Black tank odor from under bed on 2017 21

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Rather than try to add odour to the black tank and track that for leaks, I'd add a dye of some kind.

That is a great idea Glenn . Pat

[cpaharley2008]

Not sure a dye would work on vertical vent pipe leaks, would work on horizontal pipe leaks..... perhaps a fog machine but I have never seen one available....

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Not sure a dye would work on vertical vent pipe leaks, would work on horizontal pipe leaks..... perhaps a fog machine but I have never seen one available....

What if you put the dye in and fill the tanks ? Pat

[cpaharley2008]

I do not think the liquid will go up into the air vents,,,,the sink would stop filling first??

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I do not think the liquid will go up into the air vents,,,,the sink would stop filling first??

If the leaks are lower wouldn’t the dyed liquid show up ? Can’t imagine the leaks would be up the pipes ? Pat

[cpaharley2008]

Each tank has a vent system to allow the gas to escape to the roof where there are vents. Your black an grey both have vents. If the pipe venting the foul odor has a crack in a joint, then the smell or odor would escape inside the trailer.....

[Patandlinda]

I that Jim but I thought we were talking about leaks no gas fumes Pat

[gbaglo]

How about playing some heavy metal and listening for a leak?

[padlin]

Originally Posted by HereAndThere

Any ideas on a safe but strong smelling chemical that I can add to the tanks to give them a distinct odor that wont dissipate quickly? I've thought of bath salts with lavender but chemistry isn't my thing so I'm looking for suggestions.

Thank you!

Jacob

Buck Lure, or whatever you wish to call it.

[HereAndThere]

I ended up using Pine Sol in both black and grey tanks diluted with water. The toilet open definitely had the "Pine Sol" smell but with everything closed even the Pine Sol smell disappeared. I left the trailer shut up with the Maxx Fan on low pushing out, after half a day the cabin still had the previous odor I've been investigating and under the bed the odor was still much stronger, no Pine Sol smell though! So no leak or vent issue, just residual odor from a spill or something.

I've scrubbed the floor under the bed with dry baking soda then vacuumed it up, sprayed the surfaces with Lysol then wiped and finally sprayed all surfaces with "Natures Miracle" and used a shop blower to dry it quickly. We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.

My sewer hoses smell fresh though! I flushed both tanks twice after using Pine Sol and they are now sitting full with clean water overnight.

I wonder if odor foggers are effective on chemical odors...

[cpaharley2008]

Sometimes a fresh coat of paint will get rid of old odors....use a light color to see better in low light.

[elongest]

One other place to investigate is the Toilet/bath liner/tank connection. The toilet uses either a wax or foam seal and odors would be found in the bath. The liner to tank connection is sealed with some type of sealant and a failure there would cause odors in the under bed area. You also have the toilet bolts which are fed up from inside the tank like in other trailers. Every time anyone sits on the toilet this connection is stressed and my experience with sealing plastic tanks can have issues. At this point I would pull the toilet and check to see if the tank to bath liner connection has failed and separated. I would also get one of those inspection cameras for your cell phone and check for leaks from your tank under the bath liner since you have things pulled apart.
Eddie

[Greg A]

If the tanks are basically odor free at this point, any continuing odor can’t be emanating from the tanks. If the black tank is completely full with fresh water, I’d monitor the level over the next week or so and see if it goes down from a leak. If not, then I would chase where a prior spillage could exist.

[PatrickTXFL]

Ever find an issue to fix?

[NW Cat Owner]

Soon after we got our 21' I noticed a strong crappy (HA!) odor coming from the bathroom. I flushed the tanks multiple times and all sorts of other tricks; none of which solved the problem. Turned out it was the roof vent that was factory installed and was worthless. I replaced it with this one and I've not had that odor problem since (knock on wood and all that).


https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


I don't know if this will solve your problem, but at the time I was told this was a known (least to those on this forum!) problem with the 21 due to the placement of the pipes or what-not. I forget exactly now as it's been a few years.



I've been putting Tank Tech RX down both the grey and black tanks. I've never used any other product, so I don't know how it compares to others, but I'm quite happy with it. It was recommended by a friend that has tried multiple products over the years of owning various trailers and motorhomes.

[HereAndThere]

The saga continues. I know it's not coming from the tank but now have a new theory...

The other day my son spilled a full cup of water over the dinette seat. It's amazing how fast water goes through cracks... As I was mopping up the water in the storage area (with all the electrical) under the seats I saw that my Escape was dripping behind the wheels on the outside. That's when I found those holes which let the trailer drain.

Back when I started the investigation the smell under the bed was like the smell of a clean black tank. The previous owner had said that a bottle of the black tank treatment chemical had spilled when stored under the bed so that's when I did the whole under bed cleanup thinking it was a residual from the spill (since an empty black tank had the same chemical smell as under the bed).

In light of the water spill I now see that the chemical could have gone very quickly under the floor and out the drain holes; but instead of drying out like water and disappearing perhaps it's left a residue under the floor...

Any ideas on how to flush things out from the floor through those drain holes? Mold and mildew are something I don't want to mess with by putting water under the floor intentionally. Should I try with pine sol?

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Jacob
If it were me, and I wanted to flush the “pontoons”, I would use a product called natures miracle. It’s an enzyme based product used to eliminate pet odors, mouse and rat urine odor, they even have a skunk odor eliminator product. You can buy a spray bottle or a bulk jug and it’s not all that expensive. I’ve used it in numerous situations over the years having managed 25 public park restrooms and 6 swimming pools etc.
Iowa Dave

[HereAndThere]

That's a good idea Dave, I have the stuff since I have little ones and dogs. You wouldn't be worried about mold with that stuff under the boards? Then again I have some mold sealer/killer solution that I could just flush through afterward. I'm planning on doing this when it gets back into the 100s so things dry out quickly, and maybe positive air pressure somehow....

Is this a crazy idea or is the shell built to drain well?

[Iowa Dave]

If you use any product, some way of drying the area would be desirable whether it’s a fan, compressed air, heat gun on low temp and max fan, very low humidity etc. I’ve never had a mold problem with the natures miracle but I’ve always used it on exposed surfaces.
Iowa Dave