If you’ve been reading our blogs for any length of time, you’ve probably heard about the importance of water usage in your black tank a thousand times. The reason we consistently harp on this topic is that it absolutely forms the bedrock of an all-inclusive wastewater treatment process. In fact, we recommend that you hold your flush pedal down for at least 10 full seconds with every flush!
There’s simply no way around it: if you want a smooth camping experience, adding ample amounts of water to your tank with every flush is crucial, and we’ll explore why in this article!
Water is incredibly powerful. It can carve out canyons, forge mountain basins, and keep the waste inside your black tank broken up! When you keep your black tank valve closed (which is important!), all the water you add to your tank will slosh around and prevent solid waste from solidifying. Without water in your black tank, waste will often form into a pyramid plug—a pyramid of poop that forms inside your tank!
If you add plenty of water to your black tank every time you flush your toilet (while also keeping your black tank valve closed), the waste won’t be able to solidify as easily. It’s important to note that water won’t digest waste or completely break it down. It only makes it less likely to coagulate. To break down waste, you must use plenty of water and treat your tank with a high-quality waste digesting product (see below).
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No RV black water tank treatment plan is complete without a waste digesting product to break down the solid waste in your tank. At Unique Camping + Marine, we highly suggest that you used a high-quality, bacteria-based holding tank treatment, like RV Digest-It, since this type of product works best to liquefy waste while also helping to keep odors under control. (To learn more about our product recommendations, check out our article on why you should use a high-quality waste digester!)
But even top-notch waste-digesting products will fail if there isn’t enough water in your tank. Bacteria, the fundamental ingredient of high-quality waste digesters, need water to hydrate them. They will not efficiently digest waste if they do not have enough water. Even more than this, the bacteria will not be able to reach all the waste inside your tank if there is only minimal water. Not only does water help keep the waste from solidifying into a chunk by sloshing it around, it also acts as a transportation method for the bacteria, allowing them access to all the waste.
Water is a great sealant for odors and other airborne substances, and when used in your holding tank, it serves to cover your solid waste (which typically sinks to the bottom of your tank), making it more difficult for odors to seep into your RV. The same thing occurs in your home. Your home toilet contains a p-trap in the drainage line (a pipe shaped like a P). Water settles in the low point of this pipe, keeping odors from seeping up into your home from your sewer. When you use plenty of water in your RV holding tank, you’re simply applying the same concept.
Using ample amounts of water could be considered the cardinal rule of proper tank treatment, but it actually forms only one root component of proper holding tank care.
That’s why we’ve taken it upon ourselves at Unique to develop The Unique Method, an innovative, simple, all-inclusive, and effective process to revolutionize your RV wastewater treatment. Rule #4 of The Unique Method addresses the topic of ample water usage, which we’ve summarized in this article. If you’re tired of frustrating and disgusting clogs, odors, or misreading sensors, we encourage you to check out The Unique Method. It will virtually eliminate all of these issues, letting you focus more on enjoying your camping trip and worry less about your holding tanks!
Please let us know if you have any questions about the topic covered in this article! You can reach us at support@uniquemm.com.
Many people may wonder, “Is a tank flush really that necessary?”. We recommend that you thoroughly flush out your black water holding tank for 20-30 minutes every 3-5 dumps.