Key Points:

• Odors in high heat are caused by a lack of water and too many anaerobic (or bad) bacteria.
• Lack of water and too many anaerobic bacteria can cause many issues, all contributing to bad odors.
• Using plenty of water in your RV holding tank, treating your tank with a high-quality holding tank treatment, and preventing excessively high tank temperatures will eliminate odors in even the harshest environments. 

High heat can cause strong RV toilet odors to go from bad to worse in no time. Dealing with these odors is not only frustrating, it can easily ruin an RV trip. We understand how annoying this can be and how solutions can seem few and far between. But thankfully there aresolutions that allow you to camp in high heat without being inundated with foul toilet odors. In this guide we’ll explain exactly why odors are worse in high heat and give you some proven solutions to deal with high heat issues. 

What Causes Odors to Increase in High Heat?

There are a few reasons why odors become worse in high heat, but it mostly boils down to 2 things: 

1. Heat causes water to evaporate in your tank. 
2. Heat causes beneficial aerobic bacteria to work less effectively while odor-causing anaerobic bacteria thrive in heat.

It’s important to quickly look into why evaporation and the bacterial environment inside your tank are so crucial to causing tank odors. 

Evaporation

High heat causes liquid to evaporate from your tank. Evaporation creates odors in your tank for the following reasons: 

• Mounds of feces and other waste end up above the water line creating extra strong smells. We call this the “porta potty problem”.
• Sewer gas can seep in if there isn't a water barrier between the waste and your RV.
• Beneficial bacteria can't survive without plenty of hydration.
• Hot tank temperatures can increase strong smells.

But again, evaporation isn’t the only reason why the risks of strong odors rise in hot environments. The imbalance between good and bad bacteria also plays into odors as well. 

Bacterial Environment

A flourishing colony of bacteria inside your holding tank is always a good thing because bacteria will break down solid waste and prevent clogs and misreading sensors. However, if your goal is to reduce odors (and who wouldn’t want to do that?!) you’ll want to ensure your tank is stocked with specifically aerobic bacteria. Catering your tank’s temperatures to allow aerobic bacteria to flourish is key. 

Anaerobic bacteria will produce methane and hydrogen sulfide gas (that “sewer smell”). These odors can seep up into your RV’s living space. On top of more smells being produced by anaerobic bacteria, the hot weather will cause these smells to be even worse than they normally would. Aerobic bacteria, by contrast, produce only carbon dioxide and water as byproducts of waste digestion. 

Additionally, in these high temperatures, Aerobic bacteria are not be able to break down waste as well, which then leads to even more odors. 

We completely understand how frustrating these issues can be. But like we promised earlier, we have solutions for you. Now that we’ve explained the reasons why high heat causes so many odors in your tank, let’s explore the simple solutions eliminating those odors so you can get back to enjoying your trip.

Note: Keep in mind that, though unlikely, something could be wrong with your tank ventilation or valves. If you are having ventilation or leaky valve issues, it will be much harder for you to deal with high heat odors until everything is working properly. We recommend that you fix any underlying issues

Solutions

Believe it or not, the solutions to controlling odors in high heat are really very simple! Let’s explore how you can easily obliterate those odors caused by high heat issues. 

• Use ample amounts of water. We recommend holding down your toilet flush pedal for 10 seconds each time you flush. We understand this can be more difficult when dry camping. Please see this article for more tips and tricks when dry camping.
• Use enough water to cover the waste inside your tank. Also be sure to keep several inches of water in your toilet bowl at all times.
• Treat your tanks with a high-quality holding tank treatment.

Bacteria

For the majority of RVers, we recommend using a high-quality bacteria-based treatment like  RV Digest-It.When used in conjunction with The Unique Method, this type of treatment is your best all-around odor eliminator and waste digester.

No Magic Bullets

We often tell people that no tank treatment is a magic bullet. Proper holding tank maintenance is a 50/50 scenario. 50% the right treatment productand 50% the right treatment process.The Unique Method is the process you need to follow to make sure your high-quality treatment can be effective.

Regulate your tank temperature. Aerobic bacteria do best in moderate conditions— ideally between 45°F and 85°F. To create the best environment for aerobic bacteria to thrive, add more water to your black tank to keep temperatures under control once temperature outside start to rise..

Final Thoughts

Tackling odors in high heat can be frustrating, but by following the steps outlined in this guide you’ll be able to spend more time enjoying the warmth of the sun than stressing out over what it’s doing to your holding tank.  If you have any questions, please contact our customer support team. We are very happy to help!