T&T: Bilge cleaners

[Peggie Hall]

> I know the 'stinky bilge lady' has a book, but I have heard mixed reports  on 
> her and that she seems to have her way (i.e. products which she will  sell to 
> you) and nothing else works.  Can't be true.  

It's not true. I do recommend products that I know from my own 20+ years 
of experience and that of other boat owners work best, but I don't sell 
anything any more, not even my own book, my publisher does (the link to 
it in my signature is to an online chandlery that sells it. I use that 
one because it has the most complete description of what's in 
it)...haven't had anything TO sell since I sold our product line to 
Raritan in 1999. Nor do I receive any incentive, commission or ANY 
compensation of ANY kind from the makers of any product I do recommend. 
Anyone who claims otherwise is wrong.

As for bilge cleaning, there's only one thing that works: a strong 
solution of ANY good detergent cleaner and a lot of elbow grease--better 
yet, a power washer--followed by thoroughly flushing out ALL the dirty 
water. If you really want to do it right, mop up the remaining water the 
bilge pumps leave behind and leave hatches open for a day to let the 
bilges dry out completely.

If there's any oil or diesel in the bilge water, use bilge pads or 
pillows to remove it BEFORE using any cleaning product. Detergents 
emulsify oil, rendering bilge pads ineffective.

If the odors from your bilge have permeated the soft goods--carpet, 
cushions etc-in your cabin, there is a product that will remove it: 
PureAyre http://www.pureayre.com (I have NO connection with this 
company...I tripped over 'em at a boat show in Seattle a few years ago, 
brought some home to test it and found that it works as advertised. 
Others who've used it agree). Remove cushion covers and treat them 
separately...spray both sides of the foam with enough to penetrate to 
the middle of it...spray carpet and rugs with enough to penetrate all 
the way to the backing. If you just coat the surface, the odor will come 
back. Then just let 'em dry...put cushions out the sun for a day, leave 
hatches open and even run fans in the cabin to allow plenty of fresh air 
to circulate.

Febreze costs a lot less and also does a decent job on soft goods--not 
as good as PureAyre, but better than any other supermarket product...but 
again, only if enough is used penetrate...lightly spraying the surfaces 
with anything will only provide temporary relief.

PureAyre is the only product I've found that will not only eliminate 
organically caused odors, but also smoke, diesel, ANY odor in soft goods 
and the only thing I've found that'l will also remove any remaining 
diesel odor in wood in the bilge. Just spray the surface liberally with 
it and let it dry, again providing plenty of fresh air to the bilges.


-- 
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and 
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/boat_odors/