Smell

[jwieneck]

Peggy I seem to have a smell in my boat. Our boat is on a mooring during the week but on the weekend we are able to use the dock at our yacht club so the AC comes on. My wife who can smell stuff pretty good is telling the boat smells kinda stale or musty not really musty but “like a boat” which she doesn’t like. We brought the rugs that we have on the floor home to wash and she said they smelled up the laundry room. I am not sure where to start. We replaced the head per your advice this year and my wife says it is not that. We treated our water tank she says it is not that. I keep the bilge very clean no water there. The smell seems to have gotten in the rugs and I would guess in the bedding also. Like a guy I really can’t smell it I mean I can just a little but if I am on the boat for anytime at all I can’t. I can smell it in my cloths once I get home. I am sorry I am not giving you much to go on. My first thought was to get some scented stuff but my wife is very sensitive to these sprays and fragranced things. Any thoughts?

 

[LuzSD]

I am going to just jump in here with a thought for you. Since you mentioned that on the weekends you use AC, and your wife says it is not the head, there could be another direction to look.

My car started having a weird, crummy smell last year after some hot and muggy days. Sometimes it was much worse than others, but it always sort of lingered. Others smelled it a little, but I smelled it alot! Took it in to the dealer and it was mold that was growing in the vent system. They did a treatment with some spray of some kind, and it now is pretty much gone. There is no filter in my car but I have heard some have filters. You might check out your AC for a filter or at least stick your nose in there! Good luck, it is nice to know there are other noses out there like mine.

 

[zeehag]

lol--i was gonna say if smells like granny's attic is dry rot --if is just there as a nose wrinkler, is black mold. both are bad for asthma.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

I'm thinking several possibilities...

And unless your holding tank is metal, none of 'em have anything to do with the holding tank or the toilet.

First thing that comes to mind is permeated sanitation hoses. Your boat is more than 10 years old, so that's the first thing I'd check. The only cure is new hoses.

Bilge is clean and dry...but what about the sump? A wet dirty sump is a primordial soup that make a boat smell like a swamp or even a sewer.

If there's no odor except when the AC is running, LuzD is likely onto something...Heat/AC ducting is a damp environment that can sour and spawn molds very easily in hot weather. But if the boat stinks when you first open it up after it's been sitting on its mooring, that's prob'ly not the source. Still worth "treating" though.

Or...you could have trapped water below the sole...that's a very common problem on some Hunters...'cuz they either don't have the limber holes needed to let the "grid" drain, or the limber holes are too small and have gotten plugged up. And trapped water becomes an even worse primordial breeding ground than bilges and sumps.

Gotta be one or more of the above...Unless your tank IS metal, my money is on permeated hoses.

 

[kloudie1]

I think it is the typical boat “smell”. It is a mixture of mildew, mold, a splash of sour water, some old diesel, sweat, and a little of that bitter adrenalin hit from the terrifying moments.. Mine has it.. It is not noticeable after a time but when you get home and open the bag.. bang, it hits you in the nose. I smell it in the cushions mostly.. They have been Fabreezed a LOT which has helped.. I haven’t tried the newest industrial strength one yet.. I believe that if the cushions were to be properly cleaned, my boat would not have any of that smell..
Interesting that old airplanes have a certain smell to them too.. different from boats but very distinctive.. I think there is more sweat and adrinaline.. (and the sweetness of xylene in the gasoline) LOL

 

[Winkfish]

You might have to stick you nose (literally) in every nook and cranny of the boat, or get your wife to do it.

This brings back a memory. I was fishing with my son, who was about 7 at the time. I looked back, and he was leaning over the stern of the boat next to the motor (a very smoky 2 stroke). I asked him if he was getting sick, and he said, "No, I just love the smell of the motor gas."

 

[packman]

ac coils

You may wish to check your AC unit carefully, Refrigeration units typicallly put out condensate that can be trapped in the unit itself, usually by a plugged condensate drain. the evap coils are a great place for mold to hide, also check the condensate pan or trap.

 

[jwieneck]

These are all good suggestion. I have a new hose on the sanitation system my wife’s nose got that done last year. I am think the AC venting could be the bad guy so I will see how to get at that. Anyone have an idea how to treat the vents without pulling them out that would help. My AC doesn’t seem to have a filter I do have a shower sump but because of the wife’s nose I clean it and dry it each time it is used (weekend) then spay some show mold control stuff in to kill things during the week. I checked the AC and ref. drip lines they had water coming through them last weekend but making sure they are clear is a good idea. My bilge is really dry and I normally put mold control spray in it once a week.

 

[Winkfish]

When we had our home AC unit cleaned after Katrina, there was some stuff that they sprayed through the ductwork to kill the mold. How accessible is your ductwork? Could you spray the mold-killer, then put something like a duster into the ducts to sweep them out?

 

[jwieneck]

I could spray something down the exit vents and up where the vents start but would have trouble getting to the middle. Maybe I could spray while the fan is blowing this would help the spray travel. I think I will try that any idea on what to use?

 

[Winkfish]

What they did to our home AC is spray from the beginning while the AC was running, so it was dispersed all through the ductwork. Then they snaked some kind of sweep or vacuum thing from the ends back as far as they would go to try and get as much of the dust and dead mold as they could. I'll see if my wife remembers what they did, as she was the one at home when they did it. I have no idea what they used.

When you say "middle", what do you mean? I though a duct would be a continuous "tube" from the AC unit to the vent. I'm talking about just cleaning the tube.

 

[jwieneck]

me too I can reach down from the vent about a arms length then from the AC unit up the vent about an arms length but two segment are to long for me to reach the middle.

 

[LuzSD]

when they sprayed my car AC vent they did it right up at the windshield, spraying down into the vent. I remember their recommendation to me was to turn it off about 5 minutes before I came home in order to give it time to dry out. I guess the problem is moisture sitting after working so hard without a chance to actually dry. This may or may not be applicable to an AC on a boat, I have never had the opportunity to have it on our boats.

 

[Winkfish]

me too I can reach down from the vent about a arms length then from the AC unit up the vent about an arms length but two segment are to long for me to reach the middle.

Aha!! Now I've got you. Can you send a long somewhat stiff wire, like a coat hanger or romex, a rope, or even a stick, from one end of the duct to the other? If so, spray whatever you can find to kill mold/clean up stuff, maybe a bleach solution. Send your wire through the ductwork with a towel or mop head or something tied to the trailing end, then pull the wire and towel through. Or if there's a straight enough shot, you might be able to get a mop through the ductwork.

 

[jwieneck]

This is a good idea my wife suggested a static duster sprayed with some stuff she uses this will go the full length of the vent and touch the sides. I am off to the boat in the morning to give it a try. I keep you posted we staying on the boat this weekend.

 

[Winkfish]

my wife suggested a static duster

That's what I was thinking of. (Man, you turn fifty, and the mind is toast!)