Bilge Cleaner

[Dan Ulrich]

Anyone know of a non-commercial bilge cleaner I can use for my VERY shallow bilges? Perhaps something I can pour in/let sit and turkey baster out! Thanks in advance!

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

Any good low suds detergent will work.

Just rinse thoroughly too.

 

[Alan]

Try TUF ENUF (sp?) Bilge Cleaner

nm

 

[Bob Rutland]

Simple Green

Good stuff and it's safe for the enviroment when your bildge pump pumps it over-board. Bob

 

[Peggie Hall/Head Mistress]

Bob, ANY detergent cleaner is "safe for the

environment"...but that doesn't mean it makes any oil or diesel in a bilge safe OR legal to discharge overboard through the bilge pumps. Detergents emulsify oil, which only breaks it up into little globules too small to create an oily sheen on the water, but there's no cleaning product on the planet that converts oil, gas, or diesel to anything else, much less makes it "safe." So if you've been cleaning your bilge with any "safe" cleaner in the mistaken belief that it makes your bilge water safe, you're polluting just as much as you would be if you used no cleaner at all.

 

[Bill]

Filter

I know that in the UK there is a filter available to put on your bilge pump which eliminates the pumping of petroleum products overboard. Anybody know of such a product here in the States?

 

[Steve Dion]

Would not use any filter on the bilge pump.

Bill:I would not use any type of filter on the bilge pump. This is going to cause more back pressure on the pump and may clog. This could be a real disaster.There are some absorbant materials that you put in the bilge to absorb any petroleum products and they DO NOT absorb water. We keep one of these pads under then engine ALL of the time, just incase there was any leak. We change it out when we do an oil change. The pads cost about a buck a piece. The rolls that you may use in the regular bilge are slightly more expensive.