Warning, this post is not for the faint of stomach. Julie, this means you! 😉

It’s only today that I can truly say that I have mastered the care and feeding of Miranda’s black tank. I was pretty sure I had done so before the big freeze, but needed another full cycle to make sure I really had things down pat.

Once I got the black tank emptied of the PO’s gifts, I found myself having difficulty emptying it without poking being involved. I asked my RVing friends for advice and started quite the discussion about what could be trapped in the drain (nothing, I assured them) to the value (or lack thereof) of special RV toilet paper to what chemicals should (and should not) be used. Finally, someone asked me how much water I was using. A lot, I thought, but, as it turned out, it wasn’t enough!

So, this is Rae’s number one tip for dealing with the black tank: use more water than you think you’d need!

Start with an empty and clean tank. Close the black valve, then go in and pour two toilet basins full of water down the tank. This will fill the drain with water and prevent the solids from blocking it.

When you use the toilet, apply the following rule of thumb: half to one basin of water for liquid waste and two to three basins for solid waste. It sounds like your tank will fill up very quickly, but, in my case, I’ve had to empty the black tank less often. Why? Because the water is dissolving all the waste, of course!

Before dumping your full tank, make sure to top it off with water. Then, just pull the black valve and listen to that wonderful gush of liquefied waste happily making its way out of the tank. Rinse the tank with the black valve open, then start all over.

As a final note, I’m in the anti-chemical camp because some chemicals are toxic, some kill the bacteria in the tank that help dissolve the waste, and some are just plain useless. If water is strong enough to erode rock, it’s strong enough to deal with a bit of human waste decomposition.