Grey water is smelly (1 Viewer)

Jul 26, 2017
436
925
Macclesfield
Funster No
49,644
MH
Elddis Accordo 125
Exp
Since 2016
Whenever people complain about others dumping grey water, the word smelly seems to come up. We dump ours on the grass at home and it's never been smelly, never left any residue, no clouds of flies have been seen and it has not killed the grass. I feel that we must be doing something wrong?
 
Last edited:
9

9526

Deleted User
Eat more garlic, works for ours. (y)

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Minxy

LIFE MEMBER
Aug 22, 2007
32,641
66,520
E Yorks
Funster No
149
MH
Carthago Compactline
Exp
Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
The problem is 2 fold: firstly you don't know what others put down their plug holes so whilst you're may be fairly 'clean' due to minimal cooking oil, grease, or other contaminants others may not be quite so careful, secondly you don't know how often it has been done and with the best will in the world a place that has had the waste dumped on it daily can easily get smelly never mind soggy.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

kevenh

Free Member
Jun 1, 2019
3,319
11,801
Thatcham
Funster No
61,329
MH
Compass C-Class
Exp
I'm a Progressing Newbie
Stored grey waste starts to smell pdq. But emptied out quickly / frequently is less so. If thatā€™s not too simplistic...

If emptied too quickly after mrskevenhā€™s shower itā€™s still warm & bubbly šŸ˜³
 
Mar 30, 2019
1,089
1,380
East Sussex
Funster No
59,486
MH
Trigano Tribute
Exp
Since 2017
Weā€™ve had a nice bubbly dump on occasions giving the drain a good clean and freshen up.
I do like to hose it down afterwards if there is one to use.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
OP
OP
g3cwi
Jul 26, 2017
436
925
Macclesfield
Funster No
49,644
MH
Elddis Accordo 125
Exp
Since 2016
Whenever people complain about others dumping grey water, the word smelly seems to come up. We dump ours on the grass at home and it's never been smelly

And now I must eat humble pie. My wife emptied the grey tank yesterday and said that the water was smelly. I suspect this is down to the recent high temperatures. I have just rinsed the tank out at home with a nice industrial cleaner and I hope that our water smells of roses next time.
 

Jim

Ringleader
Jul 19, 2007
36,403
130,759
Sutton on Sea, UK
Funster No
1
MH
Adria Panel Van.
Exp
Since 1988
And now I must eat humble pie. My wife emptied the grey tank yesterday and said that the water was smelly. I suspect this is down to the recent high temperatures. I have just rinsed the tank out at home with a nice industrial cleaner and I hope that our water smells of roses next time.

RV's have large holding tanks so it might sit there a while. When emptying the grey is often more objectionable than the black.
 

MC 55 FUN

Free Member
Feb 18, 2016
3,432
6,347
Rural South West Wales.
Funster No
41,707
MH
2015 Majestic 195
Exp
Since 20th Feb' 2016
And now I must eat humble pie. My wife emptied the grey tank yesterday and said that the water was smelly. I suspect this is down to the recent high temperatures. I have just rinsed the tank out at home with a nice industrial cleaner and I hope that our water smells of roses next time.

In addition to Minxy Girl's valid point, it's also the rotting / decomposing remnants of any food waste ( bacteria ) that end up in the grey waste tank that causes the smell.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Nov 19, 2019
793
2,605
Funster No
66,935
MH
Challenger 287GA
Exp
Since 2020
I must admit, that whilst watching videos to prepare for our rental trip, I was prepared for a bit of a pong when emptying the cassette. When actually doing it I really didn't have any problem with that at all (although we might have been a bit heavy-handed with the blue to be honest!!) but my goodness emptying the grey, especially when using a small container to drain off a bit, was a lot more unpleasant in the olfactory sense than I was expecting!
 
Feb 15, 2014
713
1,249
cambridgeshire
Funster No
30,113
MH
Bessacar E450
Exp
3 years
our grey waste was quite smelly when we first had the van and what came out was quite thick consistency I think previous owners had forgot to drain after there last trip,(they had forgot to drain fresh over winter)but now its been well flushed and we strain washing up water what come out is virtually clear and does not smell, probably helps that I try to dump it daily
 

icantremember

LIFE MEMBER
Sep 2, 2010
8,333
17,545
Near to Watton in Norfolk
Funster No
13,512
MH
Hymer T-SL668
Exp
since 2005
Nothing that a couple of squirts of bleach doesn't cure.(y)

Leaving 15-20 litres of fresh water in the grey tank to swash around on the journey home helps clean the tank .... but empty it as soon as you get home before it settles.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Nov 19, 2019
793
2,605
Funster No
66,935
MH
Challenger 287GA
Exp
Since 2020
our grey waste was quite smelly when we first had the van and what came out was quite thick consistency I think previous owners had forgot to drain after there last trip,(they had forgot to drain fresh over winter)but now its been well flushed and we strain washing up water what come out is virtually clear and does not smell, probably helps that I try to dump it daily
I'm in the process of buying a 19 year old van. I knew my budget for the van, but the budget for tank cleaning products seems to be adding up to a suprisingly large amount!!!
 
Jul 18, 2009
11,183
17,820
Manchester UK + Javea/Xabia Spain + Abu Dhabi
Funster No
7,543
MH
HYMER B644
Exp
2004
Slightly off topic%?

How many of you put washing in your machine when you return home from a trip away. Without putting on a rinse first, empty.

We put on a rinse before we leave with a drop of bleach. Then when we return, quick empty rinse first.

The water that sits in your washing machine goes stagnant and stinks. If you donā€™t rinse first, you are washing your clothes in it.
 

TheBig1

LIFE MEMBER
Nov 27, 2011
17,628
43,233
Dorset
Funster No
19,048
MH
A class
Exp
many many years! since I was a kid
Slightly off topic%?

How many of you put washing in your machine when you return home from a trip away. Without putting on a rinse first, empty.

We put on a rinse before we leave with a drop of bleach. Then when we return, quick empty rinse first.

The water that sits in your washing machine goes stagnant and stinks. If you donā€™t rinse first, you are washing your clothes in it.
Exactly, the worst offender for bad smells in the grey system is SOAP and detergents breaking down into a stinky grey slurry. Food waste can sometimes cause smells, but normally it is down to soaps
 

Griffithii

Free Member
Oct 12, 2017
151
200
Bedfordshire
Funster No
50,938
MH
Chausson 638EB
Exp
Two years, 5,000 miles, less than 100 nights
We dump ours on our own drive when we get home and never it seems to smell or leave grease.Usually dump when away at a service point when full 3-4 days worth.
I leave it open over winter and between trips so no accumulated crud.
Depends a lot on how warm the weather is and what you tip down the sink.
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Funsters who are viewing this thread

Back
Top