Last Updated on August 29, 2024 by Nikole
All of your adventures are filled with fun, excitement, and exploration. Unfortunately, during those adventures, there are several “dirty” activities every human must participate in like, showering, using the toilet, or cleaning out a chemical toilet for camper vans!
Whether you have plumbing in your camper van, poo in the wilderness, or have a flushable chemical toilet for your camper van there is always the nasty part of cleaning things up.
Thankfully I am here to share with you some of our tips and tricks for keeping your portable camper van toilet clean and easy to clean. We will also go over how to avoid getting splattered with poo.
Welcome to our official guide to cleaning chemical toilets for camper vans!
P.S. if you are looking to be more environmentally friendly you are in the wrong post (chemical toilets aren’t what you would call eco-friendly), you will want to check out our post about How to Be Environmentally Friendly with Your Camper Van.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.
How do you maintain a chemical toilet for Camper Vans?
Before you decide to use any type of flushable chemical toilet for camper vans there needs to be chemical maintenance before you use it.
Chemicals will help break down the waste in your tank leaving your camper van smelling good. Maintaining the chemicals will also go a long way when you start cleaning your toilet.
Here are the 3 main steps to take when preparing and maintaining your chemical toilet for camper vans.
- Figure out where the chemicals go
- place the chemicals in the right tanks
- and use your toilet.
Step 1: Figure out where your fresh water tank and your waste tank is. This is simple. Typically your fresh water will go on the top detachable area of your toilet (the part you will sit on). The waste tank will be the very bottom part”cassette” of your toilet.
Step 2: Place the appropriate chemicals in each tank. This will help greatly with smell and cleaning. Follow instructions on the pack of chemicals that you decide to purchase, different products require different measurements.
-With the fresh water tank you will typically combine a pink chemical with some water (so the toilet can flush). The chemical isn’t really necessary, but it does help keep your area smelling fresh.
– With the wastewater tank you will absolutely need chemicals. It is typically green, blue, or purple in color. We personally use the Walex brand deodorizer in our chemical toilet (pictured above), and I never notice a smell coming from it.
Blue colors often contain formaldehyde, whereas green colors are typically eco-friendly. Be careful which one you choose to purchase. Some dumping points won’t let you dump chemicals that contain formaldehyde.
Step 3: Your camper van toilet is now ready to be used.
Where to Empty Chemical Toilets for Camper Vans
This is up for debate on where you can dump your waste tank. Here are the general areas where you can and cannot dump them.
Where you can dump a chemical toilet
- Camp Grounds: Most campgrounds will have an area where you can dump your portable toilet. It’s usually in a discrete area away from the campsites.
- Truck Stops/ Rest Stops: Some truck stops and rest stops may have a dump area, these areas are mainly for RV sewage dumps, but will work for portable toilets. Call ahead to make sure they have one, that way you won’t be wasting any time
- Designated Areas Along the Highway: I haven’t seen one just lying along the highway, but I’ve heard others claim they have. You never know, keep your eyes peeled. I think this is mainly found in the UK.
Where you can NOT dump a chemical toilet
- Toilets within a Store or Your Home Toilet: This is the area that is up for debate. Personally I dump in our home toilet sometimes just because dumping fees can be outrageous. Keep in mind that the chemicals used could ruin a regular septic tank (we haven’t experienced any negative impact on ours) and most stores will not allow you to dump this in a normal toilet.
- On the Ground: It is never okay to dump chemicals in the soil, water sources, or on the side of the road. Always find a designated dumping site.
How to Empty and Clean Portable Toilet
After following the take apart directions from the picture above it’s time to sanitize.
The grossest part about chemical camper van toilets is emptying and cleaning them. You will need a few cleaning supplies to clean your portable toilet which includes: Nitrile gloves, hospital-grade disinfectant, a hot water sprayer, deodorizer/enzyme.
To clean a portable toilet you typically want to run hot water and a sanitizer (like Clorox Clinical) through the system after emptying the black water. I use a bathroom bleach spray, but this is probably not safe to mix chemicals haha.
After riding of the waste, fill the tank back up with water and a choice of deodorizer.
- Make sure you detach the cassette (or the bottom/Waste holding tank) from the top part.
- There should be some sort of hose-like object on the waste holding tank with a screw cap lid on it, take it off. Stand back as you can experience some splatter when doing this. YUCK!
- Aim the “hose” down the dump area. Do this slowly because this is the other area where you can experience some splatter.
- Once all the waste is out of the compartment then rinse it with hot water. There should be a hose nearby at the dump station to help you clean it out.
- After you pour the water into your compartment, swish the water around so all corners are hit, and dump the water out. Continue this process until the water you pour out is clear.
Here is a detailed video on how to prep your chemical toilet and clean it out.
What Chemicals do you put in a chemical toilet?
I know I touched upon this already, but here is a more detailed explanation of which toilet chemicals go where.
Green/Blue: These colors are for your waste tanks. They typically contain the strong chemical Formaldehyde if the color is blue. Campafresh by Thetford has gotten us out of several clogging issue in our RV and our portable toilet.
If you want a more eco-friendly option go with green colors. Green chemicals usually don’t have this strong chemical and are said to be better for the environment. Triptips has the perfect gel for just the occasion.
Pink: The pink chemical is used when you are flushing your toilet and should be placed in the clear water holding tank. This isn’t really necessary to have, but I would recommend it for keeping your toilet smelling and feeling fresh.
If you don’t like the idea of using a chemical toilet for camper vans you can check out all the other ways to use the bathroom while traveling.
How often does a chemical toilet need to be emptied?
You Want to empty your toilet after 3 days of use. This is when the chemicals stop breaking down the waste in your toilet.
You can either put in more chemicals to make it last a little bit longer or empty it around that 3-day mark.
You also need to consider how big your tank is and how much it can hold. Some have bigger tanks than others.
This also depends on how often you use the toilet. Personally, we like to use the toilet to go number 2 and do number 1 outside. This not only helps us empty it less, but also helps with the smell.
Can you Empty a Chemical Toilet into a Normal Toilet?
No, you can not empty your chemical toilet into your toilet at home. Your average everyday home toilet is not built to have these types of chemicals flushed down the system, therefore you may ruin your home toilet.
Which Toilet Paper to Use in Portable Toilets for Camper Vans?
When it comes to camper van portable toilets it doesn’t just stop at cleaning and keeping clean. There are certain types of toilet paper you should use as well.
It’s not a good idea to use the super plush toilet paper that makes your tush feel like it’s being wiped with a pillow. “Normal” toilet paper can clog your cassette (waste tank) making it harder to empty and clean.
With special toilet paper that is specifically used for portable camper van toilets, it breaks down faster and easier and will prevent clogs. Shop here for portable toilet paper. or check out our recommended toilet paper below.
Happy flushing everybody!!
