I am trying to find a product that will get rid of smells in the bathroom. I have a 37 ft MH and after 4 or 5 days of camping I will start to get a bad smell in the bathroom. We have tried several kinds of treatment but it has not helped. I ran across a web page today that is selling Happy Camper tank treatment and they guarantee that their product will get rid of the smell. We are getting ready to go on a 8 week camping trip and at two of the campgrounds they do not have sewer hook ups. I would like to be able to go the the bathroom without holding my nose. Any suggestions, or have any of you used the Happy Camper treatment?

About 2 times a year I add one half of a container to a full or nearly black tank, I do that to have the coconut oil in it, lube the valves, otherwise I have never used treatments for smells. To me it sounds as if the problem in something else. Could be that the ball valve is stuck open or the stool doesn't have a good seal to the tanks entrance or that the seal in the stool is bad. Does the stool hold water? The water covers the seal to stop any smells from entering the unit. Is the stool tight upon the floor? Have you looked under the bathroom sink? That is where many manufactures place the tank vent, and it needs a ball valve to seal it. It could also be the gray tank, they many times smell as bad or worse than the black, if the ""P"" trap is not there or filled with water, that smell will fill the whole unit, not just the bathroom. george

id second the thought the only way smells are getting to stay in the bathrom are if they are escaping from the BW tank. this should not be possible if the seals are good . if the toilet holds water check the toilet to the floor/ BW coupling.if you do not have a full seal the smells and possibly other things are able to escape. check the vent up top also if when you flush and if it bubbles up the vent is plugged and its forcing smells up with air pressure as its not able to vent ..

Agree that the cure is finding out how the stink is getting into the coach rather than trying to cover up the smell -- bad vent, bad toilet seal, bad add-a-vent under the sink, etc. We have never used anything to reduce/cover tank smells either, and have not had a problem except for a couple of times driving down the road with an open roof vent right beside the tank vent pipe!

You could always try the draft test, set your rig up like you normally do but turn off the water. Flush and hole the toilet open and dangle a section of toilet paper over the hole, if it flutters you are sucking air into the trailer through the tank and the roof vent. That is of course assuming that you have the black tank dump valve closed, leaving it open is bad for many reasons.

An easy fix is to run a fan blowing in when you flush - running out is a very bad idea!!!

If it is a continuing problem adding an exhaust fan to the black tank vent line can be a big help. It will eliminate any chance of air flowing into the rig from the tank unless you have internal fans blowing out and creating more suction than the vent fan can overcome.

Hi DarbyJudy,

You asked specifically about the Happy Camper treatment. We have used this product exclusively for several years and haven't found any reason to move to something different. I know there is a large group who waves their bible with the water only theme, but we tried that too and went back to Happy Camper. We do use a larger amount than they recommend, but find it quite effective.

Also maybe 2 to 3 times a year (whenever the primary dumper says to) run down the road with half to 2/3 full tank and a half bottle of calgon water softner and a half bottle of Cascade (or other brand) of dishwasher detergent in it and dump when we get to our destination. That serves as the spring cleaning of the holding tank.

We do not have a problem with a smell, but occasionally can when the tank is getting full. Believe that is because of the draft issue when flushing. It is momentary and dissapates quickly. I think it is the signal that it is time to dump

I just went out to the MH and checked the vent valve under the bathroom sink. As soon as I unscrewed it and took it off I could smell the gray water tank. I could not see anything wrong with the valve. I also tried to move the toilet and it is tight on the floor. I had no smell until I took off the valve. I am beginning to wonder if the vent pipe is installed too far into the tank. for we don't seem to get the smell until we have set for 4 or 5 days. I cannot see the black water tank so it is going to be a real pain to try and see if the pipe is installed too fan into the tank. I don't want go on top and pull up on the pipe for then I might pull it out of the tank and not be able to get it back in. So I guess I am going to buy some of the Happy Camper treatment and give it a try. Thanks for all the suggestions.

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I just went out to the MH and checked the vent valve under the bathroom sink. As soon as I unscrewed it and took it off I could smell the gray water tank.

I have never seen one of those vacuum breakers that you could see the problem when you remove it and yet I have successfully replaced several of them for more than one person.

Since the cost is less than $5 and you can get one at any Lowe's or Home Depot, I suggest that you put in a new one before you spend too much time. It won't be a great loss if it don't help and there is a good chance that it might. When you do put the new one on, a plumber friend told me to put a coat of Vaseline, or similar product on the threads before you screw it on. It will make a better seal and it will be very easy to remove when you need to. Those things typically leak after a few years.

Also, that valve is much more important if you leave the gray water dump valve open when parked. There is often some air movement in the sewer system and it can blow up into the RV.

Unless the odor is entering when you flush, I doubt very much that it is from the black tank. If the vent to the black tank is not clear, you will get a blow-back each time that you flush and that will make a noticeable smell, mostly at the time you flush.

I have always left the vent open in the bathroom. Maybe this is the wrong thing to do. Also I have tried to use the fan when I am in the bathroom. But also maybe this is the wrong thing to do. I will go to Lowes and purchase a new vent valve. Do they just have one size? It appeared to be about 1 1/2 inch but not sure. I guess I could just go take it off again and measure the threaded part to see what size it is. I have ordered the Happy Camper tank treatment and I will also try that. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

I have a plastic Thetford RV Toilet Aqua Magic V and it's always had some minor oder in the bathroom. Last week both air-conditioners were running and the washing machine went into a spin cycle. Instant bad cabbage odor. The bathroom would almost make you puke. So I filled the seem that joins the top and bottom halves of the plastic toilet with lap sealant. NO MORE ODOR!

Fan blowing out in the bathroom isn't a good thing as it will suck air up the toilet. Turn another fan on, but blowing in and just open the vent in the bathroom to let odors escape.

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I have always left the vent open in the bathroom. Maybe this is the wrong thing to do. Also I have tried to use the fan when I am in the bathroom

We rarely open the vent in the commode room, and when we do we almost never turn it on. When it is raised, we will have another vent on elsewhere. The few times we had the bathroom vent turned on when flushing, we ALWAYS had odors sucked up from the tank.

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I will go to Lowes and purchase a new vent valve. Do they just have one size?

As I recall, there is only one size but if in doubt, take the one you have with you. It is very easy to do and don't cost a lot. If you get odors when nobody is in the room, I highly suspect this is the problem.

If the odor is coming when you flush, then it is probably caused by the vent fan. When that fan is blowing out, it lowers the air pressure in the bathroom. When you open the flush valve it makes a direct path into the waste tank and since there is a vent pipe that runs from the tank up through the RV roof, the air pressure outside will push air through the tank and into the bathroom, where the fan is running. But this will only happen with the flush valve open.

On the other hand, if that vacuum breaker is leaking, the vent fan will pull air in the same manner through the gray tank as long as the fan is operating. The purpose of that device is to allow air into the drain lines when you empty the sink, but not allow air from the tank back into the RV. It is a check valve, for air.

Well I went to Loews and bought the vent valve, they were only one size. I coated the threads with vasoline and installed it.
I was thinking I wonder why no one has come up with a small fan that would fit onto the vent pipe on the roof, it could be powered with a small solar cell. Then you would have a positive vent all the time. I bet that would work. I have seen the different wing type that turn with the wind but really don't know if they work or not.

Darby, it seems you have found a device that is needed in our world. That vent fan shouldnt be all that hard to make, and a small solar panel would also be an easy trick. You might do a look at miniture electronic fans and such. george