These Don't Really Work! More Money Down The Drain! | Fulltime RV Living!
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- Опубликовано: 13 сен 2024
- Did you know not everyone goes #2 in their RV? Until we started RV’ing, we had no idea that a lot of people don’t! Whether it be because they are afraid to use toilet paper in their RV for fear of the “poo pyramid” or being afraid of causing issues with their black tanks, there is a whole community of people who have a no #2 policy in their RV! We did a test in a previous video, where we put a wide variety of toilet paper, from RV specific to household quality, up against each other in a test environment. Our test results were that with agitation and enough water, all of the toilet paper, no matter the brand, broke down the same!
This video takes our previous test a step further. In the initial test, we used only water and toilet paper, and many of you requested that we add in different types of tank treatments to see if that would alter the results any.
We were also curious, as we spend a lot of money on tank treatments, and were curious to know if we were throwing money down the drain. For our test, we purchased Camco TST Max, Thetford AquaMax, Happy Campers and Unique RV Digest-It and put them to the test against each other to see which one is the most effective in breaking down the toilet paper and other particles in the tanks. The results surprised us so much, that we will be rethinking what products we use for our tank treatment, in the future!
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We will be using unique!
Thank you for your experiment. Very helpful!
Thank you! The unique and aquamax did things to help break down the TP! The TST and Happy Camper are only for odor and did nothing to aid the breakdown over just water alone!
Thank you for all your effort - great info!!!!!
Love you channel. 👍🏼👍🏼
You're very welcome! We are glad you enjoy the channel and liked the video!
Thanks for taking the time to do this and sharing. I’ll e getting some Unique.
Thank you for watching! We now have a years worth of tank treatments before we run out!
Thanks! Will need to buy tank treatment at the beginning of the next season. Made the decision very easy!
Thank you! We actually maintain and treat our tanks using Dawn and Borax with Happy Camper for odor control! You can check out how here! ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
Unique is mine and the National RV Training Academy pick. I have used it for years and never have had a problem.
The unique and Aquamax both did more than thr others! Now I have been informed there is a debate out there on holding tank vs septic tank and maybe breaking down the contents of our tanks is not what we want to be doing! I'm not sure what I think is best but I know what we have been doing works for us!
When we started full-time 2 years ago we used Happy Camper but have changed to Unique and it's so much better.
We have always used dawn, borax and happy camper in our tanks and have had good success! After this experiment we have enough tank treatments to last us a year before we have to decide what we want to use!
We have used everything you used for comparison. In addition, we have used the combination of Pinesol, Calgon, and water and pour in 1 cup per tank. I prefer the Pinesol mix to all of the others based on price and efficacy. We had our tanks cleaned professionally and received marks of an "A" and 2 "Bs". Last weekend I did a double flush on all tanks and they were in great shape. As for toilet paper, unfortunately Scotts usually breaks down in your hand long before it hits the tank. Might as well use your finger. p\Plus it costs considerably more than non RV paper. Any septic safe toilet paper seems to work equally well.
We have used Dawn, borax and happy camper for 3 years now, but i am thinking of trying thr pinesol and calgon mixture to see how it compares! We have been able to use any TP as long as you use enough water!
Great video! I am buying Unique in the future!
Thank you! I however have a year's worth of treatments to use before I need to buy anything else first!
Great info! Thanks for taking the time to do it for us!
Thank you!
Interesting. We been using Unique for last 6 months and are happy with it.
We use Happy Camper and after this know it is only for odor control and does nothing to aid in the break down! The AquaMax and the Unique are assisting the breakdown of the things in the tanks!
We have been using TST....time to switch to unique.
Thank you, again, for another very informative video!
Thank you! I found the TST, and the Happy Camper are really just there for odor control!
Kevin
Thanks for another a great video
Looks like I’ll need a bigger stick my tank is ways down there from our 5th wheel toilet 😂😂😂😂😂
Ha ha! I would not advise doing that!
I recently started using Unique and now will stay with it after you did this experiment. It certainly took away the bathroom smell (it was slight when we bought camper but grew stronger after our first couple of outings using TNT - We bought it April 2022). The smell was stronger when we aren't using our camper since we only take it out about once a month right now and try to really flush the black tank really well when we dump. After using Unique on 2 outings the smell is gone.
Thanks for the review of the Unique. We just started using it as we had a few other products to go through after this experiment! We can't wait to see how it does for us!
That was a cool experiment, what if you mixed a little of each in one to see if that breaks the paper down and how fast? Thank you for sharing I enjoyed watching.
The bottles of all of these have warnings that say do not mix with any other treatments! Not sure what would happen but maybe that could be an outdoors test!
Unique “Tank Cleaner” has acid in it. Trisodium citrate dihydrate. It has a ph of 7.5-9.0. Borax (music acid) hap ph of 9.4. Pretty sure Borax is less expensive per application.
I knew you would know more about this than me! We have had great luck using dawn and borax with some happy camper for odor control! It is also very cheap per use even with the dawn, we have been know to use cheaper soap as I am not sure the dawn is as important as the borax!
We use Happy Camper for odor control BUTT we don’t put TP in our toilet 🤪
We use Happy Camper now, but I do feel it is only for odor control and does not aid in any breakdown! We use both bathrooms normally and have never had issues!
Thank you so much, Kevin, for this well thought-through test!!
Just last week I bought the Unique for the first time and look forward to using it.
The RV tech who we used to clean out our tanks professionally told me those TIDE pods are the worst! And those powders that people don't dissolve before dumping them down the drains are also bad. He said the tide pods don't dissolve all the way and cause problems. The undissolved powders build clumps that can cause problems. So I have never used the tide pods and always dissolve my Happy Camper (will quit using it as per your test results) in hot water first.
You did a GREAT job!! Again, thanks!!
Thank you! Its hard to test everything out there! We use dawn and borax with some happy camper for odor control! It has been great for us but now we know the Happy Camper is doing nothing to help break things down! Now I after this experiment I have enough treatments to last us a year!
@@PavingNewPaths
Todd from the NRVTA states that the Borax and other harsh chemicals kill the bacteria in the Unique. Like you, I use the geo method for the road flush, so I have to seriously wrap my head around what I am going to do from now on. The NRVTA class does not talk much about a solution to where you can use both the Unique and the geo method for road flush. All I can say is that the road flush has kept our sensors working perfectly! I guess I have to figure it out...thoughts?
@@martinasaxton7033 My thoughts are there are two sides of this! One is they are holding tanks not septic tanks so we shouldn't be trying to break down the contents with enzymes or bacteria! That beings said money is usually involved! The guys telling you not to use a product that breaks down the contents make a living off of cleaning out your tanks! Also the guys promoting the stuff that breaks down your tanks make a living off selling you this new product! For me we are going to stick with our dawn and borax treatments as we have never had any issues!
@@PavingNewPaths that is my thinking exactly. Why not stick with what has worked!? I shall use the Unique for this coming season and see what it does.
Thank you so much for your thoughts/input!
And safe travels!! I am so very glad Alicia is healing nicely!!
In other words. NO CHEMICALS NEEDED!
I belive the chemicals should only be used for odor control! We normally run Dawn and Borax in our tanks with some Happy Camper for odor control!
I have always used TST but I mix about three times the amount needed. Might definity look into the unique.
We use the Happy Camper and it is clear that it along with the TST are just for odor control and do nothing to aid in breaking things down! We have had good luck with Dawn, Borax and happy camper but we now have enough tank treatments to last us a year before we have to buy more!
Very interesting...things that make you go hummmmmm!
It is very Interesting!
Appreciate the efforts both videos, but RV tanks are holding tanks, not septic tanks. As long as the materials inside have enough water to properly flush out the tank and out the hose then you don't need any chemicals. If the RV user tends to over use TP (more sheets than needed per handful) then it might be a problem but that is user error. These treatments should be seen only as deodorants. Also, the tank are slightly agitated with each flush, #2 or not. If cleaning the sensors is the concern that is a separate issue IMHO.
We agree they are just holding tanks not septic tanks! We also found that RV specific TP is no different than household TP if you use your tanks peoperly! We actually use dawn and borax in our tanks and have never had a problem, we add happy camper for odor control!
I haven't seen a video this crappy since your first one, lol. But I appreciate the endurance for this test. I've been a Happy Camper user for a couple years now and haven't had problems, but will consider Unique (after I run out of "Liquefied" that I just bought). Good job and thank you.
We use Happy Camper and think we will continue with that! I have watched several videos about the effects of breaking down the stuff in the tank and they make some good points about not doing that!
Hey Kevin we have used Unique in the past as well as Odorlos from Valterra both great products. Like you I think Unique is the best just seemed pricey compared to Odorlos. Amazon has unique 128oz for $47.99 roughly 75 cents per treatment .42 less per treatment of the 32 oz Hope all that made sense. Great video
Thanks! We now have a collection of tank treatments to use up! We see still love our tried and true method of borax and dawn!
Our tt has sat on our vacation land for 7 years. We had the dreaded poop pyramid this spring. We had our grandkids for a week and they had a hard time using the foot flush so used very little water to flush hence the poop pyramid. We found out by the following week a very putrid smell in our rv. We had been using the aquamax. After research I found that we needed to flush our tank. After flushing we still had the smell. Aquamax wasn't working. Bought some Unique because of all of the reviews. Smell was gone in a matter of a few hours after first application. We will be using Unique from now on as well as asking the grandkids to let us know when they use the toilet to poop so we can go behind them and flush better.
We normally use dawn, borax and Happy Camper and have had good luck you can check out how we maintain our tanks here! ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
We will continue to use the Happy Camper and all the other treatments I now own until they are done! We will likely be switching over to the Unique!
This was an incredible experiment!! After watching a few of your toilet cleaning videos I'm going to subscribe!! Thank you and God Bess❤😊
Thank you! Glad you liked it! honestly it was one of the strangest videos I have ever made but interesting! Hope you enjoy the rest of the channel!
@@PavingNewPaths Kevin, u are so WELCOME! All this has made me research homemade tank cleaners since afterall you made that other video using Dawn, Borax and Happy Camper. Then I was reading that actual pine-sol and Lysol both gets rid of the good bacteria in the takes but a water softener like Calgon is save and so is baking soda and cleaning Vinegar are all safe as well. Since you are not happy with Happy Camper maybe you can do a video comparing cleaning tanks with Unique vs. Something homemade since they are more expensive. We only camp on short trips and our last one was pretty unenjoyable since our tanks all said full or partially full so when we got home I ordered that Unique in Sensor Cleaner and Tank Cleaner and will be giving it a try this week but from now on, we will definitely put 10-15 gallons of water in our tanks to be ready once we get to our next place. I also bought that flexible ward to put down the toilet and the camco rhino flush valve cover for no splashing also ordered a water gauge meter to see how many gallons I'm putting in our tanks. We left our previous campsite with our black tank reading full and was at our last one being the same. Never again do I want to experience this so I'm investing in EVERYTHING. 😂
I've watched as many tank treatment video's as anybody else here, a true real world test should be done with real world poop and urine, not in jars or cans but in a Port-a-Potty, use the recommended amount of fresh water flush, read the directions and use as recommended, you may find that they all pretty much work, just what choice of fruit scent you want your poop to small like.
This year I'll be using Unique for the first time because of the size of my Class C holding tank, but you won't get the results of my research for a few months.
I used Thetford in my van Port-a-Potty and it worked in breaking things down, give the bacteria time to work.
I don't think youtube would allow real world testing to be shown! But someone should do it and just tell the results on camera without showing it! No way I could convince the wife to let me do that type of testing!
@@PavingNewPaths I don't thin they would either, although I've seen some pretty gross stuff on here,,,,,,,,,,
👍🏽
Thank you!
I used yeast in my septic. I used to brew. Never a problem.
Ps, spent yeast...
Thats a new take on the black tank! We have had great success with some dawn, borax and happy camper!
The one point is when you flush. It will do some agitation.
Yes there will always be some agitation when you flush! We just wanted to see how the TP broke down with the different tank treatments!
Great information! We enjoyed spending time with you guys!!❤
Thanks Thomas! We are glad you guys could make it! We look forward to our next adventure!
We have been using unique since last year, I watch Tip Tuesday but he used dog food, to see have fast it broke down
We use Happy Camper but now I know it is only for odor control and does nothing to aid the breakdown of the tanks!
You're only using visual for your results. Looks can be deceiving so I would recommend pouring each container through a strainer to see how much goes through. Also should compare with borax, the best and cheapest product I've found.
I don't think a strainer would prove much as all of our tanks have 3 inch dumps! We actually use Dawn, Broax and Happy camper in our tank and have had great success! We now know they happy camper is just for odor control!
Great video We have used Unique since day one when we purchased our TT.
Very happy with it. No clogs or smells. We use Septic Safe toilet paper.
We use Happy Camper and have used TST before but they are just for odor control! We normally run the Happy Camper in conjunction with dawn and borax! Do they make TP that is not septic safe?
@@PavingNewPaths Not sure but have always made sure it says it on package when purchased.
Great experiment. I have been using Pro-lab One Flush for a few years now. It seems to work pretty good. One packet is good for up to 1500 gallons. I keep some in an old pill container and sprinkle a little in each time I dump and clean the tanks. Thanks for all your work.
Thank you! We have had great success with dawn, borax and happy camper! Now we know happy camper is just for odor control and provides no assistance in helping break things down!
You lost me at having to do the math! Just kidding. Good job here. I enjoyed the experiment. I would have thought the non- agitated but w/chem. would have broken down better. You put a lot of work in on this and we appreciate it. I saw a holding tank solution recipe that makes one gallon. 5 cups of Pine-Sol 1/2 cup of Calgon bath beads and SLOWLY fill with water waiting for suds to "die down" then cap it off and gently shake. 1 cup per tank. It's not a chemical so no breaking down, but I think your experiment gives me confidence in this as just the water was as good or better than some of the chemicals.
Thank you! When you do one of these experiments its hard to think of all the different variables and how to do a test! We found that with no agitation nothing really happens in all of them! But we know that flushing your toilet is agitation, so they can be used jut to show that chemicals alone do nothing! You can also see that the TST and Happy Camper was the same results as just water alone! Yes the Aquamax and the Unique did aid in breakdown but now it comes down to the argument of these are just holding tanks not septic tanks so should we be using this stuff at all?
Kevin, I propose you do not need any of these chemicals and you do not need to worry about toilet paper if you use Borax and detergent. A black tank is absolutely not a septic tank. A black tank is only for holding until you dump. A septic tank function is in this link. www.des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/2020-01/ssb-11.pdf
You will see that it’s function is nothing like a black tank.
Why does toilet paper need to break down in your tank? It does not. It just needs to go out when you dump.
Do digesters keep your sensors working correctly? They do not.
Struvite is the cause of sensors not working. Borax and Calgon remove struvite.
Respectfully, Kevin
I watched your video and it has me convinced that all these treatments we use thinking they will help are actually causing our problems! We have never had any issues with dawn and borax and now its clear the happy camper we add is just to help with odor control!
@@PavingNewPaths I 100% agree. Nothing like being lead down the primrose path to sell products. Best wishes to you and family! Kevin
Had a clog that was a total pooper! About 25 years ago and I blame our 4 kids. Since then, just wife and I and we use our normal favorite TP and place the used in dedicated plastic bad in a lidded waste basket. Works for us and no worries about clogging. Oh, and congratulations on getting me to watch a long video on poop paper control.😜😎. Great content!
We use TankTechs, probably simular to Unique, but more expensive. It has an oder when added, but we never smell our black tank, so something must be working correctly. My understanding is that Happy Camper and TST are only designed to encapsulate the oder. After watching this, I may switch to Unique to see how it does for us. TankTechs is about twice the price of Unique.
TST and Happy Camper did nothing to help the break down only provided an odor control! The AquaMax and the Unique were for sure aiding in the breakdown of the TP in the water!
I use the toilet paper I want and we don’t put it down the toilet.
Our first test we found out you can use any TP you want and you can flush it! You can check that video out here ruclips.net/video/vn4rf_jlL5I/видео.html
I’ve been using Unique from day one cause my rv dealer recommended it when I bought the camper. Thanks for letting me know I made the right choice!
We have learned that sometimes products that are being reccomended are because there is a monetary interest for the person making the reccomendation! Unique actually wanted to sponsor us, but I told them I want to buy the product and try it out with out and bias to see if it actually does what it says!
The bacteria in Unique likely is wiped out if you use borax in the tank. The bacteria for septic tanks would also do a good job of breaking down things, but you cannot use borax or strong chemicals in the tank. Adding a gallon or so of water through the tank cleanout may help agitate the water during the week you are sitting still. I think you may need to do a good flush out to get any borax out of your tank before the Unique would be able to do a good job. You flush your tanks well, many people do not flush their tanks and if they do not use chemicals the Unique would be a good choice. Hope you all are doing well.
We have not used the Unique in our rig yet as we do normally use Dawn and borax with our set up! We are going to use the Happy Camper and they TST up first before switching over to the AquaMax and Unique!
@@PavingNewPaths I use something similar to Unique for our septic, but we need to be careful what goes down the drain as even toilet cleaners have bleach and can wipe out the entire bacteria colony you want to breakdown things. Nice job trying to get as many variables in without making it insane.
NO Phil's chair? still, a very informative video keep up the great work!!
I was wondering if anyone would notice that!
Very cool 😎 👍
Thank you!
Thanks for your comparisons, it was very enlightening. We use Thetford and have since we bought our 5th wheel. I always put some water in the tank with chemicals after we empty. Then as we go down the road anything left in the tank will get dislodged or dissolved. Thanks again & safe travels.
Thank you! We always flush and dump before moving and add water, borax and dawn to the tanks so they can clean while traveling!
A lot of people use borax and dawn. And i have heard of borax and calgon. That would be interesting to see.
We actually use the Borax and Dawn for the black tanks, and borax and Zep in the grey tanks! We have had good luck with it, you can check that video out here ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
Thanks Kevin I am going to unique after I finish what I have as well its "camp something" seems to work okay but unique is a beast!
Unique and AquaMax are clearly breaking down the stuff better than the TST and Happy Camper!
We use unique. I really like all of their products and I have found some of their products at our Ace hardware. Thanks for all the awesome videos, we love watching. Happy Holidays and Safe Travels!
Thank you! We have been seeing the products everywhere and wanted to know if they actually worked! We learned they do actually work better than what we have been using!
Kevin, thanks for doing this test, you did an excellent job. We have been using Happy Camper and the RV has been sitting stationary in the RV Resort, but when I dump the tanks I have two variables that change things from your test. First we have a macerator toilet and second when I dump before I open the dump valve I start the black tank spray ball and get some agitation going, so when observed through the clear plastic elbow of the sewer hose there is, if any, only occasional tiny specs of toilet paper flowing through the hose, so I can't really tell if the Happy Camper is actually doing anything. Based on your test results I should probably change to Unique, but with the macerator toilet and using the black tank spray ball, your only water with agitation test sample would probably work just as well in my situation. Thanks again for doing the comparison test. TP
Thank you! We use Happy Camper, along with Dawn and Borax for our set up now! When we dump, we also turn on the black tank spray and usually flush and dump 2-3 times until the water is clear and free of "stuff"! I always observed the TP is broken up just like the agitated samples in the test when I flush! We made a video about how we dump, flush and treat our tanks you can check it out here! ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
Is the Charmin just a regular household paper? We always buy this crappy thin rv paper and it’s just rough too. Never understood why people just didn’t use regular household TP? I have to poop in my own house, I have poo anxiety in public places lol
Yes it is household TP, we actually did a test on 10 different TP and found they all break down the same! you can check it out here ruclips.net/video/vn4rf_jlL5I/видео.html
Been using unique for 2 years it's fantastic. I used tst pods 1 time. When I watched the pod still intact exit the black was the day I switched. My local Ace hardware sells the unique liquid for 8.99 a bottle.
We tend to stick with the liquid or powder treatments and ensure we have it mixed and diluted before sending it down there! We now have over a years worth of options to treat our tanks after this experiment!
Was using tst as it came with the camper but switched to unique about a year and a half ago. Rarely get any smells and when flushing everything seems liquefied. Just ordered a new bag of the drop in tabs with some citrus added. Nice experiment!
Thank you! We have always used Happy Camper but will likely be switching once we get rid of all the leftovers from this experiment!
I really appreciate that you have taken the time again to show this. I'm thankful I wasn't doing your math as 2 of those reduced to 1 or 2 gallons would not be fun to measure. As a fellow full timer, I do not use the scott...I search for a household brand that indicates septic safe. I recently tried Unique, and so far so good...and you just reinforced it.
Thank you! The math was fun but I wanted to make sure I had the same volume of treatments for the sample size of water in the test! We found in the first video you can use and TP and be just fine! The unique and AquaMax clearly are doing something more than the others!
When you first get to camp and you start out with a dry tank, what do you do? Do you add your chemicals? Do you add water with the chemicals or how do you set up the tank for use?
We are never dry when we get somewhere! The day before we move, we dump and flush fill the tanks about 10% full of water and treat them! That way they are sloshing and cleaning on the way to our next campground! When we get there, we use the tanks like normal until they are full! This is a video of how we take care of our tanks! ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
@@PavingNewPaths our Outings aren’t more than three or four days long, so do you think I should load water before I leave the house and put the chemicals in it?
I always drive around the campground before I dump. And we use Scott RV or septic tank approved.
We use Scotts RV and have no issues, but from our first round of testing we think if you use enough water all TP breaks down the same, the RV specific was not better than they household types!
Gooooooood Mornin' Professor Kevin!!! I have a "try to avoid #2" policy. If we can conveniently avoid it, we do. If not, no big deal. When I started RV-ing, I used the TST as a way to keep odors down. The product I usually use now is the Thetford Aquamax (tide pod/toss-in style packets). They come in boxes of 30 for about $22. That's about $0.73/treatment of a 40-gal. tank, looks to be the same as the liquid version you used, and would be the 2nd cheapest of your group. I didn't like the large liquid jugs of TST (or more liquid bottles than necessary of anything for that matter!) and Walmart carried the Aquamax which I heard good things about. I also switched because it said it is enzyme based, as well as convenience & availability (no mail ordering or having to go to camping stores to find it).
I did a little research professor! The TST is not enzyme based. The Happy Campers talks about how it "works most like an enzyme or bioactive treatment", but doesn't actually say it is an enzyme based treatment. The Thetford AquaMax is enzyme based with "probiotics for good bacteria". The Unique Digest-It says it is bacteria and enzyme based as well. I'm convinced that the bacteria help breaking it down. Wonder if it would help break it down even more if the enzymes/bacteria had some actual waste to feed on and grow the population...🤔 On second thought, DON'T do that test in your lab!!! Mama wouldn't be happy!!! 😂 I will also be switching to normal TP once I use up all the damn RV TP I have.....
Goooood Mornin' to you! I think this is the last TP experiment I am doing for a while! I have now learned two important things from both experiments! I can use whatever type of TP I want and it would be fine at least for us and the way we use our RV and the amount of water we run through the tanks! Second, the TST and Happy Camper are just for smell and in no way aid in the breakdown of the things inside the tanks! The Unique and AquaMax clearly are helping the break down process on its own or above what agitation is providing! Now I have seen a video where the clean out guys are saying don't use Unique or AquaMax as they essentially turn the contents in to a pancake batter and that is likely the reason your tank sensor don't work! Either way I have enough tank treatments now to last me a year!
@@PavingNewPaths Things seem to work fine for me using a combination of AquaMax and Dawn. No other stuff that might kill the enzymes. Might leave out the Dawn on my trip in a couple weeks so it doesn’t kill the good bacteria that it’s supposed to create/use…
What about tablets or the pods?
I assume the tablets or the pods are the same as the liquid! However the tablets and pods I would not have been able to reduce the amount needed for the samples size I used in the test!
@@PavingNewPaths thank you
Thanks Kevin for another Great test!! We have been using the Scott's TP with the TST treatment. We for the most part once parked, the trailer is setting till we drain and flush the tanks when getting ready to leave. Like someone else said they turn on the tank flush when dumping, I made a spray wand that we use and with the clear elbow, I can tell when the tank is cleared. I may install one of those "in tank" sprayers, wanted to on the last camper, just haven't done it on the current one!! I did enjoy your testing on the different TP's, I want to try the Kirkland brand from Costco on the next camping trip!! Nice job on the testing!!
Thank you! We normally use dawn and borax in our tanks along with happy camper and have had good results! It is clear now the happy camper is just for odor control and does nothing to help break down the contents of the tank! We made a video on how we dump, flush and treat our tanks you can check it out here! ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
I have our RV pumped and the guy told me to buy aquamax but I also have unique. Unique is better for smells but the best is the blue tablets the porta potty pumping place gives me which is the aquamax on steroids according to them. Even once we’re out and about moving around I’ll still have my RV pumped every so often its sucks everything out. Once every few weeks I’ll give them a $20 tip instead of a $10 tip and he’ll wait for me to fill the tank up completely and then suck it all back out again which cleans the tanks out really good but before I feel him up, he sprays it with their chemical, which cleaned it out really good.
It is clean that AquaMax and Unique both aid in the breakdown of the things in your tanks, whereas TST and Happy camper only try to mask the odor! We have had very good luck using Dawn, Borax and Happy Camper to maintain our tanks! you can check that out here ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
@@PavingNewPaths yes right before we move I’m gonna put some water in our tanks and put borax dawn and water softener in there than empty us when we get there. I don’t have happy camper and plan to continue using unique ones for at the campground.
Well this is very interesting, I, with a van that gets driven everywhere (because it’s my vehicle too while camping) have an advantage. I am sloshing or agitating by driving around exploring. How are people such as yourselves that have a tow vehicle or a toad vehicle agitating everyday? 🤷♀️
Every time you flush you are agitating! Our black tanks are 54 gallons when you add that much water dropping into the tank you are agitating! When we dump our contents look like the agitated samples from the test!
I’ve used all the chemicals you tested, unique is the best in my opinion, I also thought happy camper was awesome for odor control, but not so great for breaking down solids, I now use the happy camper for the grey tanks because they can get nasty especially the kitchen grey , Unique only for the black tank. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated, thank you.
Thank you! I now have a years supply worth if tank treatments to use up before I will need to purchase more! We prefer dawn,borax and happy camper for our black tanks!
@@PavingNewPaths your video when you picked up your fathers RV was the first time I’ve heard of the borax , dawn method
@@xaviermartinez6642We have used that for 2 years now and it has been great! We made a how to video on what we do you can check it out here ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
Look up black tank master class of a guy who’s been cleaning them for 10 years. Just use more water, and the TP type doesn’t matter. You don’t want to turn your holding tank into a septic system. Just flush it out with more water. Period. Putting more water in causes agitation. Plus often, it’s free compared to chemical add ins. The chemicals will cause sludge to build up over time.
We don't use chemiclas to dissolve the stuff in the tanks! We use the Bio Geo method, Dawn, Borax and some happy camper for odor control! This was just an experiment to see if these chemicals do what they say and how react to different brands of TP! We also did a test of 8 different TP to see which was better and your right with enough water any TP would work in the RV! You can watch it here ruclips.net/video/vn4rf_jlL5I/видео.html
We have used the unique from day 1 with our RV and have rarely seen solids come through when dumping our tanks even though we're weekend warriors. You do have to be careful not to use antibacterial cleaners, but it works so well it's worth the money.
The unique and the AquaMax both did things above just agitation! But now I have learned there is a whole side of this argument that believes we should not be trying to breakdown the solids as it is a holding tank not a septic tank!
Glad you did this test, nice job, especially with that math. Lol. If you find yourself doing a 3rd test for some reason...maybe using pods...after day 7, you could drain the water of each through a strainer to actually weigh the remaining TP in the strainer for an objective solubility measure. Maybe? 🤷♂️
Thank you! I think after two test I am done for a while testing TP and tank treatments! Besides after all the stuff I bought for the test I have over a years supply now of tank treatments before I run out!
@@PavingNewPaths haha...I can only imagine. Definitely no need for a 3rd, lol.
How is the rv tank getting agitation? Just from the water when you flush? Otherwise it just sits imo.
Yes, When you flush you agitate the tanks, when we dump after 7 days of sitting our tanks look just like the agitated samples in this video!
Great video and experiment. If you do another comparison, use RidX. It's used in many RV park sewer systems. It's initially expensive, but, per use It's moderate in price. I've used it in my 40' 5th wheel 59gal. tank for 5 years without a single p***p pyramid. It has never dissolved anything other than tp. All tank seals still intact.
Thank you! I think my tank experiments are over for a while! We actually use Dawn, borax and Happy camper to treat our tanks and have had great success!
Appreciate the video- thanks! Just looked on Amazon and saw an interesting video where they use Unique to break down dog food, since it contains the same elements as human waste. I wonder how the the liquid version of Unique fares against the powder single packs?
Thank you! You would hope they would be the same results if they are selling it as the same product!
Goood morning! I was hoping you wood stir the non agitated at the end. My thought is that we are parked for a week at the state park = no agitation. Then on day seven we load up and drive to the dump station, providing agitation on day seven.
Every time you flush you are agitating the tanks so yours would look like the agitated tanks! We flush and dump our RV before every move and our flush looks like the agitated samples in the test all broken up!
This last summer we swapped from Happy Camper to Unique.
We have always used Happy Camper but wanted to see what was actually happening in the tanks!
Will the results of this test cause you to stop using happy camper
Eventually when I finally run out! I now have a years supply of tank treatments left over after this experiment!
Like I thought last week when I said I think there more deodorants, but the unique has enzymes which overtime if you keep using it in your tank, will get better and better for breaking stuff down other Nat to take away message would be when you’re traveling in between your stops to actually add the chemicals to the tanks then you get to agitation and maybe it will clean up whatever was left in the tank when it dumped???
We actually use borax,dawn abd happy camper in our tanks! We typically flush and dump the day before a move, then fill the tanks about 10% full with water and treat them! That way we are getting the travel agitation! When we get to our spot we use the tanks until full before dumping! This has worked great for us for 2 years now!
Great experiment and interesting results...as we have yet to take possession of our RV...this is very helpful. Question for you...IF the Unique turned out to be the best...how would it treat the 'smell'? Would you recommend an additional additive to help control smell and if so...what would you choose? Thanks...
Thank you! All of the products in this video had a scent to help control the odor! Using the Unique would take care of the smell and I think they have one now that has citrus added to the mix! We currently use Dawn and Borax in our tanks with Happy Camper as odor control! Here is the video on how we take care of the tanks! ruclips.net/video/h-Sj0xSk2KU/видео.html
Well, as I expected, if you're moving every couple of days and dumping daily, than there's no need for the chemicals, other than to control oder. Also, was there any change to the non agitated paper when you poured them it?
We typically move every 7 days and dump our black tanks once a week! We have used borax, Dawn and happy camper with great results! We now have enough tank treatments to last us a year! All the non-agitated were still clumps of TP when I poured them out!
How does it get agitated if your stationary for a week?
Every time you flush your toilet you are agitating the tanks!
@@PavingNewPaths ty good to know. Love your channel
I've been using Happy Camper but have really been looking at trying Unique lately.
My question: are you not getting aggitation with every flush since any movement is in reality agitation of the liquid even when stationary?
It seems every test always shows a stagnant non-agitated sample & an agitated one. To me, another test would involve a sample that uses agitation dropping from above thru a large mouth funnel imitating a stationary rig being used frequently. It's gross but it is agitation IMO 🤣
Every time you flush you are agitating the tanks! That is why we had the agitated sample to simulate normal use! We had the non-agitated so you could have a reference of what it looks like compared to the agitated sample! When I flush my tanks they look exactly like the agitated samples, tiny little particles!
@@PavingNewPaths will you be switching to Unique, just curious? Also I use a little happy camper in grey tanks & it seems to help so not sure I would totally do away with it.
@@mcgyver210 We normally run Dawn and borax with happy camper in the black and it has worked our for us so far! I have a years worth of treatments to go through now before I have to worry about what I will be switching to!
I think the next test is the real world run a tank of each treatment and see if your better half notices a smell difference and if you notice a difference in the draining or how long it takes to drain Maybe?
If you could have smelled that room when all of them were working, there is no way any smell is coming out no matter which one you use! The TST and Happy Camper are odor controls whereas the AquaMax and Unique started breaking down things!
Well. I just ordered some unique drop in tabs. Will use next trip. I’ve been using the happy camper for years. Will keep using it in the gray tanks to keep them fresh and use the unique for the black tank. Thanks for the testing professor 😂.
Thank you! The problem for me is I now have enough tank treatments for thr next year for us after this experiment!
Even when your stationary , every time you flush its being agitated.
Yes, every flush is agitating the tanks! That is why we agitated every day to simulate using the toilet and flushing!
@@PavingNewPaths just to let others know that agitation you were performing didn’t mean driving around . More about clarification of your testing Well done test .
Thanks!
And another part when we’re camped at a campsite for three days, how do you do the agitation for the tank?
Every time you flush you are agitating the tanks! That is why I agitated every day to simulate you using the toilet and flushing!
@@PavingNewPaths ok
We use the aqua max basically for the convenience that it’s in every Walmart and it does smell pretty good. We may try the unique for a little bit also. Great test and dedication!
The AquaMax was good but also very expensive if you use the treatment amounts from the bottle! To me the TST and Happy Camper do nothing to help the break down just add some odor control!
Thank you for the experiment. We use unique and we haven't had any problems since we changed. My only complaint is the shipping cost( almost as much as the product to send to Florida). I believe someone posted they saw it at Ace so I'm definitely going to check them out.
Thank you! We are starting to see it available in stores and at several campgrounds we have stayed at! Amazon also has it available and if your a prime member you have free shipping! We are not sure which one we will use but after this experiment we have a years worth of treatments before we run out!
Should have used Charman extra soft, not as harsh on your bum.
This is actually our second video testing tank treatment chemicals. In our first video, linked below, we tested paper products, including Charmin! You can watch that video here!
ruclips.net/video/vn4rf_jlL5I/видео.html
I use the orange tst and 2 or 3 cascade platinum dish washer pods and a 5 gallon bucket of water and don't dump till full ...seems to work
We use dawn, borax and happy camper and have had great luck!