I wanted to ask about toilet cleanliness. As I have been looking at the RV toilets and I realize many do not have much in the way of water. Do the toilets tend to get gross after a BM? (Sorry I have to ask!) I am a clean freak in many ways and this is something that has begun to concern me.
Anyone have any help or maybe an explaination of how the toilets keep themselves more clean then I am thinking they are?
Thanks, Leslie
Roz said
05:09 AM Dec 3, 2007
Leslie,
Not too worry! I will keep this clean to help you keep your "head" clean. After some thirty-five plus years on boats and now seven on RVs, I can assure you that if you follow simple procedures, you will not freak.
First, before the "morning constituional", run maybe 3 to 4 inches of water into the bowl. Now you almost have a conventional throne. Proceed as normal, use as little TP as will get the job done, more on the TP in a moment and then flush! Now what is gross about that?
With every RV "head" there is a sprayer to rinse the bowl good, if required. Many RVers have unique "chemical additives" they swear by. Virtually, any non-formaldehyde product will work well. Some are better than others, but they work.
Make sure after dumping your black tank to run a few gallons of water in as you add the chemicals. Never dump until the tank is almost full. The gravity will work best to clean out your tank. Then dump a full gray tank immediately to clean out your sewer hose.
RV/Marine TP is expensive. A good single ply TP will cost less and work fine. Tear a sheet and drop it in a glass of water and stir to check how quickly it breaks down.
Finally, after all is done, run an inch of water in the bowl and leave it, to keep the seal moist.
My wife is the clean freak shown in the dictionary. The least odor, and I am called into action. "Cause I smell so sweet, I guess!"
Fear not! It is an every day routine.
Charles
-- Edited by Roz at 05:11, 2007-12-03
ahoweth said
07:42 AM Dec 3, 2007
Well done Roz! I would just add a few things. Because there is so much less water used with the RV toilets a good cleaning is probably required a little more often than conventional toilets. On the up side the RV toilets have several fine points. Since there is less water used they typically do not develop the same types of build ups that conventional toilets do. This makes them much easier to clean. Also the "much less water," part is so much more environmentally friendly than conventional toilets. It is a good system and probably should be employed in conventional homes since it saves so much water.
-- Edited by ahoweth at 07:43, 2007-12-03
Sandra said
10:51 AM Dec 3, 2007
Another option before your BM is to put an "X" of toilet paper in the bottom. Doesn't take much to cover the "exit" area. This helps keep the seal and the ball clean.
Speedhitch said
05:22 PM Dec 3, 2007
Well that about wraps things up here! X Marks the spot so to speak. Isn't this a great forum?
No matter what the question we have the answer.
Joe
haiku said
06:56 PM Dec 3, 2007
You guys are great. :)
You have settled my fears.
Thanks!
Leslie
Roz said
07:39 PM Dec 3, 2007
Glad we were able to wipe your fears away!
Charles
RVDude said
05:12 PM Dec 5, 2007
One other common "trick" I have heard is to apply a wax (like car wax) to the entire inside of the bowl. This can help any mess slip-n-slide away without leaving tracks... I don't do this but many swear by it especially for plastic bowls.
Just another idea.
Jim01 said
06:40 PM Dec 5, 2007
Hay, RV Dude!
I think the "trick" for us would be deciding which one of us would apply the wax!
haiku said
11:58 PM Dec 5, 2007
Brilliant! I can totally see how the wax would work... like surfer wax! I would never have put those 2 together. Now I have to wait a bit before I can try it.
Thanks for all the tips and bad jokes... hehe Leslie
Judy said
09:41 AM Dec 6, 2007
Hi Leslie...Just letting yu know they have an electric flush button on the wall if you would like to add this cost to your RV as an additive. southwestjudy & bob & 2blackdogs
Luvglass said
07:15 PM Dec 6, 2007
Judy wrote:
Hi Leslie...Just letting yu know they have an electric flush button on the wall if you would like to add this cost to your RV as an additive. southwestjudy & bob & 2blackdogs
Hi Judy, I've never heard of that, how does it work? Our toilet has a foot pedal. Is it only for certain brands? Fred
Judy said
10:55 PM Dec 6, 2007
Hi Fred, Toilet is made by Thetford and is a solenoid. Supposed to be silent electric rv toilet with a wall mounted single-button control. I have seen them in the Elite's. Go to www.insideyourrv.com It is an add on . Wish we would of had one with our fiver but do not. I do not know how they work. Maybe someone else here has one and can be of more help. southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdogs
RVDude said
08:27 AM Dec 7, 2007
Simple, it is available on Thetford's higher end toilets. They are electrically actuated instead of pedal actuated and work exactly the same. In "automatic mode" just tap a button and the trap door opens and the spray water pulsates (jets out) to help flush away the mess. The pulsing feature of the spray water helps scour the bowl. It sprays the fresh flush water for a couple seconds and then the trap door automatically closes. All done. Hold the button to fill the bowl and not flush. You can also set it to "manual mode" you just press and hold the button to keep the door open and actuate the spray as long as you hold the button. These electric units also tend to be china and not plastic. Thetford has a replacement chart on their web site to determine which toilet will directly replace your existing one.
igotjam said
08:28 AM Dec 7, 2007
We had one in our Doubletree Elite. It was made by Dometic and worked great. Push the button and it flushed, push the button the other way and it added water. It was a little complicated if you wanted to hold the valve open to the tank (for cleaning) but pretty much trouble free.
Trouble free until the water valve malfunctioned and flooded the trailer. I was unable to get a water valve for it and for whatever reason Dometic couldn't seem to get one for me. After over a week without a toilet, I gave up and bought a pedal operated THetford.
Worked great but parts availabilty sunk it for me.
I wanted to ask about toilet cleanliness. As I have been looking at the RV toilets and I realize many do not have much in the way of water. Do the toilets tend to get gross after a BM? (Sorry I have to ask!) I am a clean freak in many ways and this is something that has begun to concern me.
Anyone have any help or maybe an explaination of how the toilets keep themselves more clean then I am thinking they are?
Thanks,
Leslie
Not too worry! I will keep this clean to help you keep your "head" clean. After some thirty-five plus years on boats and now seven on RVs, I can assure you that if you follow simple procedures, you will not freak.
First, before the "morning constituional", run maybe 3 to 4 inches of water into the bowl. Now you almost have a conventional throne. Proceed as normal, use as little TP as will get the job done, more on the TP in a moment and then flush! Now what is gross about that?
With every RV "head" there is a sprayer to rinse the bowl good, if required. Many RVers have unique "chemical additives" they swear by. Virtually, any non-formaldehyde product will work well. Some are better than others, but they work.
Make sure after dumping your black tank to run a few gallons of water in as you add the chemicals. Never dump until the tank is almost full. The gravity will work best to clean out your tank. Then dump a full gray tank immediately to clean out your sewer hose.
RV/Marine TP is expensive. A good single ply TP will cost less and work fine. Tear a sheet and drop it in a glass of water and stir to check how quickly it breaks down.
Finally, after all is done, run an inch of water in the bowl and leave it, to keep the seal moist.
My wife is the clean freak shown in the dictionary. The least odor, and I am called into action. "Cause I smell so sweet, I guess!"
Fear not! It is an every day routine.
Charles
-- Edited by Roz at 05:11, 2007-12-03
-- Edited by ahoweth at 07:43, 2007-12-03
Charles
Just another idea.
I think the "trick" for us would be deciding which one of us would apply the wax!
Thanks for all the tips and bad jokes... hehe
Leslie
southwestjudy & bob & 2blackdogs
I've never heard of that, how does it work? Our toilet has a foot pedal. Is it only for certain brands?
Fred
Toilet is made by Thetford and is a solenoid. Supposed to be silent electric rv toilet with a wall mounted single-button control. I have seen them in the Elite's. Go to www.insideyourrv.com It is an add on . Wish we would of had one with our fiver but do not. I do not know how they work. Maybe someone else here has one and can be of more help.
southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdogs