Key Points:

1. In order to clean out any residual chemicals from your holding tanks, perform a deep clean of your black tank using Clean-It and a deep clean of your gray tank using Blue Dawn dish soap.
2. You may also use your RV’s built-in rinser (if it has one) to clean out your tank, or you may use a tank cleaning wand to flush out your tanks. Finally, you may partially fill your tanks with water and flush your system until it is clean.

Making the choice to move away from using dangerous chemical treatments to bacteria-based treatments in your RV’s black and gray water holding tanks is a fantastic idea! But this switch can also come with some confusion in regard to how to make that transition. Not to worry, in this guide we are going to give you all the information you need in order to prep your black and gray water holding tanks to make the switch from chemical treatments to bacteria-based treatments!

Making the Change

If you’ve just recently stopped using chemical treatments, you probably still have remains of those chemicals in your tanks. And if any chemicals are still present in your holding tanks, they can disrupt the effectiveness of the bacteria from a newly introduced bacteria-based treatment. Let’s learn how to remove any of this residual chemical inside your tank so your transition to a bacterial treatment product is an easy one. 

Flushing Your Tanks to Remove Any Residual Chemicals

There are a few pointers when flushing out your black and gray tanks to remove any remaining chemicals and make way for bacteria-based products:

1. For Black Water Tanks: Perform a deep clean of your black tank using Unique Clean-It and following the directions on the bottle. This product will flush the system, remove waste from the sidewalls and tank floor, remove debris that may have collected on the sensor probes, and lubricate your valves and seals.
2. For Gray Water Tanks: Fill your gray tank with water and use Dawn Ultra dish soap to deep clean your gray water tank. The grease-eating enzymes in Dawn Ultra will help remove the grease that has collected on your tank’s sidewalls. Let the mixture of water and Dawn Ultra sit overnight, and dump your tank in the morning.

Going the Extra Mile

In addition to the two recommendations above, if your RV has a built-in rinsing system, you can also run the rinser to thoroughly flush out your tanks. If your RV does not have a rinser, you still have options. After following the above steps and then dumping your black and gray tanks, close both tank valves and partially fill both tanks with water. 

• To add water to your black tank, simply flush the toilet (if hooked up to water) or pour water down the toilet using a gallon jug or bucket (if at the dump station). 
• To add water to your gray water tank, run your sink faucet (if hooked up to water) or pour water down your sink using a gallon jug or bucket (if at the dump station). 

After following these steps, open your valves and flush out your tanks. Repeat as needed. Another option is a tank cleaning wand. Simply connect your wand to a water source and use the wand to clean out your tank via your toilet bowl.

Keeping Chemicals Out of Your System

Now that you’ve cleared your holding tanks from any residual chemical products, it’s important that you keep them chemical free! The good news is we’ve created an entire guide on What to Allow in Your RV Holding Tanks.. 

Chemical-Free is the Way to Be!

We hope this article has been helpful as you make the switch to bacterial treatments! If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out to us! We're always more than happy to help. Happy camping!