Do you need RV toilet paper - and how do you keep things from clogging?

Poop. 

“What’s the best RV toilet paper?  ”

Everyone poops.  The book says so.  Most people do it every day.  Even when camping. 

Helping a friend on his first tank dump.

And the majority of people use dry toilet paper afterwards.  I’m not going to research how many people do other things, because today I’m just thinking about toilet paper.

Most of us when we are at home, poop, wipe, and flush and never give that a second thought.  But when we are in our RVs we need to be a bit more mindful where that flush goes.  And to remember we aren’t done with it at the flush stage. 

Whether you get to do the job or not, you are aware that the black tank needs to be emptied.  Typically that’s done on the last day of a stay in a campground.  That stay may have been several days, with quite a bit of black tank filling going on; yet also giving time and chemicals a chance to do their job and break down the wastes and paper into a slurry that will dump easily.  But we need to help that process along a bit.

There are toilet papers that are labeled as “RV safe” or “septic safe.”  But using RV paper isn’t vital. Typically, the tanks are dumped after a few days anyway, and that may not have been enough time for any style of paper to break down. I’m sure YouTube has more than one video comparing disintegration rates of various brands and styles of paper. The important thing is that the lumps are small, and if they start out that way, there is nothing to worry about. 

Large lumps of paper are just not as willing to flow out of the tank as paper that’s had a chance to begin disintegration.  And you certainly don’t want to deal with a clog in this process.

Peggy’s lab sample of toilet paper to see how quickly it breaks down.

We have a “three-sheet” rule in the house and the camper.  We tear off the paper in blocks of three sheets.  Sure, it may take a few of those to complete the job, but this method keeps the lumps more manageable and allows them to break down faster and easier. And, we can use whatever brand of paper we want and not worry about clogs.

I visit plenty of places with signs on the wall reminding people that the plumbing is old and not to over-tax it. I know I’m not going to be the one to cause embarrassing problems. Sometimes at work, in another stall, I’ll hear a woman roll off what sounds like half a roll.  I try to leave the room quickly in case it gets stuck and won’t go down.

So, do yourself, your black tank, and your black-tank-emptier a favor.  Limit your lumps.

We also have an article about How to Dump your RV black tank.