T&T: Bilge cleaners

[Peggie Hall]

> Something you made need to investigate is an open shower  sump.
> 
>  
> Richard - good suggestion.  I do have a gray water sump and when I got  the 
> boat the cover was not on tight (just laying on it, actually).  It is  amazing 
> how smelly it was.  I made a tight lid and treat it  occasionally to 
> defunkify. 

The best sump and drain cleaner on the planet IMO is Raritan's "C.P. 
Cleans Potties." It's one of the products my company developed, and is 
the best product we ever developed. C.P. is a non-chemical bio-enzymatic 
cleaner that not only destroys odors on contact, but the enzymes in it 
"eat" hair, soap scum, body oils, cooking grease etc. A few ounces down 
the shower drain into a sump that's about half full of clean water once 
a week when it can stand at least overnight--won't hurt anything if it 
stays in the sump for a month--is all that's needed to keep the sump and 
sump pump clean and sweet smelling. Also does a great job in sink 
drains. And btw, although C.P. was my "baby," I haven't had anything to 
gain by recommending it since Raritan bought our product line.

> I also need to clarify something to all - some listers emailed me thinking  I 
> was calling (now I know her name) Peggy Hall a stinky lady.  I meant the  
> lady that is an expert with 'stinky bilges'.

<LOL>! I knew what you meant...no apology needed.


> ...My  daughters accuse my boat of smelling 
> like my plane (seems that all old engine  powered toys smell - even my Jag 
> does) - and that's not a compliment!  And  I have had GFs bring their own towels 
> because mine do not smell fresh even after  I wash and dry ashore with dryer 
> sheets.  Seems they take on smells in my  drawers in only a couple of days.

After you've removed all the sources of your odors and gotten rid of the 
residual odors, you can keep the stuff in your drawers fresh by leaving 
'em cracked open a bit--also all hatches and doors--while the boat's 
closed up so that plenty of fresh air can circulate through 'em. A 
cupful of distilled white vinegar in your laundry rinse water should get 
rid of the odor in your linens...if it doesn't, a cupful of PureAyre will.

> The consensus is to go at it with high pressure water (I even bought a  
> steamer), TSP,...

Boats are such moist environments that I'm not sure whether steam is the 
answer. And in my experience TSP is great for some jobs, but doesn't 
emulsify the glop--slime, molds, bacteria etc--in the primordial soup 
that's most bilge water. I've had MUCH better results with a power 
washer and detergent when it comes to cleaning bilges than with anything 
else.  Be sure to rinse ALL the dirty water out, and then mop up the 
residual water that your bilge pumps leave behind...and then leave the 
hatches open so that plenty of fresh air can circulate while you let the 
bilges dry out completely.

Btw...one of the most common sources of odor on a boat is permeated 
sanitation hoses. So you'll want to check that. Unfortunately, the only 
cure is new hoses.

-- 
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/