"Folgers" P-Trap Solution May Help Tank Stink

For those whose RV is connected to a drain most of the time, you probably keep your gray water valve open. At times a smelly little problem arises: Sewer gases can come back up the sewer hose, into your gray tank, and slow migrate their way up the through the tank and out the roof vent. At times those same evil essences can somehow re-infiltrate your RV with a negative impact on your olfactory organs.

Worse still, if there are any "vague" connections in your gray water venting system, those nasty little essences can also make their creeping way out, carrying not just the odor of gray water (as bad as that is) but with a direct connection to the city sewer (or local septic system) that REALLY horrific scent of black water can invade your premises.

What to do? Enter the Folgers P-Trap solution: If you leave your sewer hose connected and the dump valve open, stick a P-trap between the sewer and you. Simply obtain a coffee can (or a large rock, and make a bend in your sewer hose, as illustrated in the photo here. Gray water will advance over the bend, but the water trapped in the hose on the "rig side" of the coffee can will prevent the odoriferous fumes from crossing over.

Mind you, when you dump your black water you'll want to temporarily remove the coffee can to allow a free-flow of black water, etal, to make the trip down the sewer unimpeded.

Everybody's Favorite RV Toy

Sewer hoses: Not something with a lot of glory. It's a lot more fun to go shopping for something with a little more bling--laptop computer maybe. But those things which have, "a purpose lacking honor," namely sewer hoses, are still a necessary thing.

The other day we found ourselves in a commercial RV park (something that rarely happens) with a full set of tanks. I'm embarrassed to relate however, that not only were those tanks full--the gray water was very full. Call it 2" of standing water in the shower. Sad to say, the layout of the site didn't allow my 10' hose to reach the port, so we called on a friend to bring his l-o-n-g ranger hose over. With everything in place, I pulled the lever for black water, and quicker than you can miss a freeway exit, that horrific stuff was squirting out of a series of pinholes in the hose.

We quickly revaluated the situation, and decided it would be best to simply "offload" enough of the gray water to safely pull the rig within our 10' hose range. After all, I was afraid the minute I put the throttle down, all that smelly gray water would slosh throughout the bathroom. When we got our own hose hooked up, I again started after that old black water tank. This time the evil stuff made its way out of our hose. Fortunately by cramming the hose together and holding it carefully (with neoprene gloves) we were able to contain the stuff to the inside of the hose, but it was touch and go.

The upshot of this wet and windy story is this: It doesn't seem to matter what "grade" of sewer hose you buy, sooner or later, the thing will give up the ghost and leave you wading around in unwholesome liquids. Experience does teach us that the less money you spend on your hose, the sooner you'll be looking for another one. We bought a "single wall" budget hose for a trailer used for a week every few months. In less than the first week, the thing could have been used for irrigating the lawn. On the other hand, our "triple wrapped" expensive hose that gave up the other day has lasted a couple of years of fairly frequent service. My friend's "no wires" hose too, lasted far longer than the cheapies.

Over the years we've struggled with the sewer hose question. At one point we went to an industrial hose supplier and bought a length of "self flattening" fire hose, put fittings on it, and hoped the thing would be just the ticket. After all, self flattening hoses roll up tight, and this we figured would save lots of space. Save lots of space it did. The trouble is the outfall of sewage just didn't provide enough pressure to "unflatten" the hose more than a few inches. Boy was that ever a mess! Sewer hoses are like members of the opposite sex: Can't live with 'em, Can't live without 'em.