I was staying at Cedar Rail Campground in Raton, NM (near the CO border). It's a great campground just for chilling, and for overnighting. Beautiful view! Well, while dumping my black tank, my hose fell off! I was horrified! I started dousing water on it, dish soap, vinegar, baking soda, borax, even dumped some of my toilet chemical on it. I went down and told the park owner, and I told him that if he had to hire someone to clean it up, I would reimburse, etc. I tried to give him some money as a "sorry about that" offering, he wouldn't take it. Well, has this happened to you, and how did you handle it? I just made sure I doused it well before I left. The owner said he was going to treat it with ammonia. I asked him if it he would be unable to rent the site out, he said no. Oh man, I was horrified! This was just a great little treasure of a campground, and I had that happen! Oh, if you ever stay here, I was in spot 11, just ask the owner if it was "treated." JJ
QUOTE(DXSMac @ Apr 22 2009, 02:07 PM) [snapback]16023[/snapback] I was staying at Cedar Rail Campground in Raton, NM (near the CO border). It's a great campground just for chilling, and for overnighting. Beautiful view! Well, while dumping my black tank, my hose fell off! I was horrified! I started dousing water on it, dish soap, vinegar, baking soda, borax, even dumped some of my toilet chemical on it. I went down and told the park owner, and I told him that if he had to hire someone to clean it up, I would reimburse, etc. I tried to give him some money as a "sorry about that" offering, he wouldn't take it. Well, has this happened to you, and how did you handle it? I just made sure I doused it well before I left. The owner said he was going to treat it with ammonia. I asked him if it he would be unable to rent the site out, he said no. Oh man, I was horrified! This was just a great little treasure of a campground, and I had that happen! Oh, if you ever stay here, I was in spot 11, just ask the owner if it was "treated." JJ Unfortunately, yes. At the time all I could do was stand by and let it flow, so to speak. Naturally, this was after I was liberally doused with the contents of the tank. After it stopped, I cleaned it thoroughly although it took quite a long time. My wife wouldn't even let me in the MH until I got rid of my clothes and used the outside shower PRIOR to using the inside shower. Can't say as I blamed her. She has always told me that I was full of it. This time I was just splattered by it (sorry for the visual reference)!
We had a similar problem on our last trip. Our hose popped out because the threads on the sewer opening were broken. Fortunately the sewer connection was set in a fairly wide concrete base so most of the yuck stayed there. We were able to hose most of it back into the opening. We then poured bleach all over the concrete and on the ground all around the area and washed it down really well. The office was closed when this happened or I would have reported it to them. Then later we noticed that it looked like this was not the first time this had happened as there was evidence of a spill way out on the grass. When we checked out I told the office person about the bad connection, but she did not seem too concerned. I did not offer to pay for a clean up since it was their sewer's fault. Accidents happen. You did the right thing by reporting it. A long time ago we saw a man hooking up, and he had on some kind of rubber-looking booties that fit over his shoes. We sort of laughed about it at the time, but now I may go find me a pair.
Hi JJ, I had a problem due to a stone chip on the dump connector on my RV. I didn't know about it until I had spewed nasty stuff all over the place. Before I dumped my grey water I clean up as best as I could with fresh water from my RV, then dumped the grey--and cleaned up a 2nd time. I carry some powdered bleach with me. I suppose I should be considering wiping down water connections before I "hook up", but usually they look "ok". Have a great time at Garden of the Gods.
Don't feel bad, this has happened or nearly happened to everybody. This teachs everybody to be careful. Don't open up the valve all the way to start. try to think of it as a learning thing. Now you wife will never do it.
I'd really like to hear an owner's take on this. Parkview? Westernparkowner? What would you want the RVer to do in this situation?
The most important things would be to #1 shut the valve, even if it gets a little messy. #2, let us know. We might fuss a little, but we need to take care of the mess as soon as possible. We usually have to shovel up the solids, put bleach on the spot to sanitize a bit and then hose down the area several times to complete the cleanup and save the grass from being killed by the bleach and chemicals from the waste. One of the best ways to prevent this is to always double check your hose, your connections and be sure your hose is secured to the dump access. If you do not have a threaded connection to the dump (you use a bare hose end with a donut etc) always have someone attend the connection to the dump. Light pressure from the toe of your shoe will hold the hose in place. VERY IMPORTANT Do not dangle a sewer hose connector in the dump connection, if it was to fall off, the sewer line jams and I have a very big expense (try $1000.00 every time it happens, which is at least once a year).
Thanks for your input. It sounds like that even though it is a very unpleasant task, you (the park owner) want to be involved in the clean up to be sure it is done correctly. I'll keep that in mind, and I'll also try not to let it happen in the first place.
When it happened to me, the owner said he was going to treat it with Ammonia, because bears were attracted to "poo" scent, and ammonia covers up the "poo" scent. In that case, I'm glad I didn't use bleach. If you mix bleach with ammonia, you get a very toxic gas that will knock you out. Even though I also diluted it with water, I'm still glad I didn't use bleach. I just put baking soda, borax, vinegar, a splash of toilet chemical (the one without formaldehyde), and a bunch of water. So, I would say, before you even try bleach, talk to the owner. You need to make sure that the bleach isn't going to cause a problem with whatever the owner was going to use. JJ
I am going to let everyone in on a very deep dark secret. There is no operations manual for a campground. There are no courses in poop management. I have no idea if the what I do to clean up a sewage spill is correct. All I try to do is make it not stink and look as if nothing happened. Do not assume my method is the best or the right way to do it. It is just my trial to fix a guest's error To be a park owner you need to be innovative and a little willing to work outside the box. The first three things a park owner needs to buy is duct tape, bailing wire and a hammer. You would not believe the number of hours my help and I have sat around pondering the inponderable. How do you get 50 rocks out of a sewer pipe? Why is all the toilet paper off the rolls and in the trash cans? How did the toilets lock from the inside? Why would someone dump a full pan of spaghetti (sauce, sausage and cheese) in the utility sink in the Laundry? How could the washing machines all work for 75 days in a row and then 3 of them fail for a single customer? How did the dryers know that that same customer that had the washers fail needed to have the dryers fail as well? How did the machines repair themselves for the next customer? How did the customer with the trailer leave if the hitch is still in the site. How can 14 people fit in a class C?
As for the toilet paper, well, I have ONE answer...... Maybe they had a cat and the cat was bored...... Cats like to run their paws on the toilet paper. So, if you are having the "should the toilet paper be under or over" argument, having it UNDER will prevent the cat from pawing it off the roll. My cat did this only once, as a baby kitten. JJ
QUOTE(DXSMac @ Apr 25 2009, 07:49 AM) [snapback]16080[/snapback] As for the toilet paper, well, I have ONE answer...... Maybe they had a cat and the cat was bored...... Cats like to run their paws on the toilet paper. So, if you are having the "should the toilet paper be under or over" argument, having it UNDER will prevent the cat from pawing it off the roll. My cat did this only once, as a baby kitten. JJ DXSMac, unless it was a herd of Mountain Lions, I doubt it. The restrooms have four stalls, each had a full commercial jumbo roll of paper (approximately 40 regular home rolls. ) All were completely empty and the trash cans stuffed with maybe a couple of miles of toilet paper. (obviously it was either kids or a real twisted adults.) Funniest thing was, it was the women's restroom, you would have thought the men's was a more likely target. It also happened during the busy season, so you would have thought someone would have walked in during the act. It had to have taken some time to strip a full roll since you have to pull straight down or it rips and from the bottom of the holder to the floor is only about 3 feet. At three feet a pull, it would be quite a workout to empty just one roll, much less 4 rolls. As you know, I like to point out how everything costs a campground money, well that little act of mischief cost $28.00, and inconvenienced the guest who needed to use the restroom and found all four toilet paper dispensers empty as well as made me look lax in my security and maintenance. By the way, do I need to post a "no pets" sign at my restrooms? I just took it as common sense you should not take pets your pets into the restrooms.
I do not know how you put up with all the fun! We have found the rocks in sewer pipe as well and that was fun. Found rolls of toilet paper in floor with no kids in park, so the older kids had to do this. People are wild at times.
QUOTE(John Blue @ Apr 25 2009, 10:32 AM) [snapback]16083[/snapback] I do not know how you put up with all the fun! We have found the rocks in sewer pipe as well and that was fun. Found rolls of toilet paper in floor with no kids in park, so the older kids had to do this. People are wild at times. Raw sewage seems clean compared to some of stuff Corporate America has come up with recently. Having the toilet paper empty is better than having an empty 401K. Sewage washes off, I not sure 50 years in prision for a Ponzi Scheme does. To paraphrase "Campground ownership is the worst job in the world, except for all the others"
QUOTE(westernrvparkowner @ Apr 25 2009, 09:12 AM) [snapback]16081[/snapback] DXSMac, unless it was a herd of Mountain Lions, I doubt it. The restrooms have four stalls, each had a full commercial jumbo roll of paper (approximately 40 regular home rolls. ) OH! Guess I didn't read close enough, didn't realize it was a roll of toilet paper from your RESTROOMS! I thought someone just stuffed toilet paper rolls from their RV into your trash. And no, I don't take my cat into the RV bathrooms. Then, it wasn't the cat. JJ
I had a liter coke bottle dropped down one of my sewers, with the bottle bottom facing up. There was no way to grab on to it. Fun! And shredded chicken thrown in the pool, not just a little of it either. And small creamers taken from the clubhouse and emptied into the hot tub. And the list goes on..... If a guest has a sewer spill, we want to handle it as much as possible. We will do about the same as has been mentioned before with the shovel and bleach. But in the end, lots and lots of water.
I’ve stayed at Cedar Rail. It is a great mom and pop place. The owners are indeed some of the best you’ll meet. A loose sewer hose is one of those situations where the ole cliché fits: “There are those that have and those that will.” Westernrvparkowner> Here’s a few more for the list. Washing dishes and utensils at a community water faucet. Going to the bathroom in the shower. Leaving with a campfire still burning. Leaving beer cans, trash, and dog poop all over the site. Washing muddy shoes and boots in the utility sink. Forgetting to turn the water off at the dump station. Letting kids run naked in the park. Operating the portable grill inside the tent. Knocking on the host’s door asking to “borrow” something. The list is endless for those who have camp hosted or own a campground. Perhaps we should all get together and write a book entitled “Born In a Barn - Should Have Stayed There.”
