Quote:
Originally Posted by rynosback
Try adding I think mineral oil to your trap if you do not use it that often. As it does not evaporate like water. I'm 90% sure it is mineral oil. I would Google it to make sure that it is safe for the pipes and county drains.
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I would recommend not adding mineral oil.
Here is the problem... mineral oil floats on water.
There are two types of bacteria that can form in your holding tank, Aerobic and Anaerobic. Aerobic bacteria forms in the presence of oxygen, and Anaerobic bacteria forms when oxygen is not present.
If sufficient oxygen is present in the holding tank, Anaerobic bacteria will not normally form, or at least it will be minimal. That is one of the primary reasons for the stack vent in the holding tank that goes through the roof - to keep oxygen circulating in the tank.
Aerobic bacteria does not stink (at least as bad), while Anaerobic bacteria is the terrible stinky stuff. Therefore, it is to your advantage to promote the production of Aerobic bacteria.
If you put mineral oil or any oil less dense than water into the holding tank, being less dense than water, it can form an "oil slick" at the water line thereby cutting off oxygen to the contents - which means Aerobic bacteria cannot form... which also means, your holding tanks will form the stinky Anaerobic bacteria.
While this is not as much of a problem for the grey tank I suppose, especially if left open and hooked up to a sewer. But as a rule-of-thumb, I would not want to add any more floatsom than already gets in there from normal use.
I suppose though, this is a good reason to close the grey tank (assuming your washer is hooked to it), and adopting a "dump-when-full" approach similar to the black tank.