how to stop / prevent odour from toilet tank

jon and michie

jon and michie

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Hi - my dirty tank is starting to create an odour can anyone recommend a tablet to put in the waste tank to stop or reduce the pong.
many thanks
Jon
 
Last edited:
Elsan Blue is effective but highly toxic.
If you have used nothing up to now perhaps try Odorloss.
 
Do you need to replace the carbon filter in the vent pipe? I believe this reduces smell, that aside mine doesn't have one but I wanted to cover that first.
I'm on a fresh water loo and find if I dont use any chemicals or toilet cleaners some kind of bacteria culture seems to grow and the tanks do not smell. I know this sounds odd but it is an observation. Every now and then the Admiral or somebody else will scrub the toilet down with a household detergent and hey presto, the black water tank smells absolutely awful when the loo gets a flush. In these situations I just go in very heavy handed with a liquid based biological washing detergent. Leave for a few days and then flush out the tank thoroughly and start over. It may of course all be in my head this black water bacterial culture thing, but it seems to be working.
 
Thank you for the replies so far.
I do have a carbon filter that I recharged this year.
The swbo uses a boat friendly toilet bowl cleaner.
But it is definitely the tank.
I have read somewhere that dishwasher tablets could be used - not sure on discharging into the water is a good thing though.
I have just looked on the Internet and dometic do a green eco tablet as well.
Thanks again for the replies
Jon
 
jon and michie said:
The swbo uses a boat friendly toilet bowl cleaner.
But it is definitely the tank.

Jon
Click to expand...

Try not using a bowl cleaner for a while. I suspect it kills off the microbes and bacteria that break down the No2's quickly so they do not form a sludge at the bottom that gets to stink up the place. I know it's a hard call, but you may be pleasantly surprised. When I grew up on the farms in Africa we had a "French drain" for lack of any suburban sewers. Never stank either.
 
BruceK said:
Do you need to replace the carbon filter in the vent pipe? I believe this reduces smell, that aside mine doesn't have one but I wanted to cover that first.
I'm on a fresh water loo and find if I dont use any chemicals or toilet cleaners some kind of bacteria culture seems to grow and the tanks do not smell. I know this sounds odd but it is an observation. Every now and then the Admiral or somebody else will scrub the toilet down with a household detergent and hey presto, the black water tank smells absolutely awful when the loo gets a flush. In these situations I just go in very heavy handed with a liquid based biological washing detergent. Leave for a few days and then flush out the tank thoroughly and start over. It may of course all be in my head this black water bacterial culture thing, but it seems to be working.
Click to expand...

Agree. Do nothing and it is fine.

I have never had an issue with any boat I have had. No clever products etc just flush and pump.
 
If the smell comes from the tank as you seem to indicate you probably have a leak or possible a bad back valve (sorry don’t know the right English word for it) in the loo but if so the smell should not originate around the tank.
 
jon and michie said:
Hi - my dirty tank is starting to create an odour can anyone recommend a tablet to put in the waste tank to stop or reduce the pong.
many thanks
Jon
Click to expand...

Check the internal diameter of the breather pipe. In an ideal world it will be 1 1/2" (38mm). This will ensure enough oxygen getting into the tank for aerobic breakdown to occur. If you're using an enzyme based tank treatment like clean n green, odorloss or Vetus tank fresh, it should sort itself out. Avoid using "blue type" treatments as these just pickle the contents of the tank. Don't use large quantities of domestic cleaning products in the bowl as they will kill of the enzymes in the tank.
 
Many thanks for your replies.
I have instructed the swmbo now to use the toilet cleaner and we will see what happens.
The tank at the moment is empty so tomorrow I'm going to fill it up with fresh water and pump it out to give the tank a rinse.
Thanks again
Jon
P/s I will update here as and when I have some results.
 
Right as an update - last week emptied the tank and topped it up with fresh water and then flushed that out and started using the toilet as normal.
(we only use it for number 1's).
After 5 days of not using any cleaning fluid there is a considerable difference and no heavy odours so far so good.
All I can say is thank you for your help and replies.

Jon
 
Hi,

Good if problem resolved otherwise...

One thing to consider … If the boat is old. The tubes will eventually 'break down' and it will start to smell. Only one thing to do then - replace the tube from the toilet to the tank. Too many boats are installed from factory with bad tubes and also when people replace the tubes they do not offer the extra money to buy the expensive tubes that can keep the odor away for many year. I guess one product called sanipomp is very good. Just google it.
 
About Time said:
Hi,

Good if problem resolved otherwise...

One thing to consider … If the boat is old. The tubes will eventually 'break down' and it will start to smell. Only one thing to do then - replace the tube from the toilet to the tank. Too many boats are installed from factory with bad tubes and also when people replace the tubes they do not offer the extra money to buy the expensive tubes that can keep the odor away for many year. I guess one product called sanipomp is very good. Just google it.
Click to expand...

I replace the pipes every couple of years as they start to smell even with all the products. Now planning to replace the white stuff with butyl seaflow.
 
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