Best RV Black Tank Treatments 2025 - Reviewed By RV Techs

What We Like About RV Digest-It Ultra: 

RV Digest-It Ultra is our top pick because it was developed by leaders with over 30 years in the RV and septic wastewater industry. It offers 32 treatments and a no-mess, no-measure bottle, with a formula that quickly works without damaging tank components or overpowering fragrances or perfumes.

The formula is powered by the gold standard: bacteria and enzymes. 

Enzymes rapidly break down waste, bacteria consume the solids, and stinky hydrogen sulfide gas and ammonia are converted into odorless carbon dioxide and water. 

The result? RV Digest-It Ultra effectively handles waste breakdown, toilet paper breakdown, eliminates odors at the source, and preventively cleans your black tank.

Made in the USA, and developed, formulated, and packaged in-house with a 100% satisfaction guarantee, RV Digest-It Ultra is a product you can trust. In fact, if you experience any issues with RV Digest-It Ultra, you can receive friendly and informed customer support provided by on-staff, certified technicians and wastewater experts to help you solve problems safely, quickly, and efficiently.  

What We Don’t Like About RV Digest-It Ultra: 

True of all RV tank treatments, RV Digest-It Ultra is limited by water use, and can only break down waste in areas where water can transport the treatment. If you don’t use enough water in your RV, you will see limited results.

Additionally, similar to other tank treatments, high-temperature environments can make RV Digest-It Ultra less effective. 

Finally, some RVers enjoy strong fragrances and perfumes, but RV Digest-It does not currently offer many fragrance options. 

Would We Use RV Digest-It Ultra in Our RV?

Yes! We use RV Digest-It Ultra in our RV with confidence because the treatment has eliminated any issues with clogs, odors, or misreading sensors. The key to its success is the combination of bacteria and enzymes, which synergize to perform all the functions necessary to experience problem-free holding tanks. 

We also love that every product is guaranteed to be successful, and because of the free and reliable support offered by Unique’s on-staff certified RV techs, certified septic techs, and wastewater experts. We never feel stuck or alone with Unique.  

What We Like About Camco TST Max:

Camco is an established and trusted brand with a proven track record in the outdoor industry. The TST Max RV toilet treatment is available everywhere, making it easily accessible, and is legally compliant in all states. 

Like RV Digest-It Ultra, TST Max will not damage tank components, and has a clear and transparent list of ingredients, so that you know you can safely use the product in your RV. 

What We Don’t Like About Camco TST Max:

When we tested TST Max, we found that it over promises and under delivers. The pods tend to break while in the package, and dissolve very slowly in the tank. In testing, we’ve found that while the formula is capable of digesting some waste, water actually outperformed TST Max at breaking down waste so there is no real benefit to using the treatment.

While there are numerous fragrances available, the scent is very strong and can be overwhelming. We also found that even with the strong scent of the fragrance, unpleasant odors were still very apparent, indicating that the product doesn’t tackle odors at the source. Toilet paper was also not effectively broken down in our testing, with the TST Max breaking down toilet paper at the same rate as simply using water.

Would We Use Camco TST Max in Our RV?

No. Though Camco TST Max did slightly outperform our water control in testing, we would consider Camco TST Max a waste of money because it isn’t significantly more effective than water alone for breaking down waste. We would prefer to use water, and save the cost of TST Max. In terms of toilet paper break down, Camco TST Max didn't break toilet paper down quickly or sufficiently enough to prevent clogs and sensor issues in the tank. Additionally, the tank still smelled after testing the product, so it doesn't meet our standards for odor control. 

What We Like About Walex Porta-Pak:

Walex is a company with a mission to create “performance products for performance needs” and during its years in the industry has cultivated a well-established distribution network. That means that Walex Porta-Pak is available everywhere, making it easy to purchase while out on the road. 

What We Don’t Like About Walex Porta-Pak:

After testing Walex Porta-Pak, we found that it doesn’t effectively handle the main jobs a quality tank treatment should — it doesn’t break down human waste or toilet paper, and it doesn’t control odors. In fact, we found the fragrance to be incredibly overpowering, which may be an attempt to hide tank odors, rather than address them. 

When reviewing the package, we were disappointed that a clear list of ingredients wasn’t included, leaving us to wonder if the product is truly safe and compliant as the package suggests. We contacted the manufacturer directly, and discovered that the product contains bronopol, which is prohibited in California. 

While the company now claims the product is free from this ingredient on the packaging, the messaging is very confusing. Without transparent ingredient lists and a fully updated product line, it's difficult to know whether this non-biodegradable, hazardous ingredient is still posing a legal, health, and safety risk to consumers using this product. 

We also felt that the high cost per treatment wasn’t justified, particularly because the product didn’t deliver any results. 

Would We Use Walex Porta-Pak in Our RV?

No, we would never use Walex Porta-Pak in our RV for several reasons. 

First, the expensive price point is a waste of money for a product that doesn’t break down waste or toilet paper, and leaves you with a foul-smelling tank. 

Second, the ingredient information is not available on the package or the website, making it difficult for customers to know what’s in the product, which means the product may contain hazardous ingredients, be noncompliant in some states, and be potentially dangerous for users.   

What We Like About Liquified:

Liquified is a company that was founded by a popular YouTube star, who started his own line of RV tank treatments to sell to his viewers. When testing this product, we were pleased to find that it handles human waste and toilet paper breakdown quickly. 

The bottle is easy to use, and the product is Made in the USA, which are both aspects of the product that we really like. 

What We Don’t Like About Liquified:

Liquified says they have one simple mission: to challenge industry norms and redefine the RV sector, one odor-free black tank at a time. However, we found that of all aspects of black tank treatments, the odor control was the most underwhelming part of this product. 

Liquified’s owner seems to be confused about its formula, because in some places he claims the product is enzyme-based, but in others he claims the product contains bacteria and enzymes. 

It’s not unusual for a private labeler (someone who doesn’t formulate, blend, and manufacture their own product) to be a bit confused about the product they are putting their name on, and this seems to be the case with Liquified. 

In lab testing, we only found enzymes present in the formulation – no bacteria. So, we believe this product is not bacteria-based, but enzyme-based. It’s important to know that without bacteria, the product is less capable of tackling odors, which would explain why we experienced good waste and toilet paper breakdown (from the enzymes), but still struggled with lingering odors (that would be tackled more appropriately via bacteria-action). 

While this product is better than most of the others available, we’ve still found that the company seems to lack the expert support needed if you have questions or problems with the product or your RV. They don’t seem to understand their own product or exactly how their products work in general, so it seems likely that if you run into a problem you’ll be on your own to figure it out. 

Would We Use Liquified in Our RV? 

No. However, if we were camping without easy access to water, and could not access Unique RV Digest-It Ultra, Liquified would be our second choice in the interim.

That said, a normal RVer who is likely to run into common, normal, problems will probably find the company’s lack of technical knowledge, and misunderstanding of its product’s formula and capability, problematic and insufficient to help them if and when problems arise. 

What We Like About Happy Campers:

Happy Campers is a company that is not transparent about its origin, manufacturing practices, product details and ingredients, team, or mission. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find anything positive to share about this company or product. 

What We Don’t Like About Happy Campers: 

First and foremost, we don’t like the Happy Campers tank treatment because it is not capable of breaking down human waste or toilet paper at all. 

The other big problem with Happy Campers, is that it is not transparent about its ingredients, which are hazardous and dangerous. The product’s active ingredient is zinc sulfate monohydrate, which is not only banned in California, but is also highly toxic to humans and the environment. The packaging doesn’t clearly warn of the danger, posing significant risks to customers. 

It’s important to understand, while zinc sulfate monohydrate is a strong pesticide and antimicrobial that is technically capable of eliminating odors by neutralizing and killing odor-causing microbes, our testing has revealed that the odor-reducing effects customers experience come not as a result of this toxic ingredient, but as a result of using more water in their black tanks (a standard practice). We gave this product a positive ranking in the odor elimination category not because of the product itself, but because users report odor control. 

We were unable to replicate the odor-eliminating claims with the product in our testing, but we did find odor reduction when we increased the amount of water that was added to the tank. This leads us to believe that water is ultimately doing more work to reduce odors than Happy Campers.

We’ve also found that using this product can be detrimental to seals and gaskets inside of holding tanks, can harden inside of toilets and tanks causing significant damage, and may also require consumers to hire professional cleaning services to clear out the tank treatment for good.  

Would We Use Happy Campers in Our RV?

Absolutely not — buyer beware. Based on all of our technical reviews and testing, this product has no redeeming qualities. It’s unsafe, prohibited in California, damaging to tanks and plumbing, and provides RVers with no benefits. In fact, we would go so far as to say in testing we’ve found that this product creates problems, it doesn’t solve them. 

We know Happy Campers has a very loyal customer base, but through all of our testing, we can confirm that most of the benefits, if not all, that customers experience with Happy Campers, comes as a result of using plenty of water in their black water holding tanks. Don’t believe us? You can do the same test we did and see how Happy Campers fails to break down waste, digest toilet paper, or remove odors!

What We Like About The Geo Method: 

The Geo Method is a viral, DIY technique that claims to be effective at treating RV black tanks, but through testing and experience with real RVers, we don’t like anything about this method. 

What We Don’t Like About The Geo Method:

The Geo Method is a relatively expensive combination of Pine-Sol, Calgon, and water, and the resulting formula is incredibly underwhelming at best.

Some professional tank cleaners recommend this process because they claim that Pine-Sol stops the breakdown of poop (they erroneously claim that poop should remain solid inside a holding tank) but our testing has shown that the combination of water and Pine-Sol still allows poop to break down, thereby defeating the entire claim / purpose of using this potentially tank-damaging, problem-causing household cleaner in your RV toilet.

Additionally, our testing has shown Pine-Sol to be completely ineffective for eliminating toilet odors. At most it seems to cover poop smells with a potent (some may sat overwhelming) scent of chemically-smelling pine fragrance.

Aside from it being ineffective, The Geo Method is potentially detrimental to your RV. We contacted Pine-Sol and their representatives have shared that the product can damage rubber toilet and tank seals, which may lead to messy and expensive tank repairs.

In fact, Pine-Sol representatives directly noted that they do not recommend using the product in black tanks because it may cause problems.

While damage to your RV is possible, The Geo Method may also cause damage to campground septic and water systems, particularly because it is not recommended to pour excessive amounts of antibacterial products down drains.

Would We Use The Geo Method in Our RV?

Never! Unfortunately, some holding tank cleaning services have incorrectly claimed that you do not want to break down human waste in holding tanks, and that Pine-Sol will keep the waste solid, while Calgon will coat the tank and allow the waste to slide out of the tank more effectively. 

This is not scientifically accurate in any way and our testing has shown that poop readily breaks down in Pine-Sol (contradicting their claims that it remains in a solid-state) and we’ve seen no improvements from Calgon in “sliding” the waste out of a black tank.

The truth is that human waste will naturally break down in water over time, so it's virtually impossible to keep poop solid inside of a black tank. If anything causes a tank to be thick, sludgy, and difficult to dump, it’s too little water. The solution is not to make the human waste more solid, instead, all you need to do is add more water to dilute the waste and allow it to flow out easier (proving that waste breakdown is better for problem-free dumping). 

Reputable, professional tank cleaners disagree with the tank cleaners who recommend The Geo Method. We agree that this misleading information can pose significant problems for RVers, because it virtually guarantees the buildup of sludge inside the tank, meaning more odors, potential for clogs, and the need to have your tanks cleaned professionally more often.

At best this is an old wives tale that doesn’t work. At worst, it’s costing you more than just the expense of treatment and the need for professional tank cleanings - it could very likely result in damage to your toilet, tank, and septic systems.