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Does your RV Toilet Keep Clogging? You’re not alone! Dozens of RVers face this issue every single week.
When it’s late at night or after a long day at work, a clogged toilet is always a bad thing. If you’re at a friend’s house or a party, it’s even worse. Unclogging your RV’s toilet has to be one of the worst things you can do.
This common problem can make your vacation something you’ll never forget for all the wrong reasons. Now when your RV toilet keeps getting clogged, you need to know what to do because there are a lot of ways to fix it.
A clogged toilet is always gross, but it’s even worse in a small space like an RV. With my help, you should be able to unclog your RV toilet and get back to having fun on the open road without having to call a professional.
Why Does My RV Toilet Keep Clogging?
The truth is that no one likes a black tank that is full of trash and not flowing. One of the first things you might wonder is how your RV toilet got clogged in the first place. It may be hard to really know why an RV toilet or black water tank gets clogged, but there are a few major causes.
The main thing that causes a black water tank to get clogged is when waste and toilet paper don’t break down well inside the tank. Your solid wastes won’t break down on their own, though, so if you don’t do anything with your RV toilet and sewer system, your toilet will get clogged.
More so, when it’s very hot or very cold, your RV toilet is also more likely to get clogged; because in this kind of weather, the different wastes tend to solidify more often since your black tank is under your RV and has little to no insulation.
Hot weather is a bigger cause of a clogged RV sewer system because it dries out liquids that are needed in the black tank. Water and other liquid waste make it hard to empty the black tank of your RV. And if these don’t work, don’t be afraid to call a professional if you can’t fix the problem yourself or if your RV bathroom is always blocked up.
You shouldn’t ignore a toilet that doesn’t work right. Regular cleaning and maintenance of your tank will go a long way toward keeping it from getting clogged. Even though unclogging a drain isn’t usually a hard job, you don’t want to do it when you’re on the road.
Tips on How To Unclog RV Toilet Without a Professional
You might be curious about the kinds of things that could potentially make a blocked toilet even worse. Hence I have provided the following list of my top recommendations that may assist you in unclogging the toilet of your RV.
With just a simple plunger: Just like in your home bathroom, you should always have a plunger in your RV bathroom. We still put them next to the toilet because they work since with a few pumps, you can clear a simple clog. Just like with any other clog, if plunging the toilet doesn’t solve the problem, it’s time to try something stronger.
Furthermore, some RV toilets are too small for a plunger to fit. When this happens, the best thing to do is use a toilet snake.
To the snake, this means you have to put a flexible piece of wire (the snake) down the toilet to get rid of the blockage. At the end of the snake is an auger bit. Using the crank on the end of the handle, you can turn the snake to break up the stuck materials and let them flow into the tank.
– How to Use Hot Water
A lot of people are used to the hot water method, even RV owners. All you have to do is open the valve on the toilet and pour boiling water in. You might have to do the steps more than once.
The water might not clear the blockage right away, so you might have to let it work overnight. After pouring the boiling water into the toilet, driving the RV for a short distance will help move the water around the black water tank to prevent buildup.
– Using ice cubes
On the other end of the spectrum, you can try ice cubes. Unlike some of the other ideas we’ve talked about, this one is only for RVs. Fill 1/3 of the toilet bowl with water, and then fill the rest with ice.
As with the hot water method, drive the RV around for 15 to 20 minutes after you flush the ice and water. During the drive, the ice should move around enough to break up the blockage.
– Using a cleaner with Chemicals
Use a chemical cleaner if nothing else works. But first, make sure it’s safe to use in an RV toilet. Blackwater tanks can be cleaned with a lot of different chemicals. Some need to be mixed with hot water first, while others can be poured straight into the toilet.
Let the chemical sit for a while after you put it in the toilet bowl before you flush. Then go for a short drive to let the chemical move around and do its job.
Nevertheless, since prevention is better than cure, and since RV toilet paper is made to break down faster and keep pipes from getting clogged. There are some things you can try if the problem persists, such as chemicals that can help break down toilet paper and waste. You can also throw in an aspirin.
Even if you don’t believe it, aspirin is a great way to break up toilet paper and tissues. This is so because the toilet paper that is safe for septic tanks shouldn’t give you any problems. Some people have trouble with toilet paper that can be used in an RV.
It’s true that it’s not as thick as what you use at home. If you aren’t sure if your favorite toilet paper is safe to use in your RV, you can try the test of putting a few sheets of paper in a jar of water and shaking it well. The RV should be fine with any toilet paper that starts to break down during this test.
Will a Clogged Toilet Eventually Unclog Itself?
If you’ve ever been in a bathroom with a clogged toilet and no plunger, you may have wondered, “Will this toilet unclog itself?” Most of the time, a toilet that is clogged will clear itself out over time.
Most things that get stuck in a toilet are water-soluble, which means that they will eventually break down in the water in the toilet. When the clog has had enough time to break down, the pressure of a flush should be enough to clear the pipes.
This may seem easy, but there are a few more things you should know before you leave that poor toilet to clear itself.
There are two things to think about when deciding if letting your toilet unclog itself is a good idea:
- Why did the clog happen?
- What size is the blockage?
It is after these questions have been answered and how they are answered that would determine if you would be wise enough to allow it to unclog itself.
Is it OK to Leave an RV Toilet Clogged Overnight?
It might seem like a good idea to close the lid and let the clog sit, but in reality, that’s not a good idea. Even though it’s usually not a big deal to let a clogged toilet sit overnight, it’s best to fix the problem as soon as possible.
The risk is not bigger than the payoff. Plus, no one wants to wake up to a clogged toilet that they can’t use.
How To Tell if RV Toilet is Clogged
By definition, to clog is to fill something up so that movement or activity is slowed or stopped, or to cause this to happen. If you want to know if your RV toilet is clogged, you would notice that there is a blockage and that thick or sticky things are getting in the way of the water, making the toilet choked up.
Since a clog is something that blocks a pipe, tube, or passageway so that nothing can go through it, once this is noticed, it is clear that the RV toilet is clogged and needs to be fixed right away, as a clogged RV is not a good thing at all.
Conclusion
In the end, a clogged toilet in an RV can put a quick stop to a trip. But that doesn’t have to be the end of the road.
With a little patience, you should be able to clear even the most stubborn clog in a few minutes. And if you take the right steps, like using the right toilet paper, you can make sure that clogs don’t happen very often.