Smelly bathroom

[dencol]

I have a 2 year old Autosleeper panel van conversion and of late have started to notice a bad smell from the bathroom area.

I know this type of problem has been discussed on the forum from having made a search but still not sure how to proceed as in my case the smell is slight / non existent when on site but very strong after driving.

The bathroom contains a telford toilet and drop down washbasin (the sort that empties at the back when you close the sink). I have flushed out the water tanks with cleaner (puriclean) I also empty the grey water tank every couple of days on site and at the end of any time away, but can drive around with waste in the tank. The type of smell present in the bathroom does not appear to be present when emptying the toilet system which leads me to think it is the grey waste. I leave the plugs in sink and shower but the bathroom sink has no plug and I am wondering if the empty point at the back of the sink remains as an open pipe and is causing the problem.

I do travel with the drivers window open most of the time but even when closed this does not appear to affect / reduce the level of smell.
Any suggestion greatly appreciated thanks

Colin

 

[656]

Hi

We find the best wat to stop this is to put some Bio Magic down the plug hole - with the Grey tap shut - and drive home with some clean water in the tank. All the sloshing around loosens all the gunk. Leave it in there for a day or 2 to allow the Bio Magic to work and Roberts your dads brother.

 

[vindiboy]

I occasionally get a wiff in the shower area of my Hymer ,the reason always is that the water traps in the plug holes dry out particularrly after driving long distance,due I guess to sloshing about, So a little water poured back in to the plug holes to form the air seal solves the problem. Waste tanks will always have an odour so you must deceide which product you are going to use to kill any odours , my preference is a little domestic bleach [allowed to slosh about whilst driving ]mixed with clean water. happy camping Malc.:thumb:

 

[GJH]

We have a tip-up sink in our Autoquest and have found that if you don't clean down behind it then mould can form - presumably where soap deposits on the sides.

On ours it's easy enough to get your hand in when the sink itself is removed. We normally give it a good clean with some sort of moist wipe (toilet wipe or antibacterial wipe, whichever is to hand) every time after we get home.

I also use Buster Sink Fresh on the three plugholes (washbasin, shower and sink) each time after we get home. Seems to keep everything smelling OK.

Graham

 

[JayDee]

Smelly waste

What do you use in your toilet? If it's a non-formaldehyde type like CaraSept (i.e not Thetford Blue or Green or Elsan Blue) you can put a couple of eggcupsful into the grey waste tank after you've emptied it and add a couple of litres of water (or have a wash, etc.) and you should find it will help.

The absolute best method I reckon is the one described by Dave 656. It works as if by magic . BUT you can't use a biological product like Carasept and BioMagic in conjunction with anti-bacterials like bleach, Milton, Thetford Blue/Green and suchlike coz the latter kill-off the former.

Hope these snippets of wisdom are helpful to you.

John

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[Brisey]

Have to agree with the comments made by (Dave) 656 and JayDee. We have used BioMagic in this way for a couple of years now. It works for us.:thumb:

 

[Ralph-Dot]

If we do not remember to put all the plugs in, in the bathroom when we are travelling, it stinks.

Ralph

 

[Gonewiththewind]

I use 1/5 Liters Undiluted Orange Juice. Split equally between the 3 plug holes.
It really works.

 

[Blisters]

Hi Al

We have notice that our drains wiff too, but we have also noticed that they smell more if we don,t use the shower, (before the comment flow, I mean we shower in toilet blocks not in the van) What we do is drain off the grey water before leaving and leave the drain open, this allows fresh air in and stops the smell, we also use a biological product like bio magic but cheaper to clean the tanks on a regular basis,
I also like the idea of using orange juice, I know a little about chemicals and can well imagine the acidic properties of orange juice cleaning away slime in your pipes and tanks as well as smelling ok

Graham

 

[pappajohn]

hi dencol,

we have the same problem.
i narrowed it down to the grey tank....on site not a prob but start to drive, it stirs the contents then its unbearable.
solution......always drain your grey tank before or just after setting off and leave the drain tap open.
put the sink/shower plugs in helps.

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[dencol]

Thanks for all the advice. I have only been involved in 'motorhoming' for 12 months and to be honest was worried about causing damage to the pipes etc by puting the wrong cleaner down. :Blush:
Will start trying some of the ideas out this weekend. I especially like the idea of orange juice. Will also try out Biomagic. :thumb:
Thanks GJH did not realise I could lift the sink outoh:, also thinking about it I dont use the sink much and never used the shower (prefer to use the on site facilities if I can) so there is a good chance that the water traps are drying out.

Have enjoyed the first 12 months and with time hopefully these jobs will become second nature, at the moment they seem to be getting in the way of my sitting with a glass of wine watching the world go by time!!!!

Colin

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Method I have found on the boat is to put some Bio detergent powder solution down the sink and shower so it goes into the shower (grey water) sump which doesnt get auto pumped out until it gets full and always leaves a couple of inches in the bottom.

Seems to stop the smell.

Peter