A wet dirty bilge can make a whole boat smell like a swamp or even a sewer. I can't even count the number of people who've said they've torn out most of their sanitation system trying to get rid of what they thought was “head odor,” when all they really needed to do was clean their bilges--really CLEAN them for a change, and rinse all the dirty water out, instead of just dumping more “miracle” cleaning product into the bilge and calling it done.
A wet bilge is a dark stagnant swamp. And it behaves like one, growing a variety of molds, fungi and bacteria—some that thrive in dark stagnant water, others that just like damp dark places. It doesn't have to be an anaerobic area--stagnant water stinks in a pond in an open field...generating anaerobic gasses--hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide--that can make a whole boat smell like rotten eggs or a sewer. The warmer the weather and water, the faster they grow. Add some dead and decaying sea water micro-organisms, dirt, food particles, rain water, wash water, shower or ice box water, hot weather and humidity, plus a little oil or diesel, and you have a real primordial soup…no wonder it stinks!
And then there's the matter of corrosion, even in fresh water.
So keep it clean...and mop up what the bilge pump leaves in the bilge...if it's more than a big sponge can handle, use a shop vac or a dinghy bailer and a bucket, and then a big sponge to get the last of it.
There's a whole chapter in my book (available from the sbo.com store) devoted to all the sources of odor that don't originate in the head, and how to find and eliminate 'em...you might want to check out the link in my signature.
A wet bilge is a dark stagnant swamp. And it behaves like one, growing a variety of molds, fungi and bacteria—some that thrive in dark stagnant water, others that just like damp dark places. It doesn't have to be an anaerobic area--stagnant water stinks in a pond in an open field...generating anaerobic gasses--hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide--that can make a whole boat smell like rotten eggs or a sewer. The warmer the weather and water, the faster they grow. Add some dead and decaying sea water micro-organisms, dirt, food particles, rain water, wash water, shower or ice box water, hot weather and humidity, plus a little oil or diesel, and you have a real primordial soup…no wonder it stinks!
And then there's the matter of corrosion, even in fresh water.
So keep it clean...and mop up what the bilge pump leaves in the bilge...if it's more than a big sponge can handle, use a shop vac or a dinghy bailer and a bucket, and then a big sponge to get the last of it.
There's a whole chapter in my book (available from the sbo.com store) devoted to all the sources of odor that don't originate in the head, and how to find and eliminate 'em...you might want to check out the link in my signature.
