Flush tank

[Plug]

Hi all can someone advise what it the best way to clean the flush tank on the toilet we dont use pink just fresh water in the tank to flush used the van last weekend since new year and the water was full of slime and black bits thankyou for any advice

 

[otherclive]

I used to use Milton then moved on to Puriclean. There are proprietary cleaners available too.

 

[Dustydog]

There are very mixed views on this subject.

For decades I have always added a pink fluid, various makes, to the flush tank. Never had any slime nor black bits. In the early days I used plain water and had the issues you are experiencing.

Others will tell you the complete opposite😵‍💫

I suggest you try the pink fluid and see if it works for you.

 

[birdman101]

We use Fenwicks Green Top & Tail goes in both top and bottom and never ever had any problems with muck needing cleaning. Also gives a nice scented smell each flush

 

[Beardy]

Hi all can someone advise what it the best way to clean the flush tank on the toilet we dont use pink just fresh water in the tank to flush used the van last weekend since new year and the water was full of slime and black bits thankyou for any advice

I'd try Puriclean first, maybe leave it overnight.
Do you completely drain the tank after each outing?

 

[Plug]

I'd try Puriclean first, maybe leave it overnight.
Do you completely drain the tank after each outing?

Thanks for the advice i empty the flush tank most of the time but if were going away the week after i might leave it as we do a lot of rallying and were away quite a lot

 

[Hutch]

I had the dreaded black bits from our flush tank, in the first year, always used Pink flush additive, Mrs H, likes the smell. After the first year never had a problem again, still use the Pink flush no problem.

 

[IanB1485]

Based on advice from the chief microbiologist of a well known pharmaceutical company, using the above chemicals only kills the top layers of the biofilm on the walls of the flush chamber , leaving the under layers to hunker down until the active ingredient is exhausted and the rest of the chemicals in the toilet liquids ( the nice smelly ones and the surfactants in Milton e.t.c)) and the dead bacteria then become food for the surviving bacteria. His advice was to mechanical scrub the internal walls ( inc. pump and tubing) to remove the black biofilm and flush away . Then just use simple sodium hypochlorite( dettol , milton and most household bleaches) as the final scrub and brush . To access the flush tank , the flush button assembly generally is removable to give access to the pump and the internals of the flush tank.
You have to ask yourself where did the black biofilm come from? well it came from all those nice chemicals you have previously added and not then subsequently drained away . Once cleaned you should only put mildly chlorinated (tap) water in the flush tank and empty it at the end of your season.

 

[Plug]

Regarding puriclean can you run this through your hot water heater or is it just for cleaning pipes

 

[otherclive]

Regarding puriclean can you run this through your hot water heater or is it just for cleaning pipes

It is okay for water heaters hot and cold pipework and Aquaroll.

I used it for sterilising the system spring and autumn. Follow the instructions. I never left it in my systems for more than a couple of hours, then a good flush through with tap water.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I have never really understood the habit of (some people) putting additives into caravan toilet flush tanks. I don't know anyone who puts additives into their domestic toilet flush tanks, and they both use water from the same source (the mains)
I accept that water in a domestic cistern is replaced after each flush and a caravan one has water sitting in it, but only for a day or two at most as it's regularly topped up.
I have never bothered with an additive for the 20+ years I have had motorhomes and caravans, I have never suffered any black gunk, and I am still around (I do drain, and flush, the flush tank after each outing)
Sometimes our trips away are 4-6 weeks and, like I said, we have never had a problem.

I wonder if it's a bit like using plug in air fresheners that (certainly to my nose dont) "make your home smell like the outdoors" I have a much cheaper means of achieving that, I open my windows 😀

 

[Dustydog]

I have never really understood the habit of (some people) putting additives into caravan toilet flush tanks. I don't know anyone who puts additives into their domestic toilet flush tanks, and they both use water from the same source (the mains)
I accept that water in a domestic cistern is replaced after each flush and a caravan one has water sitting in it, but only for a day or two at most as it's regularly topped up.
I have never bothered with an additive for the 20+ years I have had motorhomes and caravans, I have never suffered any black gunk, and I am still around (I do drain, and flush, the flush tank after each outing)
Sometimes our trips away are 4-6 weeks and, like I said, we have never had a problem.

I wonder if it's a bit like using plug in air fresheners that (certainly to my nose dont) "make your home smell like the outdoors" I have a much cheaper means of achieving that, I open my windows 😀

As I said earlier opinions and experiences are very divided.

I wonder if regular draining makes a difference? I always fully drain before every journey.

 

[Beardy]

I don't know anyone who puts additives into their domestic toilet flush tanks, and they both use water from the same source (the mains)

You haven't met Mrs Beardy. We have blue blocks in the cistern sometimes, the pan gets a squirt of bleach at least once a week (not recommended for plastic caravan toilets). The one thing I insisted she stop doing was using those horrible things that hang over the rim.

I think the key difference is flush volume. A domestic toilet uses several litres per flush, where as a caravan flush is probably a couple of hundred millilitres. I've been using the pink stuff since I started without any problems, but I suspect that I under dose it.

I always fully drain the system at the end of each stay, maybe that makes a difference (not having stagnant water sitting in it for weeks at a time).

 

[IanB1485]

I agree with Mr Plodd , freshwater only in flush tank and drain when not in use , You also don't know what those chemicals in the additives are doing to the rubber seal in flush pump , either softening it allowing water into the motor or hardening it cause the pump to seize up.

 

[Beardy]

I agree with Mr Plodd , freshwater only in flush tank and drain when not in use , You also don't know what those chemicals in the additives are doing to the rubber seal in flush pump , either softening it allowing water into the motor or hardening it cause the pump to seize up.

....... or lubricating it so it doesn't wear and allow water past. 🤷‍♂️
(I try to remember to give the pan a quick flush before use, it seems to prevent skid marks )

 

[Mel]

....... or lubricating it so it doesn't wear and allow water past. 🤷‍♂️
(I try to remember to give the pan a quick flush before use, it seems to prevent skid marks )

Too much information 🤢
Mel

 

[izzy]

Son did 2 pumps with the dreaded black stuff and he used the additives,
after I changed the pump for the 2nd time and got all the gunge out I asked him about draining
It would appear that he did not know that there was a drain plug
thinking of a DNA check to make sure that he is who he says he is

 

[Beachball]

+1 for Puriclean we always use that, but it up to you what you prefer .