21C Toilet Clogging

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Jill

Another option is to not put toilet paper in the toilet. Once you get over the idea of it, it's no problem at all. I have a small waste can with a lid that I line with a plastic bag. Then each day I put in a fresh smaller bag (usually a dog waste bag) for the toilet paper. This gets thrown out each day. The advantage to this method is that your tank is much easier to clean and drain, AND you get to use as strong and soft a toilet paper as you want. We have not had any odor or other issues you might think of.

Yes. I was hesitant to bring this METHOD of disposal up because on occasion we camp alongside several other members who own Escapes and who may be lurking on this thread. Friends are hard to come by.

The additional benefit comes from using 'real' toilet paper.

[SageRpod]

Originally Posted by Telescopist

Yes. I was hesitant to bring this METHOD of disposal up because on occasion we camp alongside several other members who own Escapes and who may be lurking on this thread. Friends are hard to come by.

The additional benefit comes from using 'real' toilet paper.

We repurposed a sealable, plastic container from Cascade pods, put a suction cup on the back and it works splendid. The key is to do a final folder over of the used TP. If you really want to resolve your toilet plumbing issues for good, however, do what we did and go with a composting toilet. I know they aren't for everybody but they work.

[Perry Butler]

After retirement, we needed something besides our basic Casita (no heater, 5 gal fresh water, no grey, and no black). We had three trailers with toilets, before we started with fiberglass trailers, and quickly remembered that you need to see water in the tank before pooping. We always added four gallons to our 5.0’s black tank after emptying the tank. We use standard Charmin tp and as long as it gets soaked in the tank, never had a problem. We use Odorlos as our tank treatment.

IMO, if you don’t put at least three gallons of water before pooping you may have issues. With four, we never had an issue. Since the black water tank is spec’d at 30 gallons, that four gallons to start is meaningless. We use the same tub when filling, for our tub when washing dishes, and dirty dish water is always dumped into the toilet. We dump the black tank about every other grey water dump. Works for us.

Food for thought,

Perry

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by DT6

Here is the post everyone loves to read about, toilet clogging in an RV. We had an Escape19 for almost 4 years with no problems. We received the 21C back in October and I'ver had to unclog the toilet twice in the past week.

This is our first really long (over two week) trip, but we did two weeks back in Dec/Jan in the 21C and were fine.

The issue seems to be that the paper and waste is not flowing through completely to the tank and it looks like a blob of toilet paper you can see when the valve is open. Water goes past it fine, so no water backup, but paper remains.

I took a somewhat high pressure hose (used my hot water heater clean-out hose attachment) and although the water went down, the paper remained. I had to get a stick and gently shoved it down the hole to move the clog along.

Granted the toilet in the 21C is probably plumbed a bit different than the 19, but it just seems something is not right. Anyone with a 21C have this issue?

Thanks.

I have a 5.0 TA and here is my method....it works for me.
Add chemical and a few gallons of water to the tank when done emptying. Drive home and get out a 5 gallon bucket, fill it from the grey tank or from the home tap, dump it in camper toilet, drain black tank into bucket and carry inside to dump in home toilet, do this a couple of times and it will flush out the tank pretty well. After a few times of this method drag your home hose out to the camper and get out your camco tank flushing wand, stuff wand down camper toilet and move it around while hose is on and spray down the inside of the tank, drain into bucket and dump in home toilet....squeeky clean tank and working tank probes! Oh and we put the TP in the camper toilet. I have had boats before where you put the TP in the trash but this is mostly because boat toilets use pumps that clog w TP.

Please don't flush "flushable" wipes on the road or at home! They just build up and cause problems for the folks that work in the wastewater treatment profession.

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I haven't had this particular problem with my black tank that I've noticed.

Usually when a problem is posted I try and visualize the situation. Not trying that for this situation.

Same for me Mike, a non-issue for us and we use regular TP.

Actually, after decades of marine heads the trailer toilet is a dream situation. No double pumps that easily clog, no Y valves, no sea cock and no holding tank that has to have the contents pumped out uphill. We started out putting TP in a waste basket but gradually started flushing it. From time to time it may have caused a problem but no biggie.

All we do "extra" is dump a couple of buckets of water down after it's pretty much finished draining. Liked the E19 situation more because we'd just pass the hose in through the window.

Ron

[huskersteffy]

There's a name for this phenomena, the TP Teepee. or, Poo Pyramid.

My wife and I call it Toilet Paper Mountain.

[John in Santa Cruz]

FWIW, Charmin regular TP even clogs our septic system at home.... I would never use that in an RV system.

[Iowa Dave]

Where’s that poo emoji when we need it?
Iowa Dave

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

FWIW, Charmin regular TP even clogs our septic system at home.... I would never use that in an RV system.

Yet we’ve had no problems with Charmin over the years. We do try to add 4 or more gallons of water to the black tank after emptying, and only empty the black tank every-other time we dump the grey. Perhaps the motion going down the road helps, as well as adding Odorlos to they mix, vs a static septic system.

Some also wad up as much as 5-8 squares of tp each wipe, but with the current Charmin only one square is needed, so less tp in the tank.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Mike Lewis]

I've seen conflicting advice on this:

1. Empty it once a week. If you wait longer some chemical reaction starts that causes noxious odors regardless of the chemical treatment you use. I use Odorlos and it seems to work pretty well for about five days, then sometimes I have to give it another dose. Much longer than a week and Odorlos seems to lose its effectiveness altogether.

2. Empty the black tank when it is 2/3 full. That way the height of the contents (not the volume-- I took calculus) helps gravity empty the tank. In my case it would take quite a bit longer than a week to get to 2/3 full.

So which is it?

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I've seen conflicting advice on this:

1. Empty it once a week. If you wait longer some chemical reaction starts that causes noxious odors regardless of the chemical treatment you use. I use Odorlos and it seems to work pretty well for about five days, then sometimes I have to give it another dose. Much longer than a week and Odorlos seems to lose its effectiveness altogether.

2. Empty the black tank when it is 2/3 full. That way the height of the contents (not the volume-- I took calculus) helps gravity empty the tank. In my case it would take quite a bit longer than a week to get to 2/3 full.

So which is it?

Perhaps once a year we get a smell after a few days. We’re on day nine since the last black dump, no smell, we also add dish water, but today we’ll be dumping the tank since it’s well over 1/3 full.

“They” say you get a better dump when the tank has more “height” (but since the tank capacity is static, I call it volume, as in, volume in the tank vs volume of the tank).

Enjoy,

Perry

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

2. Empty the black tank when it is 2/3 full. That way the height of the contents (not the volume-- I took calculus) helps gravity empty the tank. In my case it would take quite a bit longer than a week to get to 2/3 full.

Shouldn't that be, "wait until the tank is at least 2/3 full"?

I don't why we're so darn lucky. We use regular TP, no chemicals and don't seem to have some of the problems others have. Only thing we mostly do is run the PS wheels up on a block for good faster draining and dumping a couple of rinse buckets in. Disappointing that some dumps sites have almost a negative slope.

Ron

[CADreamin]

When we first dumped our 21', I noticed a "teepee" of paper looking down through the valve. I tried most everything to get that lump to dissolve/move to no avail. Finally, in desperation, I took a stick and attacked. Much to my surprise, the 'teepee' of paper turned out to be the caulking they used to seal the toilet. It was like someone had extra caulk and just dumped it down the hole!

[Fender]

Perhaps we are the only ones that have a "no #2 policy" in the RV, and for those that require TP for #1 we too use a container to keep this in.
The benefits of the #2 policy are many; makes living in a small enclosed space much more enjoyable, no concerns about clogging and dumping the tank is a breeze.
Not for everyone, especially those that boondock, but for us the perks outweigh walking to the campground bathroom once a day (hopefully)!

[Jill]

Originally Posted by Fender

Perhaps we are the only ones that have a "no #2 policy" in the RV, and for those that require TP for #1 we too use a container to keep this in.
The benefits of the #2 policy are many; makes living in a small enclosed space much more enjoyable, no concerns about clogging and dumping the tank is a breeze.
Not for everyone, especially those that boondock, but for us the perks outweigh walking to the campground bathroom once a day (hopefully)!

We had that policy until we boondocked at a Quartzsite rally and had to use our bathroom to its full extent. It was a huge improvement to our camping experience. No more worries about finding the bathrooms closed or occupied or dirty etc. And of course it reduces the exposure to other's germs (ex. covid, colds, flu).

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by yakrv

the flip side to this train of thought is there are plenty of “newbies” who don’t know the first thing about rv systems. We were in that category last june (and we’re still learning a lot!), and things that seem simple or common sense to an experienced owner might be a revelation to some people. That makes this forum worthy for any rv subject. The old saying, “there are no stupid questions,” applies.

Just my opinion. Cheers.

right!

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by Perry Butler

Perhaps once a year we get a smell after a few days. We’re on day nine since the last black dump, no smell.

Perry

Hmm. So in my case it must be a personal problem, as in my lousy diet. "Smelly cat, what are they feeding you?"

[hugh]

Originally Posted by DT6

I took a somewhat high pressure hose (used my hot water heater clean-out hose attachment) and although the water went down, the paper remained. I had to get a stick and gently shoved it down the hole to move the clog along.
Thanks.

I've got to ask: are you ever going to use the attachment on your hot water heater again?

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Fender

Perhaps we are the only ones that have a "no #2 policy" in the RV, and for those that require TP for #1 we too use a container to keep this in.
The benefits of the #2 policy are many; makes living in a small enclosed space much more enjoyable, no concerns about clogging and dumping the tank is a breeze.
Not for everyone, especially those that boondock, but for us the perks outweigh walking to the campground bathroom once a day (hopefully)!

I have a friend who has owned over 4 Escapes. He told me once that he NEVER takes a dump in his toilet. That he relies on the camp ground facilites for showers, etc. My response: "I'd paid for that space. I'm going to use it".

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Telescopist

I have a friend who has owned over 4 Escapes. He told me once that he NEVER takes a dump in his toilet. That he relies on the camp ground facilites for showers, etc. My response: "I'd paid for that space. I'm going to use it".

During the height of the pandemic and campground 'facilities' were closed, did people NOT camp or NOT poop when camping Seriously. I'm with you, bought a fully-self contained trailer and I'm using all of it. The sewer hose isn't transparent, I don't watch it drain, I don't care what's going down the hose. It works as designed. I think it's peoples perception about .....eewwww feces, than reality. Change a babies blow out dirty diaper you'll realize pooping in a toilet built for it is no biggy.