Recently I was privileged to meet a promising Marvel comic character. He didn’t appear sinister, nor act as a crime fighter. He does, however, possess a special talent. His nickname – Doctor Poop! This entrepreneurial inventor, Don Zimmerman, is a doctor of letters, a PhD. Don “Doctor Poop” Zimmerman is a minister. His calling may be spiritual, but his passion is all things poop! For the past 20+ years, he has traveled the globe analyzing bacteria. You know, the nasty ones that create sludge, clog black tanks, stink to high heaven, and makes dump day a poopy one! As a field researcher, he believed you must live it to fix it! TankTechsRx: Making Sense of RV Holding Tank Treatments
By 2012, his quest to moving da poop was well under way. Spirited by how people from the Pacific Rim countries and India managed this mélange, Dr. Poop worked with biologists and microbiologists in trialing specific “hungry” probiotic bacteria to effectively gobble up poop and kill its smell. He visited hog farms with biodigesters, animal corrals, public baths and tested lots of poop-filled septic tanks. As his research progressed, he discovered that the Japanese were effectively moving da poop using a natural, toxin-free method. He spent the preponderance of time perfecting this methodology in a variety of circumstances. After thousands of successes, he began bottling and selling his black magic formulation via word-of-mouth referrals, an effective tool which started with the caveman. Enzyme / Bacteria Based Treatments Create Sludge. (tanktechsrx.com)
They’re not dinosaur fossils, they’re struvite
My spouse and I visited his company, TankTechsRx this past February. Unlike the typical sunny, cloudless day near Phoenix, Arizona, that day was a rainy, poopy day. My spouse, an engineer by profession, is also a doctor of letters and technically competent. Most describe him as a scientist. He fully understood Don’s technical jargon…like struvite and quorum sensing bacteria. Those fossil looking stones are cement like crystals resulting from the mineralizing of bacterial gasses like ammonia, phosphate and other organic and inorganics brewing in your RV’s tank. They’re the culprits that coat your sensors. You see, if struvite is created, you’re not dissolving da poop. How we discovered Struvite in the tank and why we developed TankTechsRx
Testing our own Pac-Man Poop Eaters
Well before we met Dr. Poop, we were completely dissatisfied with the black tank products we’d been using. Non de-stinkified our tank and the poop dump! So, we decided to test a variety of black tank products, purchasing from big box stores, small and large RV outlets and online. We began testing months before the pandemic emerged, March 2020, when the poop hit the fan! Our test criteria was simple. We introduced each treatment into a thoroughly rinsed black water holding tank for a period of four weeks. Each tank was filled per the operating instructions of each product. During our end-of-week ‘dump’ process, we visually took note of little rocky road break-down and continued clumping of toilet paper. All septic safe and special TP.
Inspector Clouseau would be proud
My spouse bore scoped each week to see if there was residue left in the tank. Each consecutive dump revealed a slimy mess. After viewing (mostly smelling waste gas), he pressure washed and added product per the manufacturers label, adding water if called for. We trialed the packets, the liquid, the enzyme crystals, and were disappointed in each. See what happens here… What harm can sludge buildup do in a holding tank? (tanktechsrx.com) Judging the sludge quality (tanktechsrx.com)
All natural, non-chemical probiotic treatment
Last spring, we were introduced to TankTechsRx by another full-time workcamper who bragged about using it for several years. After reading its history, dissecting the information, we trialed it the same as all others. After our first dump, and bore scope, we were pleased to see the result of its claims – a dissolution of the poop, toilet paper and no waste gas odor. And it only got better each time we dumped. Amazon.com : tanktechsrx – rv holding tank treatment & cleaner
TankTechRx claims their product to be “all-natural probiotic tank treatment”. We did not send it out for testing. Opening the bottle, it doesn’t give off any chemical smell. Rather, it smells plant-like or agrarian. It works, and his claim of safe to the environment satisfied us 100 percent in this limited study. The TankTechsRx brochure is highly informative, stating that this black magic cocktail has been used in the testing of 10,000 sights with fiber optic camera, further confirmed by US EPA: EPA 909-F-99-002 as to the outcome.
Ending the poopy smell
What was the personal outcome for us? As full timers in our diesel pusher, two things are paramount to us – more storage and no poopy smell. Most tank treatments add fragrances and chemicals to mask the smell but only minimally worked for a short time, doing little to breakdown da poop. Some helped to reduce solids, but we had to use special toilet paper which became non-existent in March – June 2020. In our experience, every time one of us flushed, the fragrant chemicals were diluted becoming less effective with each flush. Smelled OK on Monday, failed by Sunday. Lastly, all we tested previously left sludge in the tank. That wasn’t cool! TankTechsRx Instantly Removes Odor While Cleaning.
TankTechsRx ended our black water smell, no off gassing. Everything dissolved and we did not need to use special dissolving TP! We do, however, use septic safe TP. For the past 10 months, we’ve had no sludge or solid buildup. Best ‘crap’ we have used. Try it and hopefully you will have the same outcome!
At the end of our conversion, Don reiterated that RVers, for various reasons, should conduct a spring house cleaning for their tank, ensuring proper dissolving of its putrid contents. We laughed about the bizarre stuff people put in their tanks. Since he began his career as a black tank cleaner, he uncovered some crazy things people did to their tanks to alleviate da poop smell.
Sharing stories of bizarre stuff people put in their RV tanks
Don mentioned to us that he found undissolved aspirin in a tank when he conducted a deep cleaning of the tank. I’m thinking – aspirin? I asked him, “Good for a headache but what would it do for poop?” He just shook his head and laughed.
Since our meeting, I encountered two unconventional additives. I met a couple who had returned from the grocery store. Noticing the plastic bottle of scented laundry crystals in her plastic bag, I asked the lady whom I had previously met if they really worked for fragrancing clothes? She responded, “Oh, I put a cup of these in our black tank.” I couldn’t think of a good response. Lavender and poop? What a combo!
Warm Cola soft drink…really?
Another time, I was in a discussion with two sisters who were traveling to Yellowstone. I stated I was doing research for black tank solutions. I asked one of the sisters if they used any unorthodox additives to their black tank. I was stunned to hear ‘warm Cola soft drink’. I asked her why Coca Cola? Her response was, “It takes rust off nails, so it’ll dissolve poop.” I all but laughed, but decided it wasn’t an appropriate response as I queried her more saying, “Have you tried other products specifically designed for RV black tanks?” She replied that it was recommended to try one cup of fabric softener, one cup of laundry detergent and either use Baker’s yeast or enzyme crystals designed for septic tanks. She reaffirmed that the laundry soap and softener coats the inside of the tank making the dumping hose slippery, so nothing will stick to the inside. I asked her if she was smelling waste gas during the weekly voiding of the tank. She said “Yes, it doesn’t last too long, but the smell is there, absolutely.” I asked her what she used as an enzyme to dissolve the poop and toilet paper. She responded that the liquid dissolves some of the toilet tissue and poop, especially when moving.
50 Shades in a Gray Tank
Don mentioned to us that gray tanks usually contain bacterial mold started by grease and other particulate food matter. Many times, the foul odor you smell may be accumulation in your gray tank. Don suggests pouring two ounces of his TankTechsRx into the gray tank before you begin traveling. It will eliminate the odor and begin dissolving the yuck buildup. Gray tank problems: mold and grease in the galley tank. (tanktechsrx.com)
For RVers who install a fenced area for their pooches to roam and do their business, Don recommends diluting an ounce or two of his special TankTechsRx in a small spray bottle and spray over the poop before you remove it. You’ll be amazed how quickly the ‘poo smell’ goes away. There are well over 100 videos to inform you of every conceivable poop-related problem.
Read the edited article published on April 30, 2021 here: We tested tons of black tank treatments – this is the only one that worked – RV Travel
If you choose to order this product, we stand by our extensive testing results. It truly works well. It is wise, however, to ensure you purchase septic safe toilet paper and not use cleansing wipes that do not dissolve. Dr. Poop’s formula really works well and keeps struvite from forming. Check out the website for extensive information.
Kate Doherty has been writing for more than 30 years in technical and general media. In her previous business, she and her spouse dealt with special projects within the military/government sector. Recently she published Masquerade: A Logan Scott Novel under the pen name Bryan Alexander, a thriller now available in eBook and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple iBooks. It’s a page-turner!