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 > Strong urine smell in bathroom

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pbitschura

SE MN

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Posted: 10/15/23 08:22am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

pbitschura wrote:

Our new to us trailer on it's first voyage has a strong urine smell beginning in the bathroom and after pumping permeates the whole trailer. It's a dometic toilet. It appears to be tight and no seal leaks, I could find. I suspect it's a venting issue. Granted, it was 90 and we stayed hydrated so there is that. But black tank level was 1/3 full. We have not used any tank chemicals other than Galgon to this point. Follow up....Prior to winterizing, I opened the Dometic 300 toilet and again saw yellow water sitting above the seal. RV dealer did a bunch of unrelated bs, tried to charge me over 400 to flush my ewer system, then returned it to me. That was last spring. They ignored and deflected my suspicion of a faulty toilet. They will take no responsibility or offer a solution. I guess I will have to do it myself. Color me disgusted.

help please.



2020 Braxton Creek 24fb travel trailer

pbitschura

SE MN

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Posted: 10/15/23 08:24am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

This is my follow up to an issue some chose to ignore,

shelbyfv

TN

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Posted: 10/15/23 04:50pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

pbitschura wrote:

This is my follow up to an issue some chose to ignore,
What the heck? Nobody here ignored you, 5 pages of trying to help. Did you read the linked thread? The replacement Dometic 310 is only $299, just get r done.

TCBear

USA

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Posted: 10/15/23 06:28pm Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

"...5 pages of trying to help."

Bingo.

Off on a tangent, the issue of determining if a wastewater vent is...well, venting. If there's a removable rooftop rain cap over a vent, then you could likely drop down a piece of sprinkler pipe or other pokin' stick to check for an obstruction. But if the cap is permanently fixed, perhaps you could tie a large nut (as in nut and bolt) or similar to a heavy string and feed it down the vent pipe, see what that reveals. Or run an electrical extension cord past the cap, something substantial yet flexible. I wonder if anyone has ever ran water from a garden hose down a roof vent or if that's even a good idea since it's an air vent rather than a water pipe.

As for the 300 model toilet, based on prior posts...

-Research the 300 further online.
-Replace the seals (may not permanently resolve).
-Replace toilet.
-Keep toilet in place but attempt to seep full-strength, non-bleach antibacterial cleaner past the seals to kill off odor in the accumulated liquid goo (kill the bacteria = kill the odor).
-Dump several pails (at least 5 gal) of water down the toilet at the start of each trip to dilute subsequent blackwater contents, but not so much as to impact tank capacity.
-Spritz the entire toilet bowl with any household spray cleaner after each use, or a few times each day, a supplemental detergent "flush."
-Spray an antibacterial cleaner along the bottom of fixtures near the toilet (walls, bathtub, cabinets) so that it seeps under the fixtures and contacts anything yellow that could have gotten down there. (If you KNEW that was a problem, an enzyme pet urine spray may be a better choice.)
-Try a different blackwater chemical treatment if necessary.

* This post was last edited 10/15/23 06:49pm by TCBear *   View edit history

pbitschura

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Posted: 10/16/23 06:20am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

TCBear wrote:

"...5 pages of trying to help."

Bingo.

Off on a tangent, the issue of determining if a wastewater vent is...well, venting. If there's a removable rooftop rain cap over a vent, then you could likely drop down a piece of sprinkler pipe or other pokin' stick to check for an obstruction. But if the cap is permanently fixed, perhaps you could tie a large nut (as in nut and bolt) or similar to a heavy string and feed it down the vent pipe, see what that reveals. Or run an electrical extension cord past the cap, something substantial yet flexible. I wonder if anyone has ever ran water from a garden hose down a roof vent or if that's even a good idea since it's an air vent rather than a water pipe.I was ignored by the dealer, bot the good folks here/

As for the 300 model toilet, based on prior posts...

-Research the 300 further online.
-Replace the seals (may not permanently resolve).
-Replace toilet.
-Keep toilet in place but attempt to seep full-strength, non-bleach antibacterial cleaner past the seals to kill off odor in the accumulated liquid goo (kill the bacteria = kill the odor).
-Dump several pails (at least 5 gal) of water down the toilet at the start of each trip to dilute subsequent blackwater contents, but not so much as to impact tank capacity.
-Spritz the entire toilet bowl with any household spray cleaner after each use, or a few times each day, a supplemental detergent "flush."
-Spray an antibacterial cleaner along the bottom of fixtures near the toilet (walls, bathtub, cabinets) so that it seeps under the fixtures and contacts anything yellow that could have gotten down there. (If you KNEW that was a problem, an enzyme pet urine spray may be a better choice.)
-Try a different blackwater chemical treatment if necessary.


Vintage465

Prunedale CA.

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Posted: 10/21/23 08:38am Link  |  Quote  |  Print  |  Notify Moderator

TCBear wrote:

Vintage465: "With the Dometic plastic toilet I've found that if there is more than and inch or sow of liquid in the bowl, it will seep into the area between the outside of the toilet and the bowl and just sit there and ferment." It's amazing that a toilet could even be engineered with that seeming design flaw, a real oversight. If you could seep antibacterial cleaner (no bleach) past that seal, that could counteract odors emanating from that hidden area until you replaced the seal.

As an aerospace safety/environmental manager, I can relay a phrase from my industry: "Dilution is the solution to pollution." True for liquids, solids, gases. So yes, more water, along with blackwater chemicals, can help, although it can be tough to conquer odors when it's truly hot outside. And an effective toilet "flush" can be just a film of water rather than a bowl surge. After use I briefly spray the entire toilet bowl with a generic household cleaner, which effectively rinses (and also detergent-soaks) the entirely of the toilet interior. Therefore no surface odors. I also do a "hillbilly tank flush" when draining. Drain blackwater, close valve, dump two buckets (7 gal) freshwater down toilet, drain again. You can see the effect by watching the clear elbow in the drain hose.


But the problem is the seepage from the bowl that gets into the space between the outer and inner bowl. No dilution is going to happen there. It's gonna seep in there to some degree no matter what due to the flawed design. And the only way to for it to be discharged is to remove the toilet, carry it outside(vertically) and dump it....my conclusion is this: The toilet is a piece of junk and needs to be replaced........so I did.


V-465
2013 GMC 2500HD Duramax Denali. 2015 CreekSide 20fq w/450 watts solar and 465 amp/hour of batteries. Retired and living the dream!

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