How To Use Your RV Toilet

The Right Way to Avoid RV Clogs, Odors, and Maintenance Issues

If you're new to RVing or want to ensure you're using your RV toilet properly, you're in the right place. Many RVers unknowingly create black tank clogs, allow odors to develop, or experience issues with their toilet because they don’t follow a few key best practices, or understand how their RV toilet works.

Understanding how to use an RV toilet correctly will save you from messy, expensive problems down the road. This guide will walk you through the essentials, from proper flushing techniques to maintaining seals and avoiding common issues like when your RV toilet bubbles when flushed.

1. Keep the Black Tank Valve Closed

One of the biggest mistakes RVers make is leaving the black tank valve open. You might think this allows waste to drain efficiently, but in reality, it leads to clogs, often called the “poop pyramid.”

How does an RV toilet work? It relies on gravity and water to flush waste into the black tank, where it needs time to break down properly. Keeping the black tank valve closed lets waste and toilet paper mix with water, ensuring smooth drainage when it’s time to empty the tank.

Pro Tip: If you're troubleshooting how to replace an RV toilet because of persistent clogging issues, your black tank habits might be the culprit!

2. Use Plenty of Water When Flushing

Knowing how to flush an RV toilet properly is key to keeping odors and clogs at bay. Unlike household toilets, RV toilets don’t use large amounts of water with each flush, so you need to add extra water manually.

Here’s how:

• Before use, add several inches of water to the bowl.
• After flushing, hold the flush pedal down longer to allow more water to enter the black tank (we recommend holding down the pedal for 10 seconds or more each flush.).

This simple habit prevents buildup, keeps odors under control, and extends the life of your black tank.

3. Keep Water in the Toilet Bowl to Prevent Odors

A common issue in RVs is sewer gas seeping into the living space. If your toilet starts to smell, check your bowl. You should keep water in your bowl at all times, except for when the RV is moving.

The water acts as a barrier against sewer gas, so if it dries out, bad smells can enter your RV. This is especially common in hot or dry climates. If you’re wondering how to fix an RV toilet seal, we have a guide that will walk you through this process, but keeping the bowl filled with water will help prevent toilet seals from getting dry and brittle - so you get two benefits in one by keeping water in your bowl!

If your toilet still leaks or doesn’t hold water, you may need to replace the RV toilet seal.

4. You Don’t Have To Use RV-Safe Toilet Paper

You may have heard that you need to choose an RV-specific toilet paper to avoid clogs, but if you’re using a high-quality, RV toilet treatment, worry not! You can use any brand of toilet paper you like without fear!

Don’t trust us? Just watch this video to see how fast toilet paper breaks down when you’re using an RV holding tank treatment that works! 

Buyer beware! Pretty much every brand of RV toilet treatment will tell you they break down waste, but sadly most won’t. We recommend you test their claims by putting a few pieces of toilet paper in a glass of water, add the treatment, and give it 12 hours. Did the paper break down? If not, throw out the old toilet treatment that didn’t live up to its promise and replace it with an RV toilet treatment that actually DOES digest toilet paper.

Want a recommendation on the best RV toilet paper? Our favorites are Angel Soft and Kirkland Signature!

5. Treat Your Black Tank Regularly

Regular black tank treatments are essential for breaking down waste and controlling odors but you have to make sure the one you’re using ACTUALLY works! Unfortunately, most tank treatments make lots of promises, but when put to the test in an experiment, they fail to live up to their claims. 

You should choose an enzyme-based treatment like RV Digest-It Plus Ultra to ensure your tank stays clean and free of clogs. Only bacteria + enzyme treatments are capable of doing the three things a high-quality RV black tank treatment should do:

1. Liquify toilet paper and human poop
2. Eliminate odors at their source, without masking or using dangerous chemicals
3. Help prevent misreading sensors by digesting sensor-damaging waste

Many toilet chemicals claim to do these things, but only bacteria + enzyme toilet treatments actually can, which is why they’re considered the gold standard of RV toilet treatments by RV wastewater experts.

6. Flush and Clean Your Black Tank Regularly

Even when following best practices, waste can accumulate over time. To help prevent this, rinse your black tank thoroughly after emptying to remove residue. Watch this video to see the most effective way to rinse your RV’s black tank - it may not be what you think!

If your RV toilet bubbles when flushed, this can indicate a venting issue or a blockage in the black tank. A thorough flush often resolves the problem. Learn how to solve a “burping” RV toilet here.

7. Properly Remove and Replace an RV Toilet If Needed

Though it’s less common, if your toilet isn’t holding water, leaks, or won’t flush properly, you might need to replace your RV toilet seal or the entire toilet.

We have a great video on how to remove an RV toilet!

When learning how to install an RV toilet, ensure you have a proper seal and tighten all connections securely. 

If you find yourself frequently needing to replace your RV toilet, improper black tank maintenance is probably the culprit. It’s not normal to replace an RV toilet frequently. We can help you! Contact our customer support team for additional tips, if you believe your practices are causing you to replace your toilet too often. We’re happy to help you resolve this problem!

Final Thoughts

Understanding how to use an RV toilet correctly is key to a hassle-free camping experience. By keeping the black tank closed, using lots of water, maintaining the toilet seal, and treating your tank regularly, you’ll avoid common problems like odors, clogs, and messy repairs.

If you ever need to remove an RV toilet for repairs or replacement, follow the steps in our video to ensure a smooth installation. A little preventative care goes a long way in keeping your RV’s bathroom functioning properly! And if you don’t already, you should make sure to clean your RV toilet regularly, we have some tips here that will help you fight odors and keep your toilet glistening!

Get the help and answers you need from Unique Camping + Marine! As the industry leader in RV toilet treatments, we’ve spent over 30 years developing the most effective, science-backed solutions designed to break down waste, eliminate odors, and keep your RV wastewater systems in peak condition. Our treatments harness the power of bacteria and enzymes, ensuring that your RV toilet functions properly without relying on harsh chemicals that can damage your system.

But we’re more than just products—we’re your RV wastewater experts. With Certified RV Technicians on staff, we offer FREE real-world guidance and expert support to help you understand how your black tank works and how to maintain it like a pro. Whether you’re troubleshooting an issue, learning how to rinse an RV toilet the right way, or wondering when it’s time to replace your RV toilet, we’ve got the answers you need.

Now that you know the right way to use and maintain your RV toilet, you can spend more time enjoying your travels and less time dealing with unpleasant surprises. Safe travels and happy flushing! 🚐💨