Toilet water pump and black slime/gunge
This topic has cropped up yet again on another forum I post on. Some owners of the Eriba caravans with a separate tank for the toilet flush are experiencing issues with pumps sieving. When they access the pump they find a build up of black slime/gunge is the cause. Once washed and cleaned they normally free up and are fine.
In the past the culprit has been thought to be the "Pink Stuff" that is added to flush tanks. Some owners who use "Green Stuff" are now reporting also problem. Owners have followed good practice and drained down the flush tanks at the end of the season.
I'm now having my doubts about the cause, so I thought I'd try here as the audience is wider.
My doubts are brought on by my observation of my water system at home in Devon. We moved into a new build in 2022 and I'm now observing the same deposit in my toilet water cistern, shower head and parts of the washing machine. These are all areas where water sits for a time.
Could the problem be down to low chlorine levels in the water. I'm assuming in our more environmentally aware society that levels may have been reduced.
Colin
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It’s not a problem here, EM, and I think we are served by the same water company.
Pink has always been a culprit in caravan/MH flushes.
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I thought that Thetford had changed the formulation of the pink additive in response to the gunge build up? I base that on the fact that in recent years with our last motorhome we didn't seem to have the same problem we had in previous years? It might well have been the actions I took by using Thetford Tank Cleaner which I used in the holding tank with warm to hot water and left for a minimum of 24 hours. It certainly used to budge the muck which I could see as i pumped it into the toilet. Always gave it at least on complete rinse and didn't experience a problem for the rest of the season.
David
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We used to get the black bits but never have since we used the cheaper dealer specials or other brands, and we never went back to Thetford pink
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We have not experienced it in a while since we changed, like @Cornersteady to using a version produced by Blue Diamond, we have now changed again to using a disinfectant from Home bargains that has a much more pleasant scent, that of winter spice.
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Since I’ve stopped using ‘Pink’, the one time problem has gone away. We do though however have this issue at home, a kinda black stringy sludge that usually manifests itself around the toilet rim. In the past I’ve contacted Wessex water and they did come round to check, informing me it was safe. Doesn’t seem right to me…
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Thanks Freddy, I'm not the only one then.
Colin
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We only use plain water in the flush and have only had very rare black bits come out of the tank. Nothing so far this year.
However, like Freddy, we have noticed in the last couple of years that the water at home is apparently not as clean as previously with those same black bits appearing in the toilets, and the filters in the basin taps trapping similar and needing to be cleaned regularly, whereas in the previous 35 years that has not been the case.
We have also found the same recently with the filter screen on the on board pump in the caravan, something that never used to be the case.
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With our last van, I used the pink stuff and got the inevitable, it would seem, black gunge forming in the flush tank. With this van, we have no choice - since - when I got the dealer to swap the useless Dometic loo, for a Thetford one, the only way they could do it was by drawing the flush water from the main onboard tank from which all our other water comes. Obviously, we don't put 'pink stuff' in our drinking water!😂 Result - no black gunge whatsoever. We do use a spray disinfectant (Zoflora) from time to time, though.
Someone mentioned washing machines (at home) and the fact that black gunge tends to grow in the dispensing tray - it does in ours, anyway - because I'm always cleaning it. Some time ago, a repair man advised against using any form of fabric softener in washing machines because it was full of fat and that was the source of the black gunge. Not sure if this relates to the toilet flush additive, though??
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While this has nothing to do with wheel hub bearings, it does point to a general hygiene issue, and the same problem is cropping up in caravans and new homes because modern plumbing systems are more water-efficient (so water sits longer) and sometimes less chlorinated. Flushing your tank regularly, fully draining when not in use, and occasionally disinfecting with a mild chlorine solution or sterilizing tablet will help break down this biofilm and keep your pump from gumming up again.0
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"While this has nothing to do with wheel hub bearings,"
Indeed, why would it?🤔2 -
Our flush water pump siezed, but worked OK after cleaning out when discovered during the service. I was told I was using far too much pink in the flush water, and instead of just slopping it in, carefully measure. So far so good. But do others do as I used to do? Is this the real source of the problem?
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@wh1nbrew our pump starting seizing only about two years ago (it's done it three times) but for the first 10 years it did not yet we have been using pink in the same way all that time. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to when it does either, sometimes after two weeks, sometimes a few months. I was expecting it to have done so this February as the caravan had not been used since November but it was fine?
We simply followed a youtube vid on how to unseize it which when you've done it once is quite easy
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