Your RV—no matter how big it is in the motorhome arena—is a small, enclosed living space. The entire floor area may be just as big as a single bedroom in your house.
Once you close all the windows and doors, you’ll be able to detect even the faintest smell coming from your toilet, kitchen sink, or supply storage almost immediately.
The most dominant of these odors (and most annoying) is the smell of poop from the toilet. Usually, that smell disappears as you clean up and flush.
But if it stays after that, it’s probably coming from a different source. You must deal with it immediately as it might lead to a series of problems, including health-related ones like nausea, headache, and breathing difficulty.
Why does my camper smell like poop?
Only one thing smells like poop inside your camper—poop. So that smell must be coming from where the poop goes.
You deal with two types of wastewater in your RV:
- Gray water – wastewater that drains into the kitchen and shower sinks and is funneled down a tank located under your RV’s chassis
- Black water – wastewater that drains into your toilet and into a black water tank below it.
There are three possible reasons your RV stinks:
- The black water tank is full.
- You didn’t clean the tanks after disposing of their content.
- There’s a pipe leak.
- You’re not cleaning and sanitizing your toilet well.
Using Poo-Pourri to Mask the Smell
Have you ever wondered why there’s always water at the bottom of your toilet? If you look underneath the floor right below the toilet, you’ll see an S-bend pipe, which allows little water to be trapped inside the toilet bowl. This keeps the gases in the sewer from leaking out into your RV.
So, the smell of poop probably comes from the water in the bowl or the air inside the toilet. Don’t worry because this is only temporary. The smell will dissipate eventually.
However, if you badly need to use the toilet and can’t deal with the smell, you can spray the bowl with Poo-Pourri.
Is Poo-Pourri Safe For RV Toilets?
Poo-Pourri is a toilet spray made of essential oils. You get essential oils when you crush a plant and extract its purest fluids, excluding water and other substances.
Because they’re pure, they exude a strong aroma, which is why when used as an ingredient for a perfume or deodorant, base oil is added to dilute them.
This toilet spray is an example of a product that contains diluted essential oils. The other ingredients help improve the properties of essential oils, such as their combinability and the longevity of their effect
Essential oils are natural and, therefore, safe for your health. They are even used for many cosmetic, medical, and therapeutic applications.
How to Use
Poo-Pourri works like any other deodorant spray. Just spray it twice on the water in your toilet before using it, and you’ll notice that its fragrance will mask the unpleasant odor from the bowl. #
Even after flushing, some of that fragrance will stay. You can give the bowl another couple of sprays to hide the remaining smell of poop until it dissipates.
Other De-Odorizing Products
You can choose from countless brands like Poo-Pourri, and they are just as effective. Here are three alternatives worth exploring:
- Mask
Mask is a big brand offering products other than toilet sprays, such as sanitizers and deodorizers. Their toilet sprays have a lighter scent than Poo-Pourri, which is excellent when used in a public toilet where you’d want to be as discreet as possible.
It also doesn’t have the citrus, essential oil smell typical of Poo-Pourri sprays. Furthermore, you have to spray six times for good measure, unlike Poo-Pourri, which you only need to spray twice. However, most of its fragrances are unisex and don’t smell too feminine.
Unfortunately, Mask’s premium products are pretty expensive. You might need to place a big order if you’re buying from Amazon to get the most value for your money. Poo-Pourri is slightly cheaper and may even be available in your local stores.
Air Wick Pre-Poo
Like Poo-Pourri, this toilet spray also contains essential oils. However, it’s important to understand that just because a certain air fresher, perfume, or toilet spray is fragrant doesn’t mean it has essential oils.
Most commercial products only contain fragrance oils, which come from synthetic sources.
In the case of Wick Pre-Poo, it has both, just like Poo-Pourri. The fragrance oils serve as a base oil that dilutes the essential oils. Dilution is necessary to lessen essential oils’ harshness. Some essential oils are harsh on the skin.
For that reason, Air Wick Pre-Poo is safe to use. You won’t get an allergic reaction even if you accidentally spray on your skin. And it’s also quite fragrant. The smell may last several minutes, and if you keep the bathroom door close, the scent may last longer.
Just a Drop
If you’re not a fan of sprays, there’s an option to put a drop. That’s right—Just a Drop, like the above products, masks the smell of the toilet when you’re using it and after.
The only difference is you put a drop or two in your toilet. The drops immediately disperse into the water and create a thin film of fragrance that blocks any unpleasant smell.
The bottle may look small, but the brand claims it can last up to 300 uses. Of course, if you’re not satisfied with the effects of one drop, you can always add some more. It costs less than the spray products, so it won’t make you feel bad to use as much as you want.
Long-Term Solutions
Never forget that toilet sprays are just short-term solutions. You can use them temporarily while figuring out how to remove the odor permanently.
Then, you can continue using them even after you fix the problem since they make your RV smell fresher and more welcoming. Here are some of the long-term solutions you should try.
- Don’t just empty your tanks. Always clean and sanitize them. Make sure to power wash them if possible to remove all materials stuck on their interior surfaces.
- To help break down all the crud inside both the gray water tank and the black water tank, mix a commercial treatment solution. It prevents sludge from solidifying and helps reduce the smell. In addition, there are natural products available if you want to avoid toxic chemicals.
- Always sanitize your toilet, including the bowl and the floor. Most of the smell comes directly from the bathroom, not the tank, so if you clean it well, the smell will disappear.
- Clean and sanitize all the tools and gear you use to dispose of your wastewater. If possible, throw away tools that can easily be replaced.
Conclusion: Clean Up, Cover Up, and Stay Healthy
Foul odor affects not just your sense of smell but your entire system. If you keep the smell of poop lingering in your camper, you’ll notice your whole family getting stressed and moody.
Most of them would rather stay outside and dread sleeping inside at night. So keep your RV clean and fresh by continuously observing the best RV-living practices.
