Peggy, I found the odor in the boat, it is coming from my AC intake. OK, so I am new at this and did not realize how often I needed to clean the strainer. I checked and cleaned it about a month ago, and it was a little dirty. This time I had barnacles growing in it, and it was black, the hoses are now also black up to the pump. I realize that to get rid of the dead "bugs" I may have to replace the hose up to the pump. BUT before I do that, how do I keep it from happening again? Can I fill bleach into the strainer and use the "gravity feed" valve to draw the bleach into the line to clean it and kill anything living in there? How about adding part of a pool chlorine tablet in the strainer? What works, what will cause me problems. Thanks all in advance.
Discovered the odor, now to fix it...
- Thread starter Doghouse
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Test the hose for odor permeation
Use the same wet hot rag test you'd use on sanitation hoses. If it flunks the test, replace it. 'Cuz nothing you run through the line will reverse a permeated hose. But first, make sure your odor isn't just residual odor from the stuff in the strainer that's attached itself to all the surfaces around the strainer. 'Cuz unless the hose has permeated, that's about the only other possibility. Clean that area very thoroughly with detergent and water--NO bleach or other chemicals, then spray every surface, nook and cranny with Raritan K.O. Don't rinse...just let it dry. If that doesn't get rid of the odor, it has to be hose. Never use bleach or chlorine in any onboard plumbing...chlorine is highly destructive to the rubber parts in pumps, breaks down hose resistance to odor permeation, and is also corrosive.
Use the same wet hot rag test you'd use on sanitation hoses. If it flunks the test, replace it. 'Cuz nothing you run through the line will reverse a permeated hose. But first, make sure your odor isn't just residual odor from the stuff in the strainer that's attached itself to all the surfaces around the strainer. 'Cuz unless the hose has permeated, that's about the only other possibility. Clean that area very thoroughly with detergent and water--NO bleach or other chemicals, then spray every surface, nook and cranny with Raritan K.O. Don't rinse...just let it dry. If that doesn't get rid of the odor, it has to be hose. Never use bleach or chlorine in any onboard plumbing...chlorine is highly destructive to the rubber parts in pumps, breaks down hose resistance to odor permeation, and is also corrosive.
ok, but how do I prevent it from happening again?
I don't care about testing, I will just replace the hoses and chock it up to learning. My question is how do I prevent it from happening every year?
I don't care about testing, I will just replace the hoses and chock it up to learning. My question is how do I prevent it from happening every year?
Clean the strainer more often
A small amount of dead and decaying matter can stink just as much as a lot.
A small amount of dead and decaying matter can stink just as much as a lot.
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