I’m going to take a guess here, but you probably found this post online while searching for how to clean your wastemaster because you have discovered they can get pretty gross. Many caravan beginners, after their first caravan trips, will simply empty their wastemaster, screw the cap back on and pack it away until their next trip. Let’s then say the caravan is put into winter storage. Well, come springtime when the caravan is used again you’ll get a nasty surprise. After unscrewing the cap on the Wastemaster, you will be greeted with an absolutely foul smell. You’ll then think to yourself, ‘this Wastemaster really needs a clean!‘ and it will, but how do you go about cleaning a wastemaster properly (and safely).
When you think about it, its no wonder Wastemasters generally smell pretty awful. Through capturing the wastewater that comes out of your caravan waste pipes, it contains food waste etc.
Hence, a perfect environment for bacteria to breed and hence be generally gross and smelly.
Now, here at Horton Common, as we provide fully serviced pitches with our wastewater removal troughs, our repeat guests often leave their Wastemaster at home.
However, on most sites, you’re going to need to take your Wastemaster with you for greywater collection.
So let’s discuss how to clean it, to get rid of the bacteria build up on the inside and make it smell a whole lot better.
Disclaimer: Hey! By the way… any links on this page that lead to products on Amazon or Caravan Guard are affiliate links, and I earn a commission if you make a purchase, with no additional cost to you 🙂
- Dissolves waste and removes odours naturally and has delightful mild fragrance
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Table of Contents
Introduction – How To Clean A Wastemaster
So the greywater that exits your caravan waste pipes into the wastemaster contains general ‘dirty water’. But really, its the food waste which is the main reason your Wastemaster gets slimy and smelly.
Sugars and grease (oil) from food will stick to the interior surface of the Wastemaster and create a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mould.
You may try and wash out the Wastemaster with cold water from the site tap every now and again, but really that’s going to do very little. Grease and sticky sugar deposits grip the interior surface like glue.
So when you wash out the Wastemaster with cold water, you may see a lot of food bits come out, but really that’s not going to solve the problem.
The ‘Official’ Method Of How To Clean A Wastemaster
So the manufacturers of the Wastemaster are FL Hitchman. They also produce the Aquaroll.
Now, many caravanners and motorhome owners have other brands of wastewater/grey water collectors which they will refer to as a ‘Wastemaster’.
However, the product descriptions of Aquaroll and Wastemaster are proprietary products for FL Hitchman. Think of it along the same lines as sparkling wine.
You can only call it champagne if it was produced in the Champagne region of France.
Anyway, obviously, customers of the Wastemaster have gone back to FL Hitchman and said, ‘how do we clean this?’. Well, FL Hitchman responded with the video below.
So as you can see from the video above, FL Hitchmand also produces their own cleaner for the Wastemaster called Superclean.
Essentially this is a strong degreasing agent which can remove the build of grease and sugar deposits from the inside of the Wastemaster, leaving it smelling nice and fresh.
So each bottle of Superclean is 0.25L. To clean a Wastemaster following the official advice, you should use half a bottle each time.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Could I use less, and maybe get 3-4 cleans from one bottle of Superclean?
Maybe, it really all depends on how long its been since the Wastemaster was cleaned, how thick is that built up of grease etc.
If you have not cleaned the Wastemaster ever or its been over a year, I would probably follow their advice and use half a bottle of Superclean.
Otherwise, you will only remove some of the greasy deposits, and it will start to smell again pretty soon.
Superclean is the official Wastemaster cleaning product from the manufactures FL Hitchman: Image – Amazon.co.uk
How To Use Superclean On A Wastemaster
So after you have tipped half a bottle of Superclean into your Wastemaster, you should then put in 15 L of hot (but not boiling) water.
This is important, don’t just boil your kettle and tip it in. Remember, the Wastemaster is made of plastic.
Under extreme temperatures, plastics deform and stretch. You don’t want to tip boiling water into your Wastemaster only to find out later it appears to have thinned and gone a bit saggy in the middle.
Once you have put the hot water in and screwed the cap on, you then want to lift the Wastemaster up and down a couple of times.
Or, to be posh, you want to agitate the cleaning solution around the internal surfaces of the Wastemaster.
You should then leave the Wastemaster on its back for at least 6 hours before emptying out the cleaning solution.
The reason is, most of the grease and sugar deposits are stuck to the bottom of the Wastemaster.
Hence, letting the cleaning solution attack these deposits for several hours has the best chance of removing it.
Then empty out that dirty water into a drain, wash it out again with clean water, and you’re done!
The ‘Unofficial’ Method Of How To Clean A Wastemaster
Ok, you have the official version above on how to clean a Wastemaster using Superclean. It is a powerful degreaser with a nice fragrance, and it will definitely do the job.
But let’s say you are getting ready to pack up and head off on your travels soon, within a day or so.
You don’t have the time to go out and get a bottle of Superclean or wait for it to be delivered. What can you do?
Washing Up Liquid & Cleaning Tablets
Well, if you think about it, under pretty much every kitchen sink, you have cleaning products which can remove grease and sugar deposits off surfaces.
Namely, washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets and washing machine tablets.
Now, discussing this topic with one of our guests in the past, they told me they tried washing up liquid, but it didn’t do a great job.
Now, we have all seen enough fairy liquid adverts over the years to know not all dishwashing liquids are equal. So I wouldn’t instantly dismiss this method.
Using a dishwasher or washing machine table is probably going to give you the best results. Again, you’re going to want to add about 15L of hot (but not boiling) water and shake it around for a bit.
Then leave it to sit for at least 6 hours, maybe even overnight. Empty it out the next day, give it a rinse, and you should be all good!
Another alternative is to use Fenwick’s waste pipe and tank cleaner. Fenwicks promote this product for also cleaning out toilet cassettes.
The greasy and sugary deposits not only collect inside your Wastemaster, they also collect inside the waste pipes in your caravan or motorhome.
The reason being, its often corrugated pipe and not smooth pipe as you would find in your home.
Hence using a product such as this to not only clean and degrease your Wastemaster but also the waste pipes in your caravan or motorhome is a good idea. To avoid smells and blockages.
Another option to help you clean out your Wastemaster, waste pipes and toilet cassette is this product from Fenwick’s: Image – Amazon.co.uk
What About Puriclean?
When it comes to cleaning your Aquaroll and sterilising your water system, yes, I think Puriclean, as I’ve written about in my other posts, is the best approach to take.
Would I use Puriclean on a Wastemaster? No, and for a couple of logical reasons.
First, you are not drinking or washing in water coming out of a Wastemaster. Hence the main purpose of using Puriclean is redundant. Secondly, Puriclean is not a degreasing agent, its a steriliser.
It would kill the bacteria in the Wastemaster and stop it from smelling (for a while).
But it wouldn’t actually remove the grease and sugary deposits which bacteria live on. Finally, using Purilcean would be an expensive method to clean out a Wastemaster.
Conclusions On How To Clean A Wastemaster
Really, whether you choose to follow the official method or unofficial method of cleaning a Wastemaster is up to you. But what I will say is you should definitely be cleaning it, at least once a season.
If its not getting too gross during the camping season, just clean the Wastemaster at the end of the season before putting your caravan or motorhome away for winter storage.
If you’re interested in learning more, you may be interested in my overall post on how to clean a caravan.
I hope you found this post useful to help you decide which method you are going to use to clean your Wastemaster.
I also hope you consider coming to visit us here at Horton Common in the near future to experience our amazing views over the Staffordshire Moorlands and Peak District National Park.
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