Trailers Cleaning RV holding tanks?

[parsonswife]

We need to do a through cleaning out of our gray and black water holding tanks. Do you think vinegar and baking soda would hurt the tanks or the lines? I was also thinking of putting in alot of CLR to loosen the sediment that might be in the tanks. My concerns are soap scum and food particles from the kitchen and iron/calcium sediment in both tanks.

Any input is appreciated!

 

[Roadkill]

There are several devices made for rinsing out tanks. I use a wand hooked to a garden hose inserted from above & a 45° elbow from below that has a port for hooking a hose to it. Both will loosen a lot of sediment. I had also used commercial products (Rid-X, etc) by filling the tank and letting it sit for a few days before emptying. Another thing that works well is to fill your tanks about half full of clear water, dump a few bags of ice down the toilet & go for a drive. The ice moving around works wonders.

 

[rafter]

We used to be out on the road and hang out on the RV forums...they always said the best way to clean holding tanks is to dump a bag of ice down the toilet and go for a 10 mile ride. The ice will scrape anything there is off the inside of the black tank.

For grey tanks there is a cleaner especially made for them, but I don't know why the baking soda wouldn't work.

 

[Publius]

One of the easiest is just get the garden hose and fill the tanks from inside the camper and let it set for a day, then drain and refill to about 3/4 full and go for a 5 mile ride and drain again and you may want to add some of the chem. to the tank on the second go around for a fresh smell. Letting the holding tank go in the grass won't hurt anything.