Locating an RV Dump Station and Knowing When to Dump Your Waste Water
Dave SolbergDescription
One of the most common questions asked among those who are new to RVing is, “When is the best time to dump the waste water tanks, and how do I find the nearest RV dump station?” The best time to dump the RV waste water tanks is when they are at least two-thirds full. This will ensure there is enough time for solids to break down before flushing the system out. If you dump the waste water tanks too often and too soon, you will run the risk of solids building up and drying out, making it difficult to get them out of the tank. Leaving the fluids in the holding tanks allows toilet paper time to properly break down and allows the bacteria in the tank to do its job of breaking down other solids.
Finding an RV Dump Station
When it comes to finding an RV dump station, Sanidumps.com is a website/app that lists places in both the United States and Canada where you can legally dump your waste water tanks. Dump stations can be found at rest stops, some fueling stations such as Flying J or Pilot, and many state parks.
We are, however, seeing more stations closing down across the country. This is primarily due to the fact that environmental regulations are getting tighter and the cost of maintaining a RV dump station is getting more expensive. Not everyone using the free dump stations is concerned about using the proper methods to dump. Stations are finding it cheaper to close them down than have to deal with cleaning up after RV owners who do not watch what they are doing and are not cleaning up after themselves.
When going into a RV dump station, it is important to take care of the station by properly dumping your tanks, cleaning up after yourself, and not leaving anything behind. If we all take care of the dumping stations, we will all be able to enjoy RVing across the country for many years to come.
Many people ask me "When's the best time to dump my wastewater tanks? Should I wait till they get full or do I dump them more often?" I typically like to wait and especially on the Blackwater tank, till it gets about two thirds full. If you leave that open at the campground, you're going to get the liquid to come out and the solids are going to stay in and they're going to dry up and harden up. Then they're going to be almost impossible to get out. If you dump it before it gets too high in the tank itself, you don't allow that liquid to break down the toilet paper, the solids inside, you don't allow the bacteria to work in there as well. So, I typically like to wait until it gets about two thirds, if I can, before I dump my tanks. Also, it's important to understand where you can dump your tanks. And we're seeing more and more of the dump stations around the country are closing because frankly, owners are pulling in and not really taking care of the dump stations. They're not courteous and cleaning up they don't look at what their hose is doing. And with all the mess that's in there, these places just don't want to deal with it, so it's easier to close up. That's why it's important that you take care to properly dump, clean up after yourself, make sure you don't leave anything around. There's a great website that talks about dump stations across the country. It's called Sanidumps.com and it will list the various places around the United States and Canada, where you can dump your holding tanks legally, that is. And you'll see them a lot at Flying J's, Pilots, we're seeing more state parks that are putting some in because they have better access to the water treatment plants where the dump station is going to have to be connected to. So take a little time, make sure you properly dump your tanks and you clean up after yourself, and we'll all be able to enjoy RVing across the country for a long, long time.
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