# Cleaning toilet cassettes



## peterandirene (May 9, 2005)

Toilets again!

Has anyone any tips on cleaning the inside of the cassette? After the first year of use it's looking a bit grubby!

Thanks in advance.

Peter and Irene


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

My tip is - don't look too closely inside it......


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## hymmi (May 9, 2005)

Hi,

I don't like to use chemicals(always use enviromently friendly toilet additive)so i use three cups of cidar vinegar and fill with water water,leave over night and it is fresh and clean.

If it is really bad a tip Mandy & Dave put up awhile ago was Vanish Oxi gel clean,a cap full fill with water and leave overnight,that is excellent.

Secret is clean it every few weeks..................


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## RobinHood (May 19, 2005)

Whilst it may not be the cheapest solution, from experience the specific Thetford Cassette Cleaner (available at most caravan accessory shops) is very effective. Removes all the 'limescale' effect and leaves the interior as good as new.

Edited to add.

The Thetford Cleaning Fluid requires no 'elbow grease'. Just substantially fill the cassette with a warm solution of the fluid, slosh it around a bit (gently) to cover all surfaces, leave overnight, empty and rinse. Almost perfect results the two times I've done it. So clean you could eat your dinner off it! (......errrr, probably not :? )


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

My tip ... don't poo in it .. :lol: :lol: :lol: 

As hymmi already suggested, soaking with a strong solution of soap powder overnight usually does the trick followed by some elbow grease :wink:


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Peter & Irene
Nice topic :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 

I read an article in an american rv site about cleaning rv waste tanks which I thought was a good idea and it certainly helped with ours.
Put a bag of icecubes into the tank and half fill with water, then take a drive out for half an hour down little back roads. The icecubes will bash against the side of the tank and loosen all the cr*p so it can be poured away down an appropriate drain.

Hope this helps

Keith


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

What is poured down the drain Keith ? .... a Raw Sewage cocktail ...???

>>Raw Sewage Cocktail<<

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## spykal (May 9, 2005)

Hi
Keep in mind that most of the grunge on the sides and bottom of the cassette consists of scale (calcium) that is stained with "you know what" so Hymmi's solution ( :lol: ) makes a lot of sense and will work better than just a detergent. Follow it up with detergent if you wish to make it smell nice

I use a weak solution of commercial de scaler and the inside is cleaned very easily. I follow that up with a wash out with Bold detergent.

I do suppose that any of the descalers sold for domestic use would work too.

Mike


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## 88968 (May 11, 2005)

Hi,

we use some tabletts (to kleen your 3. teeth, KUKIDENT) and water. Let it rest over night and all is really clean.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

ScotJimland said:


> My tip ... don't poo in it .. :lol: :lol: :lol: \unquote
> 
> You'll never manage to full-time Jim unless you eat a very low fibre diet - or have a list of suitable stops handy in the RV !
> 
> G


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## peterandirene (May 9, 2005)

Thanks everybody for all the advice. I will print off your thoughts and try one out in the New Year when we get back.

Peter and Irene


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## 91929 (May 1, 2005)

As we go away for longish? periods I clean it out with the afore said tank cleaner - tipping it upside down to get the stuff round the moving mechanical bits

Swill it ouy - Pam washes down the sink , Cooker, Fridge etc. & pours some of the cleaning water down the loo

Empty that out recharge with toilet fluid for use on day trips
Empty each time we have used it on trips


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

The current Practical Motorhome ( Feb 2006) recommends 100g of citric acid dissolved in 3 litres of lukewarm water. Shake well and leave for at least 5 hours turning the tank to coat all the inside every now and then. This should remove the limescale that generally is at the bottom of the grubbiness.

It also mentions using a vinegar based window cleaning solution on the outside of the cassette.

G


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## Snelly (Aug 20, 2005)

We have used the oxy clean stuff, which was ok... but for super clean results, some bleach and a bit of water (enough to cover bottom) left for a few days seems to work a treat. Not so good for the environment I know, sorry.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

Depends what sort of deposits you have in the cassette. Bleaches will whiten the stained limescale but won't get rid of it. Beware of damaging the seals with harsh cleaners.

G


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

Milton sterilizing fluid.

If it's safe enough for babies, it's bound to be safe enough for your cassette toilet.

Pour in the solution, fill with cold water to the top, leave overnight and rinse out in the morning. Great for cleaning the tea stains out of cups as well. 

Dec.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

Tourer64 said:


> Milton sterilizing fluid................
> Dec.


It's bleach, just as in the previous post. Slightly more refined but exactly the same chemically.
Just make sure that you rinse the toilet out BEFORE adding the bleach (Domestos, Parazone and sundry other own brands).
Added to the wrong thing it can give off chlorine gas.

And yes Milton is ok for sterilising the baby's glass feeding bottle but not ok for the baby itself.


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## 91929 (May 1, 2005)

Need some more cleaning fluid
So will try the citric Acid method Griz

Bleach as you say only whitens the scale & miltoon removes certain germs but not suitable for the casset - possibe if you could afford sufficient of the stuff


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

Sodium Hypochlorite.. commonly known as bleach has a high ph. In it's raw state somewhere between 12 - 13ph. 
It will not remove limescale and under certain conditions as previously mentioned by autostratus can give off chlorine gas. 

Mixing bleach and citric acid will result in copious amounts of chlorine gas. 

We use both in the food industry for sterilising salad products before packing. 

Use citric acid on it's own to remove limescale.


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## 96097 (Aug 22, 2005)

Hi All

Jim is absolutely correct. Sodium hypochlorite has a high pH because of the way it is commercially manufactured leaves a residue of caustic (sodium hydroxide) in the solution. This is what attacks your skin. Mixing this bleach solution with any acid (anything below pH 7) will liberate chlorine gas. The lower the ph, the quicker the gas is given off.

Citric acid in water is ideal for removing limescale (it is a solid).

Milton's solution is a 2% sodium hypochlorite solution (household bleach is usually 4%) and contains a stabiliser to keep the chlorine in solution. (The weaker the chlorine solution, the more readily it loses its chlorine). It is a rather expensive way of cleaning toilets....

Sharon


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## 96097 (Aug 22, 2005)

PS. Vinegar is weak acetic acid. Dilute that with water, and you will not be killing all the bacteria - especially E. Coli, It might smell clean - but it isn't.

I suppose it isn't really a big deal - after all, it is just going to get dirty again when someone uses it!! :wink: 

Sharon


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

RockieRV said:


> I suppose it isn't really a big deal - after all, it is just going to get dirty again when someone uses it!! :wink:
> 
> Sharon


We've learnt about limescale with our domestic loos. We've got very hard water and limescale forms very quickly in the toilet bowl. It then discolours and looks dreadful. Bleach whitens it but it is still there. The only solution is daily scrubbing or one of those blocks that acidifies the water every time you flush and stops limescale deposition.

With the cassette, if there is no limescale then there should not be any deposit held on the walls of the cassette and normal washing out will clean it.
I haven't investigated the pH of the loo fluid so don't know if it is acidic enough to prevent limescale deposition. Come to that I've not investigated the inside of the cassette either...! 8O

G


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## Bagshanty (Jul 24, 2005)

A recent New Scientist article showed that over zealous hygeine is at the bottom (sorry) of the seriousness of many food poisoning attacks. That is, the body needs exposure to these bugs to build up and maintain its own defences.

That may explain why surveys in the past have shown sewer workers living longer than average.


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

I don't think there is any problem with over-zealous house keeping for me Bagshanty. When they saw me doing housework my children used to ask me who we were expecting.  

Dark brown deposits on the inside of the loo stir even me to action though !
G


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