As you may recall, a ‘poopsie’ is an RV term for a black tank incident, and I have named a grey tank incident a ‘soupsie’. Well it happened again. As I was removing the very tight (good) therefore extremely stiff (not so good) sewer cap, my wrist hit the grey tank valve.
It took me a second to realise what I had done and close the valve, but in those 2-3 seconds, I, and the interior of the water & waste cabinet, were drenched in dirty dish water. Great, just great.
Now, you would think that a tank of dish water and shower water would smell alright, wouldn’t you? I mean, it’s just soapy water, right? Ah – that’s where you would be wrong. The tank had been filling up for about 4 or 5 days, the temperatures have been in the high 20s & low 30s, and I have washed dishes covered in salmon, milk, cabbage, and egg, just to name the stinkier items. Oh my God, the stench.
I got control of the sewer outlets, dealt with the grey & black tanks, and overcame my urge to vomit. But now what? This dumping station is right next to a seasonal (aka long-time) RV rig, whose owner arrived just as I was wrapping things up. How do I drain out the puddle of gunk resting in the bottom of the water & waste cabinet? I can’t just slosh it onto the road in front of his ‘cottage’ – well at least not with him there I can’t. ☹
I get into the RV ready to drive off, and discover that there is a definite ‘pong’ in the air inside the rig – this just keeps getting better and better. After visiting Magnetic Hill (which brought back childhood memories of our car rolling uphill) I headed into Moncton to do some shopping. Got back into the RV, found that it still smelled (another ☹), and saw, around the corner of the grocery store, an empty and secluded parking area with a large manhole drain in the middle of it.
I stealthily (well, as stealthy as one can be in an 11’ tall by 27’ long E-type 450 Ford RV) drove directly over the manhole, got out with a roll of industrial paper towel, a jug of clean water, and a plastic bag, and proceeded to swish the water down through the RV’s drain hole directly into the manhole. What was left I mopped up, tied the stinky paper towel in the plastic bag, found a garbage can, and drove off into the New Brunswick countryside. Well, after thoroughly scrubbing my hands, nails, and lower arms with both soap and disinfectant. I know it was just dish water, but it really really was gross.
Steps before 9am: 4,852. Potato chips: 5 (really – I measured out just 5 chips, and that’s all I ate!)