Toilet additives

DuxDeluxe wrote:That sounds like a good idea........

never came across the black bits in the old van, but this new one seems to spit them out regularly when flushing.

Yes we have experienced the dreaded black bits in the flushing water despite flushing through on our return from every trip.

At the NEC last week I was encouraged to use "One Chem" which is cheaper than Thetford's products and better for the environment. Has anyone any experience of this product?

We had this problem for a while until we read somewhere that a double dose of milton in the tank and left overnight would clear it which it has done for over a year now.

lompsterdriver wrote:We had this problem for a while until we read somewhere that a double dose of milton in the tank and left overnight would clear it which it has done for over a year now.

Thank you. I must give that a try.

Hi Orian.



I also do the milton thing every year. Put it in a full flush tank of water, drive it round a bit, leave over night, drive it round again for a bit.

Drain the tank, and bingo no black bits for the rest of the year. It really works.



Good luck. Whisky.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]



PS. The driving around sloshes it about to get the black bits off the top of the tank.

Thanks chaps, there is always a new trick to learn which makes this forum a gold mine of information.

Can anyone comment on the One Chem product?

Not used it in the MH But tried it in the old Caravan when it first came out have to say I was not impressed it was ok in the top tank but I found you got some smells from the bottom tank and the solids break down was not good, it didn't work out much cheaper as you used twice the amount shared between two tanks.
Like the sound of the washing liquid though may have to give that a try, having just been ripped of by my local caravan store on a 2 for £9.00 deal get to the counter and its only if you buy either 2 pink or 2 blue not if you buy one of each (why would you want 2 of each)

I was told last weekend that the people who marketed the "one chem" stuff had gone out of business and the firm that actually made it was starting to market it to the leisure industry (and came to an MCC Rally to promote) Previously they only sold it to industry themselves.
Got the impression they were based around the Sandbach / Crewe area but cant remember their name. Still wont use it though didnt like the smell when we tried it

We bought 25 litres for £25 about 5 years ago and have about 12.5 litres left. It worked out so much cheaper than any you buy.
We picked it up on a Sunday morning from the owner at the premises in the Preston area, we went to Martin Mere WWT afterwards.
Really good and they repack it for some of the dealers.

I will try and have a look and see if the telephone number is on it. I did put the label onto one of them but possibly the one that was used. Might help someone in the North West.

Were still using Fenwick's Top & Tail... seems to be doing the job and seems to smell fine inside the motorhome, but it does pong a bit when emptying at the disposal points, can only describe the smell as a highly concentrated pee odour Have got some of the formaldehyde free Fenwick's Citrus Blue & Pink fluids (formerly known as Blujon & Lilly The Pink) so will give that a go and see if it's any better, certainly the Fenwicks Top & Tail is much more economical than using Thetford fluids even using a higher concentrated dose than recommended.

We used the "normal" recommended, well marketed, caravan additives, changing from the original blue to a green pine smell additive over the years. The various ones have alway given a " toilet" deodorant type smell. After reading the various posts last year I changed to a bio clothes washing liquid. I chose Aldi because every Aldi product we have purchased has been at least as good or better than other suppliers and is usually cheaper. I put less than a litre of warm water in the lower tank, fill the bio cap halfway then add to the tank. I was told that the warm water is needed to effectively 'start' the bio action. Result: no deoderant toilet smells and no personal smell. Nothing is to the top box. I don't add anything to our home flush so why add anything to your MH flush tank.
Regards Brian
In Sunny Macclesfield.

Hi Brian,
Once you've "charged" the tank,how long does the bio action keep working without anything to feed on?
What I'm getting at is that I can bung some (environmentally friendly - it says on the bottle) toilet fluid in the tank today and it will still be effective a couple of weeks time, even though it has been left standing unused.
Would the bio liquid still be working after a couple of weeks standing idle or does it need to be put to work straight away? IYSWIM

I'm really interested in these biological solutions as when we're wild camping, I often need to empty the loo in public toilets so I won't use anything which would poison a septic tank system.
Most of the eco-friendly fluids I've used have not been too good at dealing with the "poo smell" and lets face it - this is the reason we use stuff in the bottom tank.

Rgds
Frank

I would hazard a guess that when the tank is emptied and rinsed that it would not be squeaky clean and some bacteria would still exist. I am only guessing! We use our loo "fully" and I was really pleased with the results of the Aldi bio liquid, using only half a capful. The tank is usually emptied every couple of days. We are not a couple who use air fresheners, preferring ventilation. We don't use biological clothes washing powder in our washer at home, and try to minimise the use of Dettox type of spray products, preferring the old fashioned soap and water approach.
We are not really experienced motor-homers, like a most on this forum, having Owned our Amethyst for only three years. During this time we also did a major renovation and the last two years have been the busiest we have encountered, not allowing for decent long holidays in the MH. Prior to this we had a caravan and used the Thetford products. Before the renovation and due to the MH being really smelly I ordered a biological smell digester from a chemical company. I spoke to the chemist and he said that you had to add it to WARM water and not HOT water prior to spraying on the fabric to get the bio action started. This may have helped a little with the smell but we decided best approach,in the end, was re carpeting and total re-upholstering.
Brian.