I have been looking for the best holding tank treatment for the Fuse. We have had a couple of times where the holding tanks have had an Obtuse Aromatic Aroma (stink). This has been my fault and I take the blame for my laziness.
Take my advise. When you have an opportunity to dump the tanks, take it. I have had several occasions where I thought I would be back out in the Fuse the next weekend and got lazy and did not dump. Well, the next weekend turned into several weeks sitting in the hot Florida sun and the tanks got a bit ripe.
One ting to remember with all the methods. They need some water in the tank to work. The consensus is to add a couple (2-4) gallons of water to each tank when you dump. This keeps everything wet, does not allow seals to dry out and keeps things moving around so you don't get a poo mountain building up under the toilet.
When we purchased the Fuse it came with a bottle of Aqua-Kem. I never used it since it is mostly formaldehyde. I was told it was bad for the environment and some places won't let you dump if your treatment is formaldehyde. So I avoided it even though it gets really good reviews.
The first thing I used was Walex Porta-Pak
I read that Walex had a different product called Bio-Pak
The last thing I have tried, and it seems to be working better than anything else, is a combination of two products.
The first half of the solution is Happy Campers Organic Tank treatment. It gets great reviews and those folks using it swear by it. It seems to just take care of the smell. It does not cover it up, it just goes away. Though the temperatures have not been as high lately as in the summer, so far so good, even leaving waste in the tank for two weeks. And the best part is we don't have the strong chemical smell, we just have zero smell.
It is a powder. It comes with a scoop. You add a scoop of the powder to a toilet full (ok I only filled it half way) of water and flush. I flushed again to make sure it all went into the tank and I was done. No easier or harder than the others. Only downside is its availability on Amazon goes and comes.
The second half of the solution is Calgon Water Softener
Another fairly easy thing to add. I put a capful down in the toilet and flushed. Driving around will slosh it around and make sure it gets everywhere.
I also added the same to the gray tank. Both Happy Campers and Calgon. Though I don't think I had any smells from the gray tank, I was not sure. As I was doing the research I read that some people searched for smells they thought were from the black tank that actually were coming from the gray tank. The food waste from washing the dishes as it decomposes can be rather strong giving the black tank a run for its money.
After using this last approach, no smells. I am going to continue this unless is stops working. Oh, and I will take every opportunity to dump.
Thanks, Don. I'd never heard of Happy Campers. Sounds like a winner, so will try it in the Spring.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be working for me. None of the deodorizer smell that is present with the other products. but we will have to wait until the Florida Summer to tell 100%
ReplyDelete