The drain. It’s important for many reasons in our RVs. But when it comes to problems with water backing up, not draining, or even bad smells, the drain is often times the culprit. Find out what to do — and not do.
Honestly, there’s nothing worse than shower drains. We’ve cleaned hundreds of black tanks over the years and while they and — surprisingly — some gray tanks are enough to make us get up and walk away and catch our breath, an RVer asking us to look at their shower drain ranks up there with going to the dentist, buying a new car, and putting our dog down.
Plus, when it comes to horrid smells in your RV or coach, the shower drain is what we ask about first. Most RVers feel the way we do about what’s in the drain, but that’s where rotting hair, globby soap, and skin and other bodily debris can get trapped and start making trouble. Even poor construction practices with your RV can result in excess plumber’s putty around the drain, which is very sticky and can fall down into the drain and trap debris.
That’s why regular and thorough cleanings of your shower drain are so critical. Here are some tips to consider when it comes to your RV’s shower drain.
Plungers
Household plungers can damage the delicate structures, piping, and drain in your RV shower. They also can cause a build-up of pressure — something your household plumbing system doesn’t experience — which can damage seals in your tanks. This can also happen to the seal in your toilet if you use a plunger there.
Some newer RVs have a HepVo Waterless Valve in place of the traditional P-trap. This fitting contains an internal, rubber diaphragm that prevents backflow of air and water into your shower. It may also be in your bathroom and galley sink. In fact, with the HepVo valve, using a plunger can cause the one-way valve to be sucked backward. Replacement entails severing the PVC drain line, a very painstaking and potentially costly repair.
Snakes and other physical clog removal tools
The common household metallic snake is a coiled, tension cord that you feed into your drain and then spin or revolve, usually by means of a handle at one end. You should avoid these at all costs in your RV. Should the snake snag onto a soft rubber seal or gate valve in your holding tank, it can rip it up, damaging it to the point of needing replacement.
Some RVers have long, plastic, double-barbed plumbing snake. It looks like a whip (usually orange or yellow), made of pliant, but still hard plastic. Each side of the snake has barbs or hooks on it, the idea being that putting this down your drain will grab anything in there for you to pull it out.
Just as with plungers, if your RV has a HepVo or other brand of checkvalve, you want to avoid anything damaging down your drain. If you’re unsure of what’s down there, avoid tools that can make the situation worse.
Clog-dissolving chemicals
Using household clog-dissolving chemicals in your shower (or other) drain, like Liquid Plumber, Drain-O, or other digesters is not recommended. The chemicals here — mostly lye and sodium hypochlorate (bleach) — cause chemical reactions that dissolve organic matter. Small shards of aluminum are usually included in the mixtures, creating a strong reaction that generates heat at near-boiling temperatures. The heat speeds the decomposition process.
This process can soften and even break PVC pipes. And these chemicals can eat away at the glue holding your waste system together. They are also very damaging to soft rubber and plastic, such as in your gate valve and gate seals.
Finally, these chemicals are very caustic and cause skin, lung, and other soft membrane damage (like in your eyes) through corrosion of organic tissue. And if there’s any of this chemical left behind, adding a cleaning product late can create toxic fumes.
Regular cleanings
Really, the best solution is to regularly clean out your RV’s shower (and others) drain by hand. It’s a smelly, gross, and messy job, yes, but removing the drain cover and using something like a doctor’s hemostat (you can get them at flea markets, some hardware stores, and online. They’re a great addition to your RV Tool Kit.