So let’s talk some about those disgusting black water tanks lol
One of the things that becomes a major problem with home septic systems and black water tanks is toilet paper. So let’s talk about an European style upgrade that will save you money and time and can be done at home as well as in the RV. No more toilet paper in the black water tank or septic gumming up the system and no need to buy toilet paper really… sounds interesting, right?
Bidet systems that hook straight into the water line on your toilet are very inexpensive! They are also super easy to install yourself! The fancier one we bought for our house was less than $100. The one we purchased for our RV cost $23 (the current price has gone up some since we purchased ours tho, but not by much). These bidet seats basically are sandwiched between the top of the toilet bowl and the bottom of the toilet seat with a hose that hooks into the water line. They have a left or right hand control that allows you to turn on/off the water as needed. We chose a left had controller because of the way our bathroom door is situated, and because we have a lefty in the house lol. No need to buy the super fancy heated water (trust me even in winter the cold water isn’t that big of a deal) or the “air dry” options unless you want to get super fancy lol but those options are available too.
So the first cost savings is not having issues with the septic system or black water tanks. The second cost savings is not having to purchase toilet paper. We do keep some toilet paper for guests and to squish the occasional spider lol but honestly after “rinsing” well… your nether regions are very clean.
We use bamboo cloth drying squares (in lieu of tissue paper) that we toss into a cute receptacle with a lid, and when we do laundry those get washed with the regular laundry. We are fortunate to have a washer/dryer in our RV so that is convenient, but honestly it doesn’t add up to more than adding in an extra hand towel or two to the overall laundry cycle when all is said and done. We keep the clean cloth drying squares in a cute basket by the toilet. If this grosses you out, you can still use disposable paper for drying but honestly why waste the money buying it? You can also color code for different family members if everyone wants their own drying cloths to use, where each family member gets a different color cloth if the ick factor of sharing family drying cloths is too much to handle lol. There is a link below to the ones we use, but there are literally hundreds of options to choose from including making your own by cutting up old t-shirts!
For our black water tank we use septic tank enzymes, then after we flush the system we use regular RV tank chemicals the next time. We alternate between the two. We don’t use both at the same time because the chemical solutions would kill the enzymes and that would defeat the purpose. The enzymes and chemicals work great on human waste but not so great on tissue paper. That’s why you end up having black water tank problems. Those paper fibers turn into a sludge of “concrete” on the walls of the tank. One way we further clean our black water tank is while traveling. We dump a bag of ice down the toilet along with a bit of laundry detergent and as we are driving, the ice and detergent swishes around and “scrubs” the tank walls and bottom of the tank clean of any built up gunk. Once it has melted, just go to the dump station and empty your tanks. A friend gave us that tip, and it works rather nice!
We also use septic friendly cleaning supplies. No harsh chemicals for scrubbing toilets, washing down the shower walls, doing dishes or laundry, and (ladies with long naturally curly and frizzy hair like me especially) I’m especially careful not to use hair conditioner that you rinse off in the shower because that can gum up the system as well. I use a spray on leave in conditioner after I get out of the shower instead. Glycerine bar soaps are much easier on the system than traditional bar soaps too as the “fat” used in the soap making process doesn’t congeal in the system causing problems. Basically, consider every product that you use that would go down the drain or the toilet as a potential “gunk” problem. We also use a hair catcher drain cover and a mat in the shower for my long hair and catching any dog fur for when Conestoga Chuck and his sister Lil Bit need a bath lol.
***I’ve posted my homemade laundry detergent and cleaning spray recipes previously so I won’t be posting those here. But that’s what we use 🙂 and they are inexpensive, multipurpose, and RV/septic friendly. It’s nice not to have to carry 10 different types of cleaning products when you are living in a tiny space too! Conestoga Chuck says that leaves more room for doggie snacks so he approves as well… plus the harsh chemicals bother his snout so he’s also happy we don’t use those.
We have had a bidet seat installed in our house for over a year now and just installed one in the RV in preparations for our upcoming travels. Here are some lessons learned:
1. Make sure to get a bidet seat that fits the size of your toilet bowl. So measure first. All toilets are not the same size. Basically the bidet seat is going to be the same size as if you were replacing the toilet seat as it anchors in the same spot that the toilet seat is anchored.
2. Prepare to be spoiled. Public restrooms with tissue paper become almost like torture devices lol it’s worth driving home to use the potty. Even the hubby has reluctantly conceded that yes he prefers the bidet now lol even tho he was very skeptical when I first discussed us installing one. It was another of my crazy ideas he was gonna have to indulge me in (sigh)… but now he is the first to say let’s drive to the house for a pit stop lol.
3. You may need to buy an adaptor for the water line in the RV when hooking it up. By hooking directly into the waterline you won’t have to lift/push down the flush pedal to use the bidet rinse water. Unless you are double jointed, this is very important lol we chose an adapter with an on/off valve as an extra precaution. As you can see in the photo we use a paper towel placed wherever a new connection is made to the existing water lines and check the towel regularly for a few days looking for signs of drips/leaks. This is an easy way to double check and make sure everything is snug and secure. There is a link below to the connector that we used.
4. Make sure to have enough drying cloths for everyone, as well as a container with a lid to place them in once used (I prefer a metal or ceramic container and have repurposed old soup tureens, ceramic bean pots, and even a small metal milk jug replica and I found all of them at the thrift store… to hold the used drying cloths till wash day). Because you are just using the drying cloths to dry an already cleaned and washed area (to put it politely lol) there is no smell involved, but it’s easier to keep the dogs from thinking they are play toys (mine love to play with socks! And it’s just too tempting lol) and it just looks nicer if you have a cute container with a lid. When traveling I just put the container in the dirty laundry basket so the container doesn’t roll around or break. I laughingly call the white soup tureen we use: the “chamber pot” lol
Once you try this system I will honestly be surprised if you decide to go back to the “old” way of doing “business” lol and an added side effect is it is very environmentally friendly… I read a report not too long ago which stated that it takes 38 gallons of water to produce one roll of toilet paper! Wow! Right? Yikes!
https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Friendly-Products-Enzymes-Maintainer/dp/B004L9V00U?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_8
Conestoga Chuck 