Odor starts when port is open

[Leprecaun]

Had no odor, then it got hot, now odor is returning. This is not a head holding tank odor, smells more like chemical. Could it be resin heating up? Is a 1988. Head has been replaced with all hoses and tank is empty .

So...here's the strange thing that happens. Main salon may have a hint of odor, but once salon hatch is opened is goes away.

HOWEVER...when I open the door to the head after boat being closed up, it smells pretty good, but AFTER opening the head hatch and port widow, the odor returns strongly! Is the opening of the hatch and window creating some type of low pressure that is sucking bilge air up through storage areas in head and creating this?

If I close the hatch and window and head door and wait 10 minutes the odor leaves. BTW, I stuck my nose in the sink and shower drains and nothing coming from there.

I have cleaned inside of hull and bilge with Tuf Enough which was very effective.

Any ideas about this very strange phenom?

All thoughts are greatly appreciated. And yes Peggy I have read your book.

Stan

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Was the weather cool/cold when you replaced the hoses and plumbing? Were they really stinky? Did any of the plumbing--hoses/y-valve etc--pass through the area where the odor is coming from?

If the answer to all 3 questions is yes, I suspect that what you have is residual odor left behind by all the stuff you removed. You haven't smelled anything till now 'cuz nothing stinks much when temps are below 70. If that is the source there is a product that'll get rid of ANY odor: PureAyre PureAyre The stuff really does work! Search the archives here for discussions about how to use it...google it to buy it.

If residual odor isn't your culprit, the shower sump is a likely candidate if it wasn't thoroughly cleaned out last fall. Again...you didn't smell it till the water warmed up 'cuz all the buggers in the "primordial" soup were hibernating. Opening the ports created air flow to pull the odor out of the shower drain.

You said you cleaned your bilge...really CLEANED it? Or just dumped in a gallon of Tuff Enuff and called it done (if you read my book, you hadn't better have done that!)? Since the odor seems to be confined to the head, the bilge isn't the most likely candidate, though.

If none of the above helps, shoot me an email (EMAIL pls!) and we'll tackle it in more detail than is practical in a discussion forum.

 

[Leprecaun]

Hi Peggy,

Yes to your first 3 questions.

I have sprayed Tuf Enuff all over the inside hull wherever I could get exposure to hit, under storage, under v berth where holding is etc. the rinsed with fresh water as directed. That helped a lot, but that was 2 months ago.

I put my nose into the shower drain and don't smell anything, so it may not be that. HOWEVER, there is a 4 to 5 inch hole in the wall behind the head where the hose from the head goes, with lots of room for air to flow, and directly on the other side of that wall is the holding tank (under the v berth). So could my opening of the head hatch and port be sucking stinky air in from that holding tank area? What's the best way to plug up that hole?

Am I correct that you think PureAyre is better to use than TufEnuf? If so, I will certainly get some.

Thank you so much for your quick response!

Stan

 

[Bill Roosa]

Perhaps the tank vent (outside) is coming in through the port. Did you use chems in the head?
Have a similar problem when someone pumps the head on port tacks. The starboard side mounted tank vent moves along the side of the boat and up into the cockpit.

 

[Leprecaun]

There is nothing in the tank. Has been cleaned and flushed.
Thx!

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Tuf Enuf is an "all purpose" detergent cleaner/degreaser...it cleans up the spill or other source of the odor, but doesn't eliminate remaining residual odors. PureAyre, when used as directed, does.

...there is a 4 to 5 inch hole in the wall behind the head where the hose from the head goes, with lots of room for air to flow, ...What's the best way to plug up that hole?

You don't want to plug it up...you want to eliminate any odor in it. Cast this in bronze: You cannot eliminate any odor unless you've first eliminated the source of the odor. Plugging the hole won't get rid of any odor from it...the odor will just continue to thrive in what you'll have turned into the perfect anaerobic environment for it to do so and find other ways out. So if necessary, open up that area even more so you can get to it and treat it with PureAyre.

Assuming that you've already cleaned everything, Put PureAyre UNDILUTED in a pump garden spray bottle (unless you happen to life wearing out your fingers with a trigger sprayer)...spray every surface, nook and cranny in every place the hoses/plumbing passed through...all around the tank, anywhere there might have been a spill. DO NOT RINSE...let it dry, with all hatches and other openings open so that plenty of fresh air can circulate for at least 24 hours. If you stilll have an odor, we haven't found the source yet.