Camco TST Grey Water Tank Deodorizer, 64 oz Lemon

Grey water tanks don't get the attention black tanks do, but they'll turn on you just as fast. Every time you rinse dishes in the galley sink or take a quick shower, grease, soap scum, and little bits of food wash down into that tank and just sit there. Camco's TST Grey Water Odor Control is built for exactly that job. It's a 64 ounce bottle of lemon-scented treatment that keeps a grey holding tank breaking down waste instead of turning into a science project under your floor.

Here's what's actually going on down there. Grey water is everything that isn't from the toilet, so sink water, shower water, and the runoff from washing gear at the end of a trip. It sounds harmless. But grease and fats congeal on the tank walls and along the drain lines, food particles rot, and soap builds up into a film that traps everything else. Give it a warm weekend and the smell finds its way back up through the sink and shower drains. That's the part most folks don't expect, the odor coming out of the drain, not the tank vent.

This treatment goes after both problems at once. It works on the grease buildup in the tank and in the sink and shower drains, so things keep flowing and you're not fighting slow drains halfway through a trip. And it neutralizes the odor rather than just masking it, then leaves a clean lemon scent behind. One 64 ounce bottle treats up to a 40 gallon holding tank, so you'll get several doses out of a bottle depending on your tank size and how often you dump.

Warm weather is when a grey tank really acts up. Heat speeds up everything rotting in there, so a tank that was fine in spring can get loud fast in July. Staying ahead of it with regular treatment is a lot easier than trying to knock down a smell that's already set in. A dose after each dump keeps odor from spiking between long stretches on the road or at the dock.

It's formaldehyde-free, which matters more than it used to. A lot of dump stations and campgrounds won't take formaldehyde-based treatments anymore because of how they interact with municipal and septic systems. This formula is septic tank compatible, so you can dump with a clear conscience wherever you're hooked up. It's also non-staining and built on an environmentally safe formula, so it won't leave a residue in a light-colored tank or shower sump.

Using it is about as simple as it gets. Pour the recommended amount into your grey tank through the shower or galley drain, add a little water if the tank's been pumped dry, and let it do its thing between dumps. If you've been fighting a stubborn drain smell, run some through the sink and shower drains directly so it can work on the lines, not just the tank. Keep a bottle in the storage bay and top off after each dump and you'll rarely think about the grey tank at all. A little routine treatment now saves you from tearing into the plumbing later, which is never a fun afternoon.

This is honest, no-drama tank maintenance for anyone running a grey water holding tank, whether that's an RV, a camper, or a boat with a galley sink and shower sump plumbed to a grey tank. It won't fix a mechanical problem, so a stuck valve or a truly clogged line still needs a real cleanout, but for routine odor and grease control between trips it's the kind of thing you use once and just keep buying. We stock the 64 ounce lemon bottle, single count.