Peggy, My boat is a 1984 Hunter 34 I have been reading your posts and ideas for the past two years in battling my bilge odor problem. I also purchased your book and attempted the solutions you outlined. Here is what I have done; I installed access holes to all areas of the bilge that I could (there may be a section under the port freshwater tank I could not get to but drilled through the port divider section in the actual main bilge). I have used every bilge product on the market. About once every two weeks I put the hose in the bilge and let it run for several hours. With the last attempt I used the BC Bilge cleaner you recommended. For this application I unhooked the bilge pump and flooded the entire bottom of the boat to just below the floorboards with a full bottle of BC Bilge and left it in for a week. I then drained the solution and flooded each access section of the bilge with fresh water for about 3 hours. I then vacuumed out each section until dry. When I flushed out these sections, a substantial amount of dead mold drained into the main bilge so I know this was probably the main culprit. One week later the smell is back, although substantially weaker. I was wondering if this smell is just residual odor that has permeated the interior wood, plastic, and upholstery parts of the boat and may someday dissipate. If I clean these areas or just let them air out for awhile will this smell disappear? I did check the odors from the cleaned bilge and although not "fresh" smelling, it is not overly strong. Another question I had was about maintenance use of BC Bilge. Someone else on this forum talked about "spraying" BC Bilge into the bilge on a regular basis. I was wondering how this is done. Is it with a spray bottle mix of water and used so that it does not have to be rinsed and dried every time? Thanks for your help and a your great book. Brad
- Status
You're on the right track but...
One little 22 oz bottle of bilge cleaner to what sounds like at LEAST 50 gallons of water is a very weak detergent solution. And just flooding the bilge with water isn't gonna knock all the glop loose. What you really need is a couple of gallons in that much water...and a power washer to get it--and then the rinse water--into every nook and cranny of every part of your bilge. Then dry it out as you've been doing. If you don't have a power washer, you can buy a 1200-1600 psi "home use" model at Sams, Walmart, Lowes or HD (shop a bit) for no more than $125...I think someone here said they found one on sale for less than $100. You'll be amazed at the uses you'll have for it...and how much easier it makes a whole BUNCH of jobs--on the boat AND at home. Btw...it wasn't B.C. he sprays into the bilge...it was C.P. (See my reply about it in that thread.)
One little 22 oz bottle of bilge cleaner to what sounds like at LEAST 50 gallons of water is a very weak detergent solution. And just flooding the bilge with water isn't gonna knock all the glop loose. What you really need is a couple of gallons in that much water...and a power washer to get it--and then the rinse water--into every nook and cranny of every part of your bilge. Then dry it out as you've been doing. If you don't have a power washer, you can buy a 1200-1600 psi "home use" model at Sams, Walmart, Lowes or HD (shop a bit) for no more than $125...I think someone here said they found one on sale for less than $100. You'll be amazed at the uses you'll have for it...and how much easier it makes a whole BUNCH of jobs--on the boat AND at home. Btw...it wasn't B.C. he sprays into the bilge...it was C.P. (See my reply about it in that thread.)
cured mine
Have the same boat and had the same problem when i purchased this spring. first job to change all head hoses. helped wiht the odour. Next I bought two galons of bleach, pulled the fuse for the bilge pump poured 2 gal bleach and 2 gal hot water under the Vee and went out for a sail in rough conditions for about 2 hours. put the fuse back in and then hosed out the bilge when i returned to the slip. no more problems
Have the same boat and had the same problem when i purchased this spring. first job to change all head hoses. helped wiht the odour. Next I bought two galons of bleach, pulled the fuse for the bilge pump poured 2 gal bleach and 2 gal hot water under the Vee and went out for a sail in rough conditions for about 2 hours. put the fuse back in and then hosed out the bilge when i returned to the slip. no more problems
cp,ko,and pressure washers
to clarify: I use KO and then CP in small spray bottles in the areas I think I have a problem. To clean the whole bilge, I use bleach and a small pressure washer and try to get into all the nooks and crannies-then I vacuum out as much water as I can, sail for a while to get any residual water back to the bilge, and then leave all the floorboards open with the AC running to dry the boat out. I have a decent small pressure washer, but for the boat I got a refurbed black and Decker unit that's easy to move around on the boat-usually only $50 at the Black and Decker outlet stores!
to clarify: I use KO and then CP in small spray bottles in the areas I think I have a problem. To clean the whole bilge, I use bleach and a small pressure washer and try to get into all the nooks and crannies-then I vacuum out as much water as I can, sail for a while to get any residual water back to the bilge, and then leave all the floorboards open with the AC running to dry the boat out. I have a decent small pressure washer, but for the boat I got a refurbed black and Decker unit that's easy to move around on the boat-usually only $50 at the Black and Decker outlet stores!
Bleach doesn't clean, just kills a few critters
It's also highly corrosive and damaging to rubber. Leaving bleach in a sump is murderous to the rubber parts in the sump pump AND the hose. If bleach were a cleaner, you wouldn't need detergent with it in the laundry. So unless you use a strong detergent solution, you're leaving all the dirt, slime, glop, any oily residue and everything else that turns a bilge into a primordial soup in the bilge. If you don't thoroughly flush all the dirty water out, you don't accomplish much either...any more than you'd have clean dishes if you skipped the rinse cycle in the dishwasher. If you do it right, you should't have to do it more than once--MAYBE twice in very warm climates--a year. If you have to do what you're doing any more often than that, you're working harder than you need to work to accomplish less.
It's also highly corrosive and damaging to rubber. Leaving bleach in a sump is murderous to the rubber parts in the sump pump AND the hose. If bleach were a cleaner, you wouldn't need detergent with it in the laundry. So unless you use a strong detergent solution, you're leaving all the dirt, slime, glop, any oily residue and everything else that turns a bilge into a primordial soup in the bilge. If you don't thoroughly flush all the dirty water out, you don't accomplish much either...any more than you'd have clean dishes if you skipped the rinse cycle in the dishwasher. If you do it right, you should't have to do it more than once--MAYBE twice in very warm climates--a year. If you have to do what you're doing any more often than that, you're working harder than you need to work to accomplish less.
Mold --- the main culprit
"When I flushed out these sections, a substantial amount of dead mold drained into the main bilge so I know this was probably the main culprit".... and you are probably right !!!!! Unless you get underneath all the enclosed spaces and totally remove the mold, the 'odor' will continue. Bleach is not a good agent in mold removal as many many studies have shown. Its totally not worth it to simply kill the mold; but, you must 'remove' the mold ... or other species of mold will soon begin to grow and feed on the original but now dead mold. Its damn difficult to get under all those inaccessble spaces to be sure but if you want no mold you must physically remove it ... or 'dissolve' it. Go to any governmental website and search for mold removal and safety precautions needed in removing mold. I certainly wouldnt use a 'power washer' without using a very good respirator, tyvek suit, goggles, etc. My personal method is to first spray the mold with a very strong *caustic* detergent: spray on at 'full strength' / undiluted, let soak, respray then scrub, etc. Such will dissolve the mold cells and the scrubbing will remove the cells that are not dissolved and still adhering to the 'undersurfaces'. Bleach, etc. will only kill/stun the surface layers and leave viable cells underneath and available to reinfect. The removal of mold by 'dry' methods is potentially very dangerous - use only 'wet' methods of removal. Sometimes multiple applications of caustic detergent is necessary, scrubbing each time. Once these caustics are flushed to bilge be sure to dilute the 'soup' before pumping overboard - saves the pump. Repeated 'flushes' are best done with many many 'small flushes' instead of a few 'large flushes' (alliquot washing) ... will save time and will result in faster and more thorough clean-up. My preference is a *sodium silicate* based detergent ... sometimes you can find these at a 'boat supply' or chandlery ('Tuff-eNuff', etc.) but most likely you'll have get them from a janitorial supply. Wear eye protection, gloves, and a respirator when cleaning mold or using caustic detergents, etc. When you 'think' you are done, use a mirror on a stick and get under those under-surfaces and take a GOOD LOOK ... and then spray/scrub again and again until all the surfaces are 'really' clean. Forget the bleach ... doesnt work. Use a respirator, gloves and goggles when cleaning mold for very important health reasons. Then consider to do 'anything' that will keep the bilge dry and even power-vent it if necessary to prevent reinfection. Once thoroughly cleaned there are some EPA approved coatings that you can spray on to retard such growth ... but you have to scrupulously clean it first.
"When I flushed out these sections, a substantial amount of dead mold drained into the main bilge so I know this was probably the main culprit".... and you are probably right !!!!! Unless you get underneath all the enclosed spaces and totally remove the mold, the 'odor' will continue. Bleach is not a good agent in mold removal as many many studies have shown. Its totally not worth it to simply kill the mold; but, you must 'remove' the mold ... or other species of mold will soon begin to grow and feed on the original but now dead mold. Its damn difficult to get under all those inaccessble spaces to be sure but if you want no mold you must physically remove it ... or 'dissolve' it. Go to any governmental website and search for mold removal and safety precautions needed in removing mold. I certainly wouldnt use a 'power washer' without using a very good respirator, tyvek suit, goggles, etc. My personal method is to first spray the mold with a very strong *caustic* detergent: spray on at 'full strength' / undiluted, let soak, respray then scrub, etc. Such will dissolve the mold cells and the scrubbing will remove the cells that are not dissolved and still adhering to the 'undersurfaces'. Bleach, etc. will only kill/stun the surface layers and leave viable cells underneath and available to reinfect. The removal of mold by 'dry' methods is potentially very dangerous - use only 'wet' methods of removal. Sometimes multiple applications of caustic detergent is necessary, scrubbing each time. Once these caustics are flushed to bilge be sure to dilute the 'soup' before pumping overboard - saves the pump. Repeated 'flushes' are best done with many many 'small flushes' instead of a few 'large flushes' (alliquot washing) ... will save time and will result in faster and more thorough clean-up. My preference is a *sodium silicate* based detergent ... sometimes you can find these at a 'boat supply' or chandlery ('Tuff-eNuff', etc.) but most likely you'll have get them from a janitorial supply. Wear eye protection, gloves, and a respirator when cleaning mold or using caustic detergents, etc. When you 'think' you are done, use a mirror on a stick and get under those under-surfaces and take a GOOD LOOK ... and then spray/scrub again and again until all the surfaces are 'really' clean. Forget the bleach ... doesnt work. Use a respirator, gloves and goggles when cleaning mold for very important health reasons. Then consider to do 'anything' that will keep the bilge dry and even power-vent it if necessary to prevent reinfection. Once thoroughly cleaned there are some EPA approved coatings that you can spray on to retard such growth ... but you have to scrupulously clean it first.
- Status