Smelly Subject
Ok lets talk about waste or in particular waste fluid products used in caravans & motorhomes? Which do you feel give value for money? And which give off the best fragrance in the little room! We tend to use "Fenwicks" however having now seen this "Top & Tail" new product and wondered is anyone using it? and what do they think of it? and is it saving money only having to buy 1 type?
And lets try not to bring in the toilet humor on this thread please! as we have proberly heard all of them anyway!
Look forward to the survey results coming in from all!
Comments
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Thetford products seem to work for me. Been using them for years.
David
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For years used Thetford blue and pink but over the last few years Thetford pink seems to leave black bits in the rinse water. I assumed that they changed the recipe ?
Now use Lidl/Aldi liquid bio satchets and their cheapest hair conditioner.
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Another vote for Lidl & plain water although the latter is a Hobson's choice as the flush operates from the onboard tank. We do keep diluted pink in a spray bottle to freshen the bowl.
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use packets rather than liquid - easy to drop in and no measuring. For the blue stuff for a long time I was a Thetford user then when once I couldn't find any in my local dealer used another brand (Dometic?) and found that worked as well so stayed with it as it was cheaper. I stopped using Thetford pink as it did leave these black bits which went away when we used the local dealer's own brand.
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The Elsan or Dometic tablets/sachets are so much easier to use and store than the bottles of liquid. They’re expensive but worth it in my view. The smell is fine - just a pine type of aroma. Anyway, there are hatches and windows if you want to vent the washroom.
Good old H2O in the flush tank with no additives does the job well.
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So
Summary so far is that no one as yet reported on this "Fenwicks Top & Tail" then Thetford seems to be a regular choice by many! but we keep reading the sachets seem to being taking off as well? Now not seen these in our local Aldi but will keep looking,
Question to all? Does swapping fluids or sachets have any down points on cassette toilet working parts? or does it help?
And also we must be the only caravaner's then using "Fenwicks"? we just like the smell it leaves but have used the blue one but "Fenwicks" just seems to act faster?
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when ypu go to Aldi (i actually think the Lidl ones work better having tried both types) remember we're all talking about normal washing fluid in sachet form and its the bio type to look out for (green box).....not anything special for caravan toilets.
i always knew Fenwicks did a range of cleaning products but didnt know about the toilet stuff.
BTW Lidl sachets (green plastic box) are around £2.50 for a box of 20.
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We tried the Aldi/Lidl bio tabs and also fabric conditioner in the flush. Initially all seemed to work quite well. I then picked up Ariel and Waitrose Bio tabs and the smell wasn't good so we went back to using Thetford products.
The fabric conditioner in principle seemed fine but then after a while the bowl took on a yellow tinge which you don't get with the proper pink.
We've used Aldi toilet fluids green and blue and they were also very good.
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Question to all? Does swapping fluids or sachets have any down points on cassette toilet working parts? or does it help?
The only difference that I have noticed with lidl bio washing tabs over other tank fluids is that there has been zero limescale build up. That I do like!
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Thetford Blue until the free lot we got years ago with the MH ran out, then switched to the Lidl pods that work very well, and much cheaper than anything else. Can be used for laundry too if required. Sit in the cupboard in the washroom ready to deploy into the cassette when required.
Still using the Thetford Pink, again a free lot we got ages ago, probably from before the black bits were included in the formula. For short trips tend to de-cant from the large bottle into the small bottle that came with the caravan and carry it in the ikea watering can that 3 top ups fills the flush tank.
Have entered a competition for the 'Top n Tail' stuff. If Its won, will use it to try it.
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Our caravan shop has Fenwicks products, but we have not tried them.
The "sachets", or tablets , are dedicated toilet products and replace the liquids. We started with Thetford sachets, then found Elsan was less expensive, and the Dometic tablets (thanks TW, we had not opened the drum to look) seem slightly less too. We just buy whatever works out least expensive.
The "bio pods" are plastic pods filled with liquid bio laundry detergent, like BB we use the Lidl ones. We also use them for laundry.
They work for us.
I would use whatever you prefer as long as it works.
The sachets and pods are, as said, very easy to use, and are also lighter to carry. We have not used holding tank liquids since around 2001.
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There was an extremely lengthy thread on bio tabs which I hope won’t be repeated. Despite the fact that nearly everybody sung their praises we didn’t like the smell nor did we find them effective so we are back to good old Thetford Blue and also use pink in the flush. If you are happy with Fenwick’s, why change?
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I am actually pondering returning to ‘blue’ , whichever product name, given that we may be two or three days before we can empty. We are Mo HOMERS, so the flush is fresh water but the wash tabs just are not cutting it for longer periods.
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I've tried H2O too once but got burnt
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Alternate between Aldi/Lidl bio-pods and Blue Diamond Fluid, again from Aldi when available, in the cassette plus Blue Diamond pink in the flush tank. Double up with the bio-pods for journey home with drained off hot water to give cassette a good clean out with the shaking of the van on the move.
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Well this is turning out to be a one horse race! It seem's Bio Tab's just another word for washing powder in my book I guess is becoming the out right winner!
It seems just about everybody is using them due to this mainly being the cost element? Thanks EasyT for comment on limescale but if your are rinsing your cassette loo out then surly this can't build up (If your still using Pink & Blue products of course?) or are we just being silly here! or do you own a motor home with a different loo system (not sure about this as never been in one?)
Thanks Hitchglitch! Yep your right why indeed change if we like "Fenwicks Products" but we would still like to hear from someone who has used the "Top & Tail" as this would really reduce cost from buying 2 to buying 1 just makes sense!
We are wondering does Aldi/Lidi know that there are many caravanners and motor-homers using their products for cleaning the loo's rather than cleaning their washing although there are some of you doing both..lol
So we presume then you just throw one of these tabs into your cassette and hey presto it starts to breakdown what it needs too? But isn't their a bit of a build up of suds? like when their in the washing machine turning around and around then don't the tabs turn into liquid powder and then create suds? so shall we say we are adding 2 types of water then this must create suds and bubbles at the bottom of the cassette? Having never used these we can only have this image of suds coming out the loo and creeping over the top..lol which we are sure isn't the case but it must of happened to someone?
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Never had you as a peroxide blonde, Corners.
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They do not create suds or bubbles. The biological liquid is in the plastic-like pouches which dissolve as soon as they get wet.
I have a caravan and don't use a flush additive. We probably stay a hundred nights on facility sites and then mainly use the loo for urine as other needs are normally taken care of when we go to the washroom. We also stay around 20 nights on non facility sites.
When on facility sites I empty usually just once every 4 or 5 days. Obviously more often on non-facility sites.
I usually give two rinses after emptying on most sites - on occasion maybe one..
I suspect that we have more limescale build up because the Alde heating pipes also keep the waste tank warm. At the end of the season we would have had significant build up and I would use a few quids worth of white vinegar to descale. With lidl's bio sachets there is none.
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I traded the last caravan in before our Christmas break. The cassette still had some urine in from our departure morning and last thing the prior night. The caravan change was last minute and so emptied and cleaned the caravan inside. The cassette just needed an empty and a rinse. As Grant says cassette near enough as new looking.
Saving money does not concern me in the least. Clean cassette and ease of use does. I suppose storage is easier than the liquid as well. I keep a small plastic box with the caravan cleaning stuff such as carpet wipes, spare sponges, small re-purposed bottles of clothes wash and dish wash liquids, spare sponge, duster etc. In the box are some Lidl bio pouches, and a few other ones with conditioner if we use a site washing machine.
One thing this means is no need to open front locker. Empty, rinse, replace cassette and then OH drops a sachet inside through the trap.
Last season was the first time of usage as a trial. Very pleased with the result of no more descaling.
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agree with Easy, one of the great side effects of Lidl pods is the total absence of limescale which we did get with all other "top brands".
however, you wont get rid of limescale with just one pod, it takes five or so uses to clean the cassette and i do mean clean.....
dont notice any 'bad smell' with pods but was aware of a strong 'chemical' smell with the blue products.....seems mainly to mask colour to blue which might be what some people want
the pods dont change the colour of the tank contents which might be an issue for some delicate souls?
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