Guest Author - Dennise Ziaja

Last week we talked about going green while Rving, whether full time or weekend campers. I use some basic cleaners to “green” clean my rig…baking soda, vinegar and cheapo lemon juice does the trick for me. There is a new sense of being green happening today, and we can all do our part to save the planet. Thanks to better education and media attention, consumers can now choose to buy environmentally safe products of all kinds…from landfill safe packaging to refillable cleaning products to energy saving light bulbs, manufacturers are responding to the demand for green products.

Many RVer’s do a lot of shopping at Wal-Mart as they know what products are carried in the supermarket section, and are familiar with store layouts, instead of wandering around an unfamiliar grocery store in a town they may be staying for only a night or two. Wal-Mart’s are everywhere and are found even in small towns. A plus for RVer’s is the fact that most Wal-Mart’s carry camping supplies and many allow overnight parking which can save travelers money when going from point A to point B. (Dry Camping or Boondocking at Wal-Mart is another subject which is always being debated in the RV Community…we won’t discuss that issue here.)

Wal-Mart, to its credit now carries many products that are environmentally friendly. I am quite surprised by the great variety of products, from green cleaners, to eco-friendly alternative down comforters, to energy efficient appliances, the marketing guys at Wal-Mart on really on the ball. Check out their “green” products here
. Saving money and being environmentally friendly works for me!

Another area of great concern for RV’ers is keeping the holding and waste tanks free of odor and to keep them free flowing when dumping of the tanks is necessary. We do not use any chemicals in our black tank, probably because we have Xtreme Vents which provide enough air flow to prevent the buildup of the odor producing fumes. I can’t explain the “scientific” aspect of it but you can read all about Xtreme Vents here. We have these vents on both the grey tank and black water tank stacks and never experienced tank odors. We have recouped our investment in the vents many times over by not having to buy tank chemicals. One of the major suppliers of holding tank chemicals, Thetford has come out with a new green product line. Thetford also carries environmentally safe products for outside RV maintenance such as black streak remover, awing cleaner and other products. Look for products under the Thetford Premium RV care line… More information is available at www.thetford.com.