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Article 4 of 8 in Series: RV Toilet Clogs

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Key Points:

• Know for sure if you are dealing with a pyramid plug before you start clearing it; a blocked RV toilet line shares the same symptoms but has a different fix.
• You’ll need a high-quality bacteria and enzyme tank cleaning product to break through the top of the pyramid to allow water and treatment inside the tank.
• You may need a PEX pipe and additional bottles of tank cleaning products for stubborn pyramid plugs.

The Pyramids at Giza are awe-inspiring and entomb some of the most powerful ancient figures in history. Poop pyramids in your RV holding tank are not quite as spectacular and only entomb annoyance and headaches. But getting rid of poop pyramids is much easier than dispensing with ancient historical landmarks. In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to knock out a pyramid plug for good.

How to Clear a Pyramid Plug

 

Note: If you know you have a blocked toilet line instead of a pyramid plug, refer to our guide on How to Clear a Blocked RV Toilet Line.

Before you start, make sure your black tank valve is closed.

1. Turn off your fresh water.
2. Pour one entire bottle of Clear-It into the toilet bowl, and hold down the flush pedal so the product gets to the clog.
3. Let the product sit in the toilet for a few hours.
   • If the liquid solution in the toilet has fully or partially emptied into the tank, then you have a channel. Fill your tank with as much water as possible and let sit for a minimum of 72 hours.
   • If the liquid solution in the toilet has NOT appeared to drain much at all, hold down the flush pedal, and use a PEX pipe or toilet snake to poke a hole in the top of the pyramid plug. Once you've created a big enough channel, fill your tank with as much water as possible and let sit for a minimum of 72 hours.

     Note: No amount of time is too long for Unique Clear-It to work, but we typically recommend at least 72 hours.

4. After 72 hours, dump the tank.
5. Thoroughly rinse your black tank with a built-in rinser, rinser wand, or backflusher.

   Note: You may see clear liquid coming out of the black tank discharge port when you first begin rinsing, but this doesn't mean you've cleared the tank of all the waste making up the pyramid plug. After more time rinsing, you'll probably break apart any remaining stubborn waste and you should start seeing more of the nasty water you were expecting. This tidal wave of poop water could last for several minutes, so keep flushing until the water is mostly clear.

6. Repeat this process again if you suspect there may still be a stubborn build up of waste that was not knocked out the first time.
7. Don’t forget to turn your fresh water valve back on once you’ve cleared the clog.

IMPORTANT: When you are finished, be sure to close your black tank valve and keep it closed unless you are actively dumping a full tank. Refer to our guide on Why It's Crucial to Keep Your RV Black Water Valve Closed.

If you’ve followed the entire process above and still aren’t seeing results, please reach out to our customer support team. We are happy to help you get your tanks back on track!

Review

Clearing a pyramid plug is not a pleasant task, but now you have the steps you need to fix one if it ever rises again. Here’s a brief review of what we covered in this guide:

• Make sure you know what kind of clog you have before you begin trying to clear it: pyramid plugs and blocked RV toilet lines share the same symptoms.
• Fixing a pyramid plug will require one bottle of Unique Clear-It, lots of water, and possibly a PEX pipe or RV toilet snake.

You might have fixed the pyramid plug, but what do you do if you have a blocked RV toilet line or a compacted tank? The next several articles will cover the steps to fix other types of clogs, but if you are concerned with preventing a pyramid plug in the future, refer to our guide on Preventing Clogs in Your RV Holding Tank.

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