Bio Tabs (Pods) .... Spain
I am an avid convert to using Bio Tabs (for the toilet!), and usually use LIDL's own brand. We are in Spain at the moment and running short. Searching both LIDL and other shops I cannot identify any tabs/pods which are obviously 'biological' in the accepted English interpretation. (Many say they are 'Activo'). Can anyone assist? ...my Spanish is very limited.
Comments
-
As an aside, I'm still none the wiser why people use bio tabs in the loo?
'Biological' detergents are ones that contain enzymes which help break down protein, starches and fat in stains (food) on clothing, typically containing, alpha-amylases, cellulases, proteases and lipases), these are designed to work at between 30C to 50C during a wash cycle.
How these help in a Thetford cassette has yet adequately been explained to me?
There are no anti bacterial properties to a bio-tab - is it just that they smell nice?
0 -
It can't be the smell / scent / aroma / pong CJ 'cos
a lot of folks use different types of additive in the
Flush tank if they have one, or sprays such as
Zoflora ( I THINK
?? ) or hand-held self mixed ones if like mine the flush comes from the one
main water tank
As for the effect of the "Bio Pods" I bow to your
knowledge but I have to say my toilet container
was no cleaner when it was new than it is now.
1 -
Well, I can make you wiser why one person uses, in our case, bio laundry fluid, if not able to give you the underlying science how these products achieve it.
They break down human faeces and keep the cassette very much cleaner of hard deposit build up, than the maker’s own products did for us.I ask no more of them, all I want is to easily empty away the cassette contents and it remain nice and clean.
I am not seeking or in need of something that can arrest bacterial degeneration for a few days, as weight handling dictates emptying every 24 hours, long before that takes unpleasant control, even in the ambient of South of France.
Emptying regularly tends to make something so cheap and effective an attractive option. If the propriety stuff did as effective job I would never had started, but finding them so lacking and bio-liquid so much more effective, I have not looked back.
As it is designed for discharge into domestic black water systems I can’t see using it presents additional challenges, not something I feel as confident about with using some of the more targeted loo products.
I can vouch for Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose and Lidl own products doing the job over many years.
Over to others to fathom "how" they are so effective if the apparent science does not stack up.
3 -
Despite the claimed temperature requirements,bio-tabs do still work in washing machine cycles ON A COLD WASH !! We used the cold washes in Spain & South of France for electricity heater savings .It therefore follows that the cold water used in C/van or M/home toilets will do just the same job !!The W.C holding tank on my Concorde is quite substantial ,yet since using bio-tabs has never smelt better !!Everything is broken down to a free flowing liquid and drains down quicker too.
.3 -
I have no idea how they work, nor for that matter how those fluids designed for the job, work. What I do know is that I dislike the chemical smell of non organic fluids, would only use organic. Following discussions on here we gave the Lidl bio pods a go and reckon they can't be beaten. We ran out on a trip and reverted to the small bottle of non organic fluid which we'd had because it was all we could get a while back. The whole motorhome had a whiff of chemicals and once used I found the smell lingered which we've not had with bio pods. They are cheaper, cleaner and easier to use than the liquids and we'll continue to use the pods. He who empties the container says they're great too. 😉.
1 -
Hi CJ. I have to say I was sceptical for a start when I was told about this but being someone who tends to do things a little differently, I decided to give them a go as, if they didn't work, I could always use them in the laundry. However, the first time I emptied the cassette with the biopod in use, I was very pleasantly surprised at the ease of emptying. I didn't have to work up a sweat getting rid of the Klingons!! Say no more!
2 -
Is it the gel pot ones or the cube looking ones? I keep meaning to give them a try, then forget which ones to get.
0 -
Sounds like I cannot, not give it a try (if you will excuse the double negative).
Perhaps in such relatively concentrated amounts the enzymes are quite happy the break down the remaining "food" in the contents of the tank.
1 -
Got to agree with most of the above have been using the aldi ones for a couple of years now would never go back to the smelly blue stuff
2 -
Thank you.
0 -
This sounds like an interesting idea. Would I be right in assuming that these Bio-Tabs work equally as well in caravan cassette toilets as they do in motorhome tanks?
Is it just a case of adding the usual 2 litres of water and dropping 1 tab in the cassette?
0 -
Thank you for the info. I'll give it a try.
Do you still use 'Pink' in the flush tank? I did read on another site that toilet "Blu" blocks can be used in the flush tank as long as you remove the covering first. I've not tried that idea either.
0 -
Thank you for the info. I'll give it a try.
Do you still use 'Pink' in the flush tank? I did read on another site that toilet "Blu" blocks can be used in the flush tank as long as you remove the covering first. I've not tried that idea either.
0 -
I can't simply because my flushing water is from the van's water system, not a top tank. I, however, have a hand spray filled with a bit more concentrated "pink" solution as a freshener and have never "upset" the function of the holding tank. Try it, I can't see any more adverse outcome than the bio product not working as well as it might.
I can't recall any person who has followed what I do and gone bio, actually changing back to the proprietary chemicals, if so they have not said so.
0 -
A lot of people use Fabric Softener with the Bio Tabs - I haven't done that yet as I am still using pink and unfortunately found a load of blue in the shed the other day! So much easier popping a tab in the tank than getting blue fingers!
0 -
As the OP, and just to wrap-up the thread..........
I never did find anything identifiable as 'biological' washing pods in Spain. It seems however that most ARE, unless they state otherwise.
I bought the cheapest standard pods available in Mercadona (we needed them for clothes washing anyway; e 3.60 for 20) They work at least as well in the toilet as LIDL's!
I also found that DIA's Lavender softener (e 0.77 for 2l) has a pleasant and long-lasting smell in the rinse tank ..... and also works for the clothes.
(Along the way, I noticed on MumsNet that a lot of people have trouble identifying Non Biological detergents in Spain).
1 -
Use pouches not the tabs, and we use one at a time, emptying our tank every couple of days or so if on a non-facility site, longer if we're on a site with toilets. Before leaving to head home I use all the hot water in the caravan's tank to fill up the emptied cassette and add 2 pouches to clean it out on en route home.
2 -
Enzymes that work best between 30 and 50° C are not inactive outside this range and will still have significant action at 20°. These will disperse the contents of the toilet. There are in addition surfactants in the biotabs, which do have bacteriological properties. Formaaldehyde is probably a better bactericide, but that is not what you need. What you need is a well dispersed effluent that does not smell too bad and can be easily disposed of. I have not used biotabs, but have used a purpose made biological toilet additive. This dispersed the contents well, but was unusable because of the smell. I intend to give biotabs a go when my bargain pack of conventional additive is used up.
2 -
New to caravanning and converted to bio-tabs last year. Agree with all other positive comments with no downside - everything just breaks down & is easier to empty.
Anyway, besides being a carcinogen (which is bad enough) who really wants to use formaldehyde to preserve ones' deposits
3
