Safe travels to all!
I bet he was really hoping for a dirtier tank. This really didn't show that what he offers is doing much. Probably useful if one has a blocked valve or tank but for the average RV'er, it seems to be a waste of money.
I think it’s a valuable service for full timers. I’m also glad to know what I’ve been doing has worked fairly well. Had we not done this I’d still be guessing.
Carl: Are all tanks super dirty? No. Cory's were actually pretty clean and that could be a function of him taking care of them well, lesser-than-average use, etc. Was I "hoping" for dirtier tanks? Well, it would have illustrated the process a bit better, yes. But I think you get the idea. I have tons of stories about ultra-dirty tanks (how about the black tank that took me five hours to clean because it was full of...compacted paper towels (instead of TP) from years of use! A waste of money? I'd bet I can get your "clean" tanks cleaned!
@@EckdahlWrestling I'd be happy to clean your tanks to show you what I can do. As I mentioned, putting a camera onto the jet nozzle would show nothing other than an intense spray of water. I let eight years of experience and literally thousands of tanks cleaned be my guide.
