I'm honestly not sure we purchased our camper from my grandmother, and other family members would take it out camping . How would you recommend sanitizing it

Beyond the above, I would suggest taking apart the drain ... from the top, take off the drain pop-up stopper (you may find that you have toothpaste that has built up and/or other items, that are clogging the drain), second go into the cabinet below the sink and remove the sink trap (the U shaped piece) and clean out the trap and all the surrounding plumbing. That does the trick for us.

We regularly clean our tanks, regardless we still something experience odor from the bathroom sink ... the above is what we do when we experience odor from that sink. We also periodically put baking soda and white vinegar down the drain, to help prevent buildup in the plumbing.

-- Edited by Lynn and Ed on Sunday 8th of July 2018 06:56:49 PM

LarryW21 wrote:

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Bet you’ve got some nasty stuff in there. 1/4 cup bleach for every ten gallons of fresh water. Shake water and bleach up. Run through all plumbing fixtures until you smell the bleach. Extra run time for bathroom. Add another 1/4 cup of bleach and refill water tank. Let it sit for 24 hours. Drain, refill and flush. Fill.

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Wouldn't vinegar do a fair job of sanitizing without the introduction of bleach into one's water system.  It might take more vinegar, but I think I'd like that better than having bleach there.

Terry

Well we emptied the holding tank poured about a gallon of bleach into it ran it though all the lines, and the smell is gone .... we are still stumped as to why this has happened or where it is coming from . But we have solved the issue for now .

Better to put some vinegar, soda, lemon juice and liquid dishwasher and stay it in the sink pipe for 3-4 hours. Better to close the pipe from the end.

If you don't run water in the drain very often you might also be getting some sewer smell. The trap will eventually dry up, letting all those "pleasant" odors from the grey water tank come up to join you. If you aren't using the camper you probably ought to either completely drain and sanitize everything or, if it is kept at home, go out every couple of days and pour a cup or two of water into each drain. DON'T FORGET THE TOILET!!!

Bleach has been the recommended sanitizing agent for years, but recently I've been reading that "bleach" isn't "bleach" anymore. There are some commercial products that can also be used. Regardless of what you use, make sure that you flush your lines a couple of times so that there is no odor or taste of anything but fresh water.

Two tablespoons (60 cents) of Happy Camper for every 40 gallons of black water tank capacity mixed with two gallons of water poured into an empty black water tank will eliminate odor and maintain proper operation of sensors and the black water tank system. Empty when at least half full. Backflushing the black tank is generally not necessary with Happy Camper. No need to use extra water, just normal use of the toilet and bathroom sink provides enough water for things to work smoothly.