What is the best product to make the bilge smell better? The few inches of Lake Michigan water in the bilge tends to smell terible even after putting in bilge cleaner. Thanks.
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try this.
Steve: Try mixing a small bucket of bleach and water (about a cup of bleach in 1/2 gal of water). Pour it in the icebox. Take the boat out sailing and this will slosh around in the grid. This will kill any bacteria in the grid. When you get back pour a couple of gallons of fresh water down the icebox and take it sailing again. Now as you know the water trapped in the grid is going to smell again, but if this help you will know if this is the problem. If you can figure out where the end of the hose for the icebox is, you should try to route it to the bilge. I would also scrub the bilge area with some good cleaner like a citrus product. Get up under the sole area and try to get your bilge as spotless as possible. As you know, bleach is not a cleaner. The only thing it is going to do is kill the mold, bacteria and what ever is growing in there. There is really no easy way to clean the grid. You may consider putting some cleaner in the grid area and see if that helps too. Be sure to clean out under the engine and the drain area at the bottom of the companionway. Be sure to keep this area clean and dry.
Steve: Try mixing a small bucket of bleach and water (about a cup of bleach in 1/2 gal of water). Pour it in the icebox. Take the boat out sailing and this will slosh around in the grid. This will kill any bacteria in the grid. When you get back pour a couple of gallons of fresh water down the icebox and take it sailing again. Now as you know the water trapped in the grid is going to smell again, but if this help you will know if this is the problem. If you can figure out where the end of the hose for the icebox is, you should try to route it to the bilge. I would also scrub the bilge area with some good cleaner like a citrus product. Get up under the sole area and try to get your bilge as spotless as possible. As you know, bleach is not a cleaner. The only thing it is going to do is kill the mold, bacteria and what ever is growing in there. There is really no easy way to clean the grid. You may consider putting some cleaner in the grid area and see if that helps too. Be sure to clean out under the engine and the drain area at the bottom of the companionway. Be sure to keep this area clean and dry.
P
Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
No magic product exists...
There is no product you can just pour in the bilge and it magically turns a stagnant swamp--which is what a wet bilge is--into clean fresh smelling water. The only thing that works is detergent and water, followed by thoroughly rinsing out of all the dirty smelly water. Clean the bilge--REALLY clean it--with detergent and water once a year, maybe twice...and you'll be amazed at how much better your whole boat will smell. Forget bleach...it does kill off a few bacteria and will knock down the odor for a short while, but bleach has NO cleaning properties...if it did, you wouldn't need detergent in the laundry when you use it. You'll find useful information about how to track down and get rid of all kinds of odors in the articles in the HM forum reference library (on the forum homepage).
There is no product you can just pour in the bilge and it magically turns a stagnant swamp--which is what a wet bilge is--into clean fresh smelling water. The only thing that works is detergent and water, followed by thoroughly rinsing out of all the dirty smelly water. Clean the bilge--REALLY clean it--with detergent and water once a year, maybe twice...and you'll be amazed at how much better your whole boat will smell. Forget bleach...it does kill off a few bacteria and will knock down the odor for a short while, but bleach has NO cleaning properties...if it did, you wouldn't need detergent in the laundry when you use it. You'll find useful information about how to track down and get rid of all kinds of odors in the articles in the HM forum reference library (on the forum homepage).
In all due respect!
Peggy: One thing that you may or may not be aware of. The later model Hunters have a grid system under the sole. There is NO way short of removing the entire sole (which sometimes means removing most of the interior) to clean this area. For some reason, Hunter did not provide weep holes in certain areas. Other areas the weep holes are higher than the bottom of the grid. When water gets trapped here there is no way to clean or drain this area. Your only outlet is to disenfect it to prevent the bacteria and mold from multiplying. So, if you cannot get to these areas, how do you recommend that we clean them? Obviously just bilge cleaner or soap and water are NOT going to cut it. Thanks for your valuable advice.
Peggy: One thing that you may or may not be aware of. The later model Hunters have a grid system under the sole. There is NO way short of removing the entire sole (which sometimes means removing most of the interior) to clean this area. For some reason, Hunter did not provide weep holes in certain areas. Other areas the weep holes are higher than the bottom of the grid. When water gets trapped here there is no way to clean or drain this area. Your only outlet is to disenfect it to prevent the bacteria and mold from multiplying. So, if you cannot get to these areas, how do you recommend that we clean them? Obviously just bilge cleaner or soap and water are NOT going to cut it. Thanks for your valuable advice.
P
Peggie Hall/Head Mistress
Steve, soapy water and clean water can get into
any place that dirty smelly water can get into--or any place that your recommended solution of bleach and water can get into. No, it's not a job that can be done in an hour...put enough water and detergent in the bilge to clean, go sailing for a couple of hourse, tacking a lot...come back, drain it...flood with clean water...go sailing and tack a lot...come back, drain...add more clean water, go sailing again...till the water sloshing around in the bilge is clean. It's a day's work, but it can be done and SHOULD be done at least once a year. That Hunter neglected to drill limber holes doesn't make their absence sacrosanct...blaming Hunter is just an excuse to avoid the work necessary to put them in yourself. That may require cutting and fitting some hatches in the cabin sole, but a cabin sole without hatches isn't sacrosanct either, and having both hatches and limber holes would certainly make keeping the bilge and grid clean a LOT easier. And btw...re-routing the icebox drain into the bilge only contributes more bacteria and smelly water to a bilge that's already full of dirty smelly water. It should go into a sump that's easily accessible so it can be cleaned easily when it starts to stink.
any place that dirty smelly water can get into--or any place that your recommended solution of bleach and water can get into. No, it's not a job that can be done in an hour...put enough water and detergent in the bilge to clean, go sailing for a couple of hourse, tacking a lot...come back, drain it...flood with clean water...go sailing and tack a lot...come back, drain...add more clean water, go sailing again...till the water sloshing around in the bilge is clean. It's a day's work, but it can be done and SHOULD be done at least once a year. That Hunter neglected to drill limber holes doesn't make their absence sacrosanct...blaming Hunter is just an excuse to avoid the work necessary to put them in yourself. That may require cutting and fitting some hatches in the cabin sole, but a cabin sole without hatches isn't sacrosanct either, and having both hatches and limber holes would certainly make keeping the bilge and grid clean a LOT easier. And btw...re-routing the icebox drain into the bilge only contributes more bacteria and smelly water to a bilge that's already full of dirty smelly water. It should go into a sump that's easily accessible so it can be cleaned easily when it starts to stink.
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