# Alternative to Thetford Blue for waste tanks??



## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

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Hi I am in Greece for the winter and find that the local price for toilet "blue", usually by Thetford is over £20 per bottle...20 Euros...
My questionis, is there a satisfactory alternative to it; disinfectant or ouzo or...
any help appreciated, thanks, Kiwistopher


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## 96706 (Nov 13, 2005)

We use a bio laudry liquid ( along with many other MHf'rs) instead of the chemicals. 
Find it works a treat with 1, or 2 capfuls at every changover. 
Also means that you can dump the tank into any toilet as there are no chemicals being discharged! 
Currently the bio liquid is around £ 0.75p per litre in Tesco over here.  

If you have a seperate flush tank as well, we also put milton into that instead of the Pink liquid. 
Keeps the water as fresh and the tank algea free.


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## Tinyk (Mar 18, 2009)

I have to agree for the last couple months after reading on here we have been running persil non bio, it has two purposes, keeps the loo smelling nice and we can dump down any toilet, even though this was not a problem since we have a sog unit anyway but found it a lot kinder on the nostrils when dumping.

Second use is well washing powder since using it for the toilet we always have it on hand should we get caught short and need to do a load of washing at a local laundry, we have to use non bio cause of a skin complaint so very handy to have it with us all the time.

@**** we will give the liquid a try when we next stock up might be easier and cheaper than keeping the powder on-board.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

**** said:


> Also means that you can dump the tank into any toilet as there are no chemicals being discharged!


Without intending to cause any offence to you ****, I always find the logic of this often quoted statement incomprehensible.

Why should it make any difference (other than the purely mechanical considerations) dumping a cassette full of chemicals in a toilet to dumping it down a WC disposal point? Where does everyone think the disposal point goes to? It goes straight into the foul drain - same as the toilet so why does it make any difference that you pour it down a different orifice? :?

The main place that you shouldn't dump a cassette containing formaldehyde (the active ingredient in blue toilet fluid) is down a disposal point (or toilet) that feeds into a septic tank as it will affect the resident bacteria (as will many antibiotic drugs that you may have been taking).

It's also a strange statement to say that bio washing powder contains no chemicals. It doesn't contain formaldehyde (hopefully) but chemicals it certainly does contain - just "different" chemicals.


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## 96706 (Nov 13, 2005)

Gaspode,
Your points are quite valid, if you are sure that you know where your toilet waste is going to end up. 

Quite a few smaller 5 van sites are using septic tanks and other treatment systems because they are not near any main drainage. 
And they don't always make a statement of this fact.
There are also some sites abroad that still do not treat their waste product, but let 'mother nature' take care of it. 

Yes there are chemicals to be found in any washing powder, but they are not as harmful as many addatives used in toilet chemicals.


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## idexnz (Jan 16, 2008)

We've been using "Pure Oxygen Whitener" powder for 2 years now in our cassette. Just 1 teaspoon with a litre of water in the cassette after emptying. You should find it in the laundry section of most supermarkets. It's mostly Sodium percarbonate and perfectly safe to drop into septic tanks.

A lot cheaper than any proprietary toilet additives!


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

**** said:


> Gaspode,
> Your points are quite valid, if you are sure that you know where your toilet waste is going to end up.
> 
> Quite a few smaller 5 van sites are using septic tanks and other treatment systems because they are not near any main drainage.
> ...


Hi ****
You raise some interesting points.

Most CLs that I've visited seem to prefer earth bottomed cesspits to septic tanks, from memory they're much cheaper to maintain so preferred by operators if planning consent allows them to use a cesspit. In a cesspit biological action isn't so critical as the liquids aren't discharged to a watercourse and they're emptied very infrequently. Any site using a septic tank really should have a notice warning against harmful chemicals as they'd risk a fine for pollution otherwise.

Just out of interest I had a look at the list of ingredients in our bio washing tablets and was surprised to find that they contain bleaching agents as well as several nasty sounding things like phosphonates and butylphenyl so I'm not so sure they're all quite so harmless. Maybe if campers prefer a biological toilet additive and want to avoid pollution they should really invest in some specially produced additive (or use a SOG).


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## Chudders (Jul 5, 2008)

**** said:


> We use a bio laudry liquid ( along with many other MHf'rs) instead of the chemicals.
> Find it works a treat with 1, or 2 capfuls at every changover.
> 
> I,m going to try this but what do you mean by 2 capfuls. Is that 2 capfuls of the laundry liquid container or 2 capfuls of the thetford cassette pouring spout lid
> Thanks Dave


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## kiwistopher (Nov 5, 2007)

*Toilet "blues" price*

Thanks for all the replies; I have taken the advice to heart and will endevour to translate washing additives from Greek to English in the local supermarkets...no mean task I am thinking!
Cheers, all, and a happy new year, Chris


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## rupert1 (Feb 13, 2009)

Chudders said:


> **** said:
> 
> 
> > We use a bio laudry liquid ( along with many other MHf'rs) instead of the chemicals.
> ...


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

*Boring question alert*

Can someone tell me in laymans term the difference between bio & non bio laundry products.

D.


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## CaGreg (Mar 28, 2007)

*Re: Boring question alert*



davesport said:


> Can someone tell me in laymans term the difference between bio & non bio laundry products.
> 
> D.


Bio powders contain enzymes that 'digest' stains, well protein mostly, so making them more effective at dealing with food, blood, sweat and other unmentionables.

These powders tend to give slightly better results than non-bio but the enzymes can irritate sensitive skin and are not always good for septic tanks where they can interfere with the natural balance of bugs needed to keep it functioning properly.

Ca


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## teensvan (May 9, 2005)

When on any campsite we empty the loo every morning and do not use any chemicals. Nothing worse than storing up 3/4 days of you know what before getting rid of it just because it is blue. We only use blue if we are aires hopping .

steve & ann. ---------------- teensvan


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## mauramac (May 24, 2005)

gaspode said:


> Hi ****
> Just out of interest I had a look at the list of ingredients in our bio washing tablets and was surprised to find that they contain bleaching agents as well as several nasty sounding things like phosphonates and butylphenyl so I'm not so sure they're all quite so harmless. Maybe if campers prefer a biological toilet additive and want to avoid pollution they should really invest in some specially produced additive (or use a Sog).


Hi Gaspode
Does that mean you wont be using those bio washing tablets of yours in future then? 
or do you think it is ok if the waste washing machine water (with bio chemicals) goes into the system but not ok if used in cassettes?

If I've understood your comments.....I'm confused :?


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

*Re: Toilet "blues" price*



kiwistopher said:


> Thanks for all the replies; I have taken the advice to heart and will endevour to translate washing additives from Greek to English in the local supermarkets...no mean task I am thinking!
> Cheers, all, and a happy new year, Chris


They have Lidl in Greece don't they? Lidl products in the UK generally have Greek ingredients on them, so in Greece you should find the English ones listed...

No doubt somebody will be along and tell you which Lidl product to use. (We use Bio Magic in our SOG system btw).


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Yup, we use Biomagic along with a SOG & to good effect. I find the biomagic just as effective if I simply spray it periodically round the pan though, so I've convinced myself to try the Bio washing tablets. It's got to be worth a punt  

D.


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