Strong sweetish odor

[Knowharm]

Hi. Please help. I have searched the internet and could not find my exact question posted. First time in an rv. Rv toilet had the very faint typical rv sewage smell when we started trip 2 days ago. Today my wife “had to hold the flush valve open and let it run for a really long time” 😉
But now there is a disgusting, sort of sweet smell, not quite like anti freeze, coming from the toilet and is permeating if I turn vent off.
Does anyone know what this odor may be and what I can do to kill it?
Thanks for any help!

[klutchdust]

I have used toilet tablets but still got smells even after flushing the tanks really well once home and on a good water supply.

I started adding a cup of bleach and some dawn dish detergent to a 6 gallon bucket then mixed it into a foam using a paint stir plastic fan thingy in my cordless drill. it makes a great thick foam. That goes into the toilet and each sink drain and shower. During my trips i spritz the commode after each use with a cleaner containing bleach and i haven't had any odors nor do I use the tablets anymore.

i read about the Geo method and will be adding the water softener next time. The tablets produced an odor that i didn't care for.

I happen to be a person who detects odors that others can't smell. My neighbor found that useful when he had a dead rat in his garage and couldn't find it,I walked right up to it's resting place behind his work bench. TMI ? ....maybe.....

[IAMICHABOD]

Knowharm wrote:
I don’t know what the odor was, but I febreezed the crud out of the toilet and the odor has not returned. Pot heads should buy stock in febreeze.

Better yet use what the pros use to get that pot head and all other smells out of their RVs
OZIUM :B

[ron_dittmer]

Hi Knowharm,

Remember there is no trap in an RV toilet. This means that running the ceiling fan when flushing the toilet will draw the odors right into the bathroom from the poop tank. Turn the fan off when flushing and you might find your situation more tolerable.

[Knowharm]

FYI. Cheese guy made me laugh too now that I re-read it after getting some sleep. I don’t know what the odor was, but I febreezed the crud out of the toilet and the odor has not returned. Pot heads should buy stock in febreeze. 😉 thanks for everyone’s advice and humor.

[the_bear_II]

I would suspect a toilet deodorizing chemical was added and activated once liquid hit it. Something like Thetford AquaKem

[turbojimmy]

The rental place might have dropped a tank tab in there. They're deodorizing tabs that also claim to help break down waste. They can have a strong, sweet smell.

[janstey58]

The cheese guy made me belly laugh, LOL!!

[azrving]

Buy a gallon of pine Sol or something like that. Swab the bowl and dump a bunch of it in the black tank. You can keep pouring a little in the bowl now and then to nurse it through your time with it.

[Knowharm]

Thanks for the replies, other than the cheese guy. It is a Thor siesta 24st. It is a rental. We picked it up yesterday for a 9 day trip.... toilet holds water. Owner said all tanks were flushed, but I’m finding that it appears that their must have been a quick turnaround between the last renter and myself.....

[azrving]

The toilet should have a little bit of water laying in it. There is a rubber seal on the ball/slide valve that must seal good enough to hold water.

I had an older tt with a bad seal at the base of the toilet that had a constant slight odor.

[bobndot]

once you resolve this. use the tanks properly and flush them both using water to keep them clean.

check your plumbing, make sure your vent to the roof is not blocked, open the end cap and take a peek down the tube to see if it appears clear, not blocked by something.

try the Geo Method to clean the tanks. read below rvnet post for link to instructions. Once its clean, many people simply use water to keep things clean.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27808130/print/true.cfm

[gbopp]

Welcome to the forum.
Did you dump and flush the black tank? It sounds like it may have RV antifreeze in the tank.
I would rinse the black and grey tank.

Also, give us the make/model of your RV. Maybe someone had a similar problem.
If there is RV antifreeze in the tanks, another possible problem could be a stuck air admittance valve.