Vital Oxide??????????

[sail_MN]

Anybody ever use this stuff? I am on a serious mission to rid my boat of the infamous "Boat Smell"! Supposedly it is used in hospitals as an industrial cleaner that is safe and effective against mold and all other stink causing agents. Last fall I removed the cabin sole and found a disgusting mess underneath. I'm sure people with older Hunters know what I am talking about. Anyway after cleaning everything that is visible the odor still remains. I did the old sniffer test and it is definitely in the stringers and hull liner. About two months ago before putting the boat away , I pumped over a quart of Raritan K.O. into the limber holes. I thought for sure that would have some effect on the odor. Nope. Once the weather gets warmer I plan on using the hose and flushing out the stringers through the limber holes with hot water. Once I get everything dried out, it would be nice to use Vital Oxide with a fogger and actually get it in between the hull and liner where the smell is originating. Any comments and suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Well, if you really wanted to use this stuff and you are sure you identified the source(s), it's a lot cheaper and easier to buy a pint or gallon of ammonium chloride solution rather than this expensive dilute solution. Observe the same cautions.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

It's impossible to eliminate any odor unless 100% of the source has been removed....because as long as the source of the odor exists, it will continue to create new odor. Your description indicates that's what's happening in your bilge...you cleaned everything that's visible, new odor is being created in the places that aren't. So here's what you need to do:

Clean--really CLEAN with plenty of detergent and water, but NO BLEACH!--every surface, nook and cranny of your bilges. Just pouring in some bilge cleaner, adding water and letting it slosh around, then turning on the bilge pumps ain't gonna get the job done. You're gonna have to apply elbow grease to the places you can reach, a power washer to the places you can't (I bought my own first power washer to clean the bilges in a boat that had been sitting for at least 5 years...dunno how I could live without one). Then thoroughly flush ALL the dirty water out. Leave the hatches open to let everything dry out reasonably well. Then, using a trigger sprayer--or better yet a pump garden spray bottle--coat every surface, nook and cranny...get under and behind things!--with a fine mist of a product called PureAyre PureAyre DO NOT RINSE...just let it dry. Leave all hatches open, turn fans on if you can, for 24 hours. If you still have ANY odor, you missed getting all the source of it.

If the odor is in your cushions and soft goods, spray those with PureAyre and put 'em outside the sunshine all day. Also good for use on musty PFDs and foulies. It comes in several versions. In my experience, the household or pet version works just as well as the marine version and costs a lot less...Amazon has the pet version for $35/gallon.

 

[sail_MN]

Peggy, pure ayre also advertises a fogger to disperse their product. What are your thoughts on using that to get inside the stringers and up the sides of the hull liner? I do have a copy of your book and it has been very helpful. Once I get rid of the mess, it will be the residual odor that needs to be removed.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

I bought one...it's no better than a 1 gallon pump garden sprayer jug, which costs a LOT less and doesn't need electrical power. A good one has an adjustable spray nozzle and will last for years...I've had two for more than a decade that I use for all kinds of projects that call for a sprayer, still working fine. Ortho Roundup puts their name one...about $15 at Walmart.
I just checked out one of mine and I'm 99% sure it's possible--even easy--to replace the hose with a longer one if you need to reach to places where you can't put the jug close enough... 'cuz the hose just secured to the tank and the wand with compression fittings.
And btw, if you do use a power washer to clean, after you've wet it all down, use the sprayer to put the detergent all over everything full strength instead of using the siphon function on the power washer, 'cuz it really dilutes cleaning products. Be sure to thoroughly wash out the sprayer after using anything in it.