Caravan toilets: the ultimate guide

What you need to know about caravan toilets

Some of the main questions are about the type of toilet additives to use and what they do. A caravan toilet contains three main parts: the toilet bowl, fresh water flush and waste tank (where the waste is flushed to).

Traditionally, additives are used to break down the waste and disinfect the waste storage tank and they are used in different parts of the caravan toilet system.

What is a caravan cassette toilet?

You’ll hear the term ‘cassette toilet’ a lot when it comes to caravans. The ‘cassette’ is the waste water tank you regularly remove to dispose of your toilet waste.

A toilet cassette in a caravan will last a day or two without emptying; a single flush of the loo at home would fill one. This means there is lots of water saved, right there.

How to clean and empty your toilet

How often the waste-holding tank (cassette) needs to be emptied, depends on different factors, including how often the toilet is used. In general, you empty the tank when it is full or when it starts to smell. That means an average of four to five days when you use Thetford’s blue waste-holding tank products, including Aqua Kem Blue Concentrated and PowerPods Blue, and three to four days when you use Thetford’s Green products, such as Aqua Kem Green Concentrated or PowerPods Bio.

If your cassette toilet’s has a separate flush system, you can use Aqua Rinse Concentrated (the pink bottle) to effectively prevent limescale build-up in your flush water tank and to minimise the amount of flushing needed. If your toilet’s flush system is connected to the main water supply of your vehicle, you can use Aqua Rinse Spray to effectively prevent skid marks and coat the bowl with a protective layer for a smoother flush.

For daily cleaning, you can use Thetford’s Toilet Bowl Cleaner to remove hard water and soil deposits in the toilet bowl and to coat the bowl with a protective layer. This product is safe for plastic surfaces and helps prevent the bowl turning yellow over time.

To keep all the plastic surfaces of your caravan’s washroom sparkling clean and to effectively remove limescale and soap residue, you can use the renewed Bathroom Cleaner.

Thetford has a range of toilet care products to keep your toilet clean and working.

Caravan toilet additives

Additives are used to prevent unpleasant odours and to liquefy the waste in the waste-holding tank. This ensures a more hygienic and healthy situation, and easier emptying. Thetford offers the best-performing additives while continuously reducing the environmental impact of the total product portfolio. Simply follow the instructions on the bottles of the products to minimise the impact.

On average, we use 360 litres of water per three days for our toilet at home. On the campsite or caravan park, we on average use 17.5 litres of water per three days for our cassette or portable toilet. That’s only 5% of the water used at home.

The blue products (Aqua Kem Blue, Aqua Kem Blue Concentrated, PowerPods Blue and Aqua Kem Blue Sachets) liquefy waste for easier tank emptying, reduce gas build-up and ensure outstanding odour control.

The green products (Aqua Kem Green Concentrated and PowerPods Bio) are also used for liquefying waste and to reduce gas build-up. In addition, these products are more environmentally conscious and septic tank safe. Ideal if you are staying at a campsite or caravan park that has a septic tank and is not connected to the sewer system.

The pink products (Aqua Rinse Concentrated and Aqua Rinse Spray) keep the caravan toilet and flush water sparkling clean, and reduce the amount of flushes needed.

All of Thetford’s toilet additives are formaldehyde-free.

A cassette or portable toilet is different from our toilet at home. Thetford’s toilet additives are tailor-made and specifically designed for effective treatment of toilet waste in a small, confined space. The ingredients used in Thetford’s products comply with the biodegradability requirements for detergents in the EU and the UK.

Household cleaning products aren’t meant for use in mobile toilets. Using them inappropriately or treating mobile toilet waste water with unsuitable products can harm the environment and people's health. Moreover, some household products may cause plastic surfaces to discolor and lead to toilet leakages, as it negatively affects the rubber compartments within the toilet system.

Tips for maintaining your caravan toilet

Thetford's Seal Lubricant Spray is a silicone lubricant that protects rubber seals from cracking and it repels dirt and dust. This helps to prevent toilet leakages.

Over time, limescale and encrusting builds up in your caravan toilet’s cassette, which can lead to leakages. By applying Duo Tank Cleaner Concentrated a few times per year, you can prolong the life of your caravan toilet. It keeps all moving parts inside the tank at peak operational level and prevents odour formation during winter storage.

When it comes to toilet roll, luxury domestic toilet paper is simply too bulky, clogging and absorbent to work well in caravan loos and septic tanks. It's a small sacrifice to buy quick-dissolve paper or even to nip to the pound shop and get some cheap paper, which tends to work as well.

Thetford has developed Aqua Soft Toilet Paper, a quickly dissolving toilet paper for easier emptying of the waste-holding tank. It also protects the cassette’s internal components from damage.

You'll thank us one day, when you see someone trying to empty a cassette, leaning over the disposal point while grimly jabbing the seeping lump of blockage with a stick.

The chemical toilet in your caravan uses chemicals to break down waste separately from the toilet bowl in a separate waste tank. In breaking down the waste, additives/products you add will also control those unpleasant odours.

New in 2024 is Thetford Twusch. This porcelain inlay for all Thetford cassette toilets is scratch-resistant, lightweight and enhances the service life of your cassette toilet.

FAQ

How to prevent or fix a leaking toilet?

Here are a few do's and don'ts for what to do:

What is the fuss about formaldehyde?

All Thetford’s products are formaldehyde-free. 

Can you use house toilet paper in a caravan?

House toilet paper can often lead to damage to the internal components of the tank and makes it more difficult to empty it. Thetford has developed Aqua Soft Toilet Paper, a quickly dissolving toilet paper for easier emptying of the waste-holding tank. It also protects the cassette’s internal components from damage. Not to mention that it is really soft.

Can you poop in a caravan toilet?

Yes, you can. Some people choose not to do this if they are on a campsite with facilities.

Can you replace a caravan toilet seat, cover and waste-holding tank?

Yes, the toilet seat, cover and waste-holding tank of a cassette toilet can easily be replaced by Thetford Fresh-up Set. Ideal if you have for example bought a secondhand caravan, or if you need an extra spare tank for longer off-grid trips.

Visit Thetford for more information.