Deep cleaning the head and holding tank

[tparrent]

For the next several months, I will be making once a week day trips to the boat (if I'm lucky) rather than multiday cruises. Rather than pumping out the holding tank every time I go (and frequently re-winterizing it) , I plan to switch to wag bags. Given that, I want to do a deep clean of the holding tank prior to winterizing it.

What would you use to get rid of all smells once and for all. The system is not in bad shape now (only three years old) so it's a good time to adopt best practices.

Bleach? Some other cleaner?

Once the cleaning is done, I figure I still need to push antifreeze through the system in case there's any residual water.

[tsturm]

[B95054]

Once a year on my last boat I used to put a bag of ice down the head with a bit of water and about 1/8th of a cup of blue dawn dish detergent. Then go out for a good bumpy cruise. The ice scrubbed the inside walls of the tank and the dawn cleaned everything up. Go to the pump out station when not busy to flush and fill the tank 8 or 10 times. After that there was a powder that I would buy at the rv store (I forget the name) that I would add in that eats the bacteria in the tank when we used it. We never had any smells at all. As I proof read this it sounds like a lot of work but really it was hardly any effort at all and always very effective.

[thataway]

If there is "crud" in the tank, then use ice cubes as B95054 described. It is the "abrasive" quality of the ice cubes which clean the side walls and bottom of the tank. Some suggest dish water detergent.

One of our RVs had a Built in rotating flossing wand in the tank--that kept it clean all of the time. You hooked up the hose for 5 minutes after every flush and it cleaned the walls and bottom of the tank.

If you have the holding tank at the base of the commode, then you can get a wand to put into the tank and use full water pressure to wash it out...you have to be in a location to be able to pump the tank.

Much of the odor is in the hoses. Use only the specific white hose made for Maine toilet. Change out the hoses every 5 years or more often if necessary. Agree no bleach.

There are two schools of thought.
1: put in chemicals which stop bacterial growth and smell good. Any dump station that uses a septic system will hate you if you dump this, because it will kill the bacteria which digest the waste.

2. Use a chemical which works with enzymes and bacteria to break the faecal material down. We have used Ridex-(very cheap and common septic tank treatment), plus use the Raritan K.O (Kills oders) in the septic tank, and use Raritan CP (Clean potty) for cleaning the commode. This is a group of chemicals and enzymes which are comparable with the bacterial growth and work very well to keep the holding tank "fresh".

[Fishstix2]

I use baking soda, calgon, a half cup of dawn and peroxide and some vinegar then pump out every once in a while. Never any smells or issues otherwise.