RV toilet snake: We showed you what to do if your RV black tank is clogged with toilet paper or other materials. If the clog is immediately below the bowl and not in the tank, then a plunger will work. On my boat I had signs by the toilets: Bulent Buly, Doris and MaltiPoo Miss Daisy. We had a very similar situation with our fifth wheel. Using the tips weve shared with you today, youll be more prepared when facing a clogged RV toilet. Put a lid on top and shake it a few times. You can never have too much liquid in your black tanks. Here are the top signs that your RV toilet may be having some issues: 1: There is a strong odor coming from the toilet, black water tank, or the hose. Your RVs system is gravity-based. This wand connects to a standard garden hose and goes inside the toilet drain to spray water into the tank. Then you can open the black water tank and let the waste drain into the sewer. Now that you know your toilets clogged, dont do anything that could make it worse. There are RV-safe chemicals that will assist with breaking up RV toilet clogs. A DIY Fix For A Clogged RV Toilet (You've Been Doing It Wrong!) There are several methods that RVers use to unclog their RV toilets. When using an RV Holding Tank Cleaner, you wont have to worry about using a plumbers snake at all. Add RV toilet treatment after you dump your black water tank. If there is a clog deeper down in the black water tank, a plunger will not be able to fix the issue. In most cases, this will cost you around $100-200. Depending on the cleaner you purchase, how often you use it will differ. I then ran hot water down all sinks to see if they were going to pool up again, they did not. RV toilets need to be treated differently than traditionally plumbed toilets. Clogs in an RV toilet system occur once the material has reached the tank. You can go tankless with a macerating toilet, but it could be a significant amount of work to do so. A flexible snake can help you to work a clog out of the RV toilet. The road vibration will agitate the ice well enough to knock the clog loose. I can see this happening with a 90 degree bend and such little water usage. Plumbing issues are never fun, but they dont have to ruin a whole vacation. One of the most common causes of a clogged RV toilet is the solid-to-liquid ratio. There are some simple fixes to solve these clog problems you can do yourself. There are several ways you can address a clogged RV toilet, and we will cover most of them. I used rid , along with putting a tube style hose down kitchen line and giving it a very hard blow several times. When you use your black water flush system, make sure you have your sewer hose connected and the valve open. We've used various methods to clear the clogs; plunger, plumber's snake, toilet wand, septic-safe chemicals. OP- I wonder if tilting your trailer more or less towards the black tank would make a difference? The most common reason for RV toilets to be clogged is a buildup of toilet paper and waste at the base of the black holding tank. Have done it a couple of times successfully. This can result in building into a clog down the road. My trailer sits permanently on our 52 acre woodland property. This is often everyones first choice when attempting to clear their RV toilet as it is the one we use for toilets in our homes. I poured rid x in it also. The water that enters the commode bowl mixes with the waste. This type of toilet paper breaks down in your black tank. Steps to Unclog Your RV Toilet That wont drain, 2: Use a Plunger To fix a clogged RV toilet, 3: Using Plumbers Snake to clear a clog from your RVs toilet, 5: unclog an RV toilet with the ice cube method, How to Prevent Toilet Backups in the Future, 1: Keep Your Black Water Tank Valve Closed, 5: Regular RV Toilet and Black Water Tank Maintenance, 1: Unclog an RV Toilet Using a Holding Tank Cleaner, drain and clean your black water tank often, Attach a sewer hose to the dump station hole. When in doubt, check with your manufacturer. We are going to focus in more detail on how to unplug a pyramid plug as it is the most common. This seemed to work because. Only way to clean them I think is the nasty way of opening the unit and removing the stuff by hand. This should involve a maintenance check schedule as well as certain cleaning tasks you perform every month and every year. Flush the ice down the toilet without water, and drive for an hour. It may not display this or other websites correctly. I thought I was using RV friendly tp bought it at Lowes it was Scotts marine to well it eventually clogged the line to the black water tank and started backing up luckily I was close to a small town hardware store I bought a 20 ft flexible snake with a rubberized tip it connects to a cordless drill. It took several attempts at flushing using a hose from the inside. Once there, move the snake up and down and try to break the compaction apart until it falls into the black water tank. What Is The Right Health Insurance Options For Full Time RVers? 5: The valve is open, and the tank should be draining, but if the tank isnt empty after a drain attempt, then you likely have a clog. Not sure if was the sloshing on the drive home or the Dawn. Since there are many types of these drop-in cleaners on the market, you need to make sure that when you buy one that it is septic safe. If all else fails, you can take your RV to a dealership to get them to use a tank wand to spray the clog out. There are a few other unclogging methods you can use. So, the more water you use, the less likely you will have a clog. Some are standard features, others offer them as optional equipment. To help things along, these pipes have a smooth interior. Is the Good Sam Mail Service Actually Good? So, be sure to follow these instructions correctly, and if you can, have another person there to help you. And it works very well. Then, when you do dump the tank, they will be able to come out smoothly in a continuous flow. As long as they can flush their toilet and cleanly dump their wastewater, theyre happy. Follow these seven easy steps to unclog your RVToiletor Black Water Tank: In this article, we will cover not only how to unclog a pyramid plug, but a few other methods to try for a quick fix. Of course we didnt realise it until we drained the black tank and the water didnt go down in the toilet. First, make sure youre using enough water when flushing. Although the method we will focus on is one of the easiest and most effective, there is still waste involved. Once complete, follow these steps: Prepare yourselves with your discardable clothing and personal protective gearPlace the bucket directly under your sewer openingWhen youre ready, one of you open the black water tank valveWork the flexible snake into the black water tankKeep doing this until you start getting flow. These seals help keep water in the base of the bowl and must be water-tight to help keep smells down. Hot water works best as it is more aggressive in liquifying waste. Aaron is the co-founder ofRVing Know How,where he shares their experiences and RV-related tips to make life better for other RV owners. You can also use chemicals or even ice. Making these aspects a part of your RVing life or maintenance routines can keep you from having to deal with nasty toilet clogs ever again. There are also chemical drop cleaners that you can use both in your kitchen and bathroom. When you connect a city water hose to it (the connection is usually in or near the utility bay), the water pressure from the hose spins the head. You Know Your Toilet is Clogged. The Best Movies About Camping and How to Watch Them, Having Trouble Finding a Campsite? Drano is one chemical that you dont want to put into your RVs plumbing system. Your RVs toilet is very different than your household commode. The most common reason is something called a pyramid plug. What Cause Your RV Window Seals to Shrink and How to Fix It! RV plumbing relies on an excessive amount of liquids to help flush solids out of the system. Encounters of the RVF Kind - Member Sightings, Fifth Wheel, Travel Trailer, Toy Hauler, Campers, Camping Activities, Sports, Recreation, Hobbies, Cooking, Grilling, Recipes, Eating, Drinking, RVForums.com Premium Parks Map Discussion, RV Tech: Cellular, Internet, SAT, Audio/Visual, Clubs, Memberships, Insurance, Warranties, External BLOGS, Forum Posts, YouTube videos, scotts rapidly dissolving RV toilet paper, Installing a slow-close, bidet toilet seat on Dometic 8700 macerator toilet, Lessons learned Heartland TrailRunner 31db, Trying to connect M5 Netgear Router to Furrion Access Omni Antenna - 19' Keystone Montana. Some RVers prefer this over the hot water but it all depends on the clogs severity. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. When you choose to leave the black water tank valve open during regular use, all of the water and waste flow out of the tank and into the sewer line. The toilet paper should immediately begin to break down and eventually disintegrate. To avoid unclogging your RV toilet, there are many things you can do. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. This sprays water throughout the tank with some water pressure behind it. Gravity pushes the waste into the tank, and clogs can happen when emptying the tanks. When your toilet works properly, your treatment chemical and various flaps in the plumbing prevent odors from seeping up from the holding tank. So, the hot water adds the moisture the materials need to break apart. RV Toilet Clogged? If you have your tank closed, the pressure could crack the seals of the tank. How to Clear the Waste Matter From Your RVs Tank, Avoid Unclogging an RV Toilet With These Simple Tricks, Nomad Logistics: How Full Time RVers Get Mail, Stay Up Late With These Fun Family Nighttime Camping Activities, 5 Ways To Save Water When Youre Boondocking, Best Hikes In The Olympic National Park & Nearby Camping, Is An RV Washer Dryer Combo Right For You, dumping your tank at home into your septic, A hose that will connect to your bathroom sink, Protective eyewear (if you wear glasses, goggles that fit over them). As we are going over the preferred method first, the materials needed are rather slim. Luckily, a pyramid plug doesnt have to be a huge undertaking. You can pour a black tank cleaning treatment down your toilet and then run the flush system to enhance the cleaning. My question is can l pressure wash the tank through the toilet? A traditional method that can work in an RV if there is only a minor obstruction. Jim (W7DHC), Diane + Mini Schnauzers, Lizzy & Ellie. Had a clogged black water tank when leaving a campground about 200 miles from home. Many in the RV community dont understand how they work or their importance. The last thing any RVer wants is to give up a trip because they have to repair their toilet system. Put in some hot water and a fair amount of Dawn dishwashing liquid. Similarly to the tank cleaner, you can use boiling water to help break up the materials causing a clog in your RV toilet. This medium-pressured water will knock loose any solid material build-up. The problem was that the discharge line from the toilet was pushed to within 1 inch from the bottom of the tank. The number one thing that you will need to remember when using an RV Holding Tank Cleaner is that it takes time to work properly. Are you leaving the black tank valve open all the time??? You can also choose to use the RV Holding Tank Cleaner we discussed above once a year when winterizing your RV to make sure things are completely cleared out. Now, the person with the snake can insert the snake into the toilet and through the piping until they feel theyve hit the clog. Home and commercial plumbing break down sewage once you flush the toilet. To to unclog an RV toilet with the ice cube all you have to do is fill your toilet 1/3 up with water and then add as many ice cubes as you can. Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required, Ask questions, help others, review campgrounds, Invite everyone to RVForums.com and let's have fun, Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required. The black water tank system in your RV is one of those technologies most people dont want to know the details about. You can use the RV toilet snake down the toilet to clear blockages if a plunger doesnt work. As long as no one puts something down it that shouldn't go in the toilet. The clog will begin where the tank drains into the sewer and gradually build up until it reaches the toilet. That is why we recommend only using cleaners that are labeled for RV use and that are septic safe. Now What? It eats away at the materials found in residential plumbing systems. JavaScript is disabled. House versions use strong water pressure to push waste down to the sewage system. Its recommended that you flush out your tank every 1 or 2 months. Or you could try boiling or hot water. Aaron and his wife Evelyn have lived on the road since 2017, traveling the country in their Keystone Fuzion. If youve ever experienced a clogged RV toilet, you know what a nightmare it can be. Flush the toilet. Take a drive with ice: You can fix your RV toilet clog and alleviate your need to drive your coach at the same time. Its a good idea to hook up your sewer hose and try draining out what you can ahead of time. Be cautioned that this can be messy. Our discussion will show you how clogs happen, how to safely fix them, and the best tips to prevent blockages. Others require another person. My only experience with a macerator is in the toilet on our houseboat. If your RV doesnt have a black tank flush system, there are many ways to sanitize your holding tanks or install a flush system. Average Height Of An RV (With 15 Examples). They also eliminate the possibility of a pyramid in your black tank. You can avoid this by flushing the toilet twice after each use. One neighboring rig owner told me his coach uses a macerator toilet and he's never experienced a clog in the year's that he's be living full-time in his rig. As we mentioned above, and we cant stress this enough, dont use household drain cleaners. If it doesnt break down correctly, the solid material wont drain out. Thoughts. Hot water: If cold ice doesnt work, go hot. Drano can damage not only the seals around your dump valves but the holding tanks themselves, resulting in a costly and extensive repair. If youre dumping your tank at home into your septic system, make sure you use the bio versions instead of the blue chemicals to maintain the septics ecosystem. Any one of these techniques has proven to be effective by fellow RVers: Use a plunger: If the RV toilet keeps clogging, it could simply be a build-up in the toilet pipe. The pipes are either metal or thick polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic thats very durable. Not using the correct toilet paper in an RV can cause some significant issues. Flexible and sturdy, safe for plumbing, usually about five feet long, easy to hold on to, inexpensive. The run from the toilet to the tank has 2 90bends before it drops into the tank. Also, ensure your toilet paper is safe for your RV. Interstates, Highways, and Freeways: Whats the Difference? The water from our water heater is scalding to say the least so wear gloves if you try this. We like them, they work very well. It helps break down solids and prevents build-ups and clogs. Do you have any RV toilet clog tips you would add to our list? What Is the Best Time to Visit Utah National Parks? The second most common reason for a clogged RV toilet is the type of toilet paper you use. So, while the RV Holding Tank Cleaner method is preferred to unclog RV toilet. Your RVs sewer piping uses acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) pipes which is less durable than PVC. The difference is that residential plumbing often uses higher quality materials that can withstand corrosion better. Some substances specifically target and break down bacteria and paper materials found in RV black tanks. Interesting they would design it that way. RV tanks require solid materials to break down quickly, including toilet paper. Interesting problem. This site may earn additional income through various affiliate links. Before you use your snake, try to drain any waste into the bucket by opening the sewer tank and letting any waste fall into the bucket. This breakdown process is a sure sign that the toilet paper youre using will be safe for your RVs black tanks and minimize the risk of clogs. 4: When you are draining your tank, you dont see or hear anything happening. You may want to fill up the black tank with the swivel stick and then drive around the block to dislodge any clogs.