Winterizing a VacuFlush Toilet System

Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 7:00 am
By: Dometic Marine

As the winter approaches, it’s easy to think ‘out of sight, out of mind’ when it comes to winterizing the systems on your boat. While few owners rejoice at the end of boating season, properly winterizing on-board systems will help you get back on the water as soon as the next boating season returns. By performing simple maintenance tasks on your toilet and holding tank system, you can avoid returning to a potentially smelly boat and lengthy pre-season preparation.

The good news is that modern marine toilets require minimal maintenance, especially those using fresh water for flushing, as they eliminate the problems associated with raw-water systems. One of the most popular toilets currently on the market is the SeaLand® VacuFlush® series from Dometic. VacuFlush toilets use minimal fresh water and require minimal preventive maintenance - in fact, one can achieve successful winterization with a simple three-step process: clean, drain, and protect.

Clean
To help assure years of trouble-free use, a thorough cleaning at the end of each boating season is highly recommended. For example, there may be a build-up of mineral deposits from hard water under the edge of the rubber bowl seal. To clean, shut off the toilet system’s electrical power and water supply, open the flush ball, and with a non-abrasive cleaner, scrub under and around the seal. Then, use a brush and water to rinse away loosened deposits. One important thing to remember is not to use caustic chemicals as they may damage the seals.

If your toilet will not be used for an extended period of time, sanitation hoses should also be cleared. To do this, fill the toilet bowl with water and add 4 oz. (120 ml) of biodegradable bleach-free liquid laundry detergent and flush the toilet continuously for about two minutes. Close flush ball and then turn off water supply to toilet and flush without water, allowing the vacuum pump to shut off after the flush and repeat three times. This procedure will minimize any remaining water in the sanitation hoses.

The next step depends on where the boat will be kept during the winter. To keep odors from developing, you must drain the toilet, discharge hoses and holding tank. And if the system will be subjected to freezing temperatures, then you should drain and protect the toilet system.

Drain
First things first – empty the holding tank! It may be an obvious task, but it is also easily forgotten – and no one likes the thought of coming back to their boat after a long winter to be met by foul odors coming from the holding tank. Thoroughly flush the toilet system with fresh water and ensure all water is drained from the toilet before shutting off the water supply. If you have a pedal-operated VacuFlush toilet, remove the water supply line from the water valve to drain the valve. Do NOT remove the plastic cap on the bottom of the water valve, because if it is put back on incorrectly, it may leak. Be sure to drain the holding tank after flushing the system with fresh water.

Protect
If you choose to use antifreeze in your sanitation system during the winterization process, perform the following steps after draining the toilet system. First, drain the potable water tank and add freshwater antifreeze to it. Then flush potable water antifreeze through the toilet and into the waste holding tank. Each installation is different, so amounts may vary. User discretion is required to assure adequate protection.

For VacuFlush toilet system owners, Dometic has a network of trained service dealers throughout the world if you require additional support when winterizing your boat or putting it back in the water. For the most part, however, a little tender loving care goes a long way in ensuring your VacuFlush toilet system operates properly when it should.

By Patrick Snyder, Communications Manager, Dometic Sanitation
www.dometicusa.com