Smells Below!

[First Light]

HI EVERYONE, I HOPE YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME GOOD ADVISE ON WHAT I SHOULD REPLACE TO HELP ALEVIATE A STINKY SMELL BELOW. WE REPLACED THE HEAD ALREADY ( SOMEONE PUMPED IT IN THE CLOSED POSITION) WE'VE HAD HER 5 YEARS NOW AND I'D BET NO ONE EVER DID ANY MAINTANANCE ON HER. WE'VE TACKLED ALL THE WIRING, REBUILT THE ENGINE, BROUGHT THE TEAK BACK TO LIFE AND ON AND ON...

[Steve Laume]

When I had my boat surveyed the surveyer recomended I change the sanitary hoses. I have been putting it off till I got a better price on hose. Well I went to the Defender warehouse sale and I saw a lot of folks with rolls of white hose in their carts so we are not alone. I understand that in time the smell will permiate the hose and the your boat begins to smell a bit. It does not seem to be so bad a job once you get going. My holding tank is under the sole right in front of the engine. Even with the long run it is not too hard to get to. Two people told me to heat the ends before tring to slip them on the fittings. One guy said to use a heat gun and the other said to hold the end in a pot of boiling water. The hot water seems like a much safer way to go. I will add that as soon as you disconnect a hose have a big wad of paper towel ready to shove into both ends. This will keep the smells where they belong while you work and eliminate any chance of dribbles as you pull the hose. I figure if I rebuild the head and replace the hose I should not have to mess with that system for a while. I am not so sure the porta pottie was such a bad deal. Well good luck, have fun and know that you are not alone, Steve.
Or you could just get a bunch of those pine scented air fresheners and hang them all over the boat.

[fenixrises]

One good thing to do in a generallly smelly situation.
Remove everything from the boat that is movable.
Get on your shorts.
Go below with a hose and a bucket of soapy water and a couple of scrub brushes.
Have a washing party. Everything. Inside cabinettes, bilge, etc.

Another to do.
Take interior cushions home.
Remove fabric outer covering.
Wash foam with plenty of water and a little soap.
Make arrangements to elevate cushions for all around drying.
This may take a while.
If the cushions are fabric covered it may be possible to wash the coverings as well(gently).

The above two items were earlier suggestions by other members.

Of course the head situation should be looked at closely.

Have a soapy weekend!
Fred

[marka]

Last season I replaced the head and hoses on Linda Jean. I used the good defender sanitary hose (black w/green stripe). I have quite a bit left over if anyone is looking for a deal.

[Zeida Cecilia-Mendez]

Change the hose! Yes, it gets impregnated with the smell. Make sure you get the type of hose that will not absorb the smell. They do have that kind. Yes, it is a good idea to heat the ends to make it easier when you connect it. Use a heat gun, the kind they sell in Home Depot or similar. It's a good idea to have it on the boat anyway. Many uses for it later on. It is not dangerous to use at all. Double clamp the hose at both ends. Make sure that there is no old spillage wherever the old hose ran through. Give your bilge a good clean-up and you should have no more smell. Keep your holding tank clean and smell free. There are products for this.

[David van den Burgh]

As far as I know, the right hose for this application - and the type we chose for Ariel - is SeaLand's OdorSafe hose. It generally runs about eight to nine dollars per foot, but it is by far the best hose when it comes to preventing odor permeation. And, as an earlier poster mentioned, the ends slip over fittings far more easily after they've been immersed in boiling water.

As Fred mentioned, we've also given the bilge a good scrub to clean out 25 years of accumulated gunk and odors.

Good luck.

[M. R. Bober]

If the smell is coming from the head hoses, try wrapping them in Saran wrap. It's a temporary fix that has been mentioned on this site.

Mitchell Bober
Sunny Annapolis (where everything smells like roses!)MD

[winthrop fisher]

Hi
take a bottle of bilge soap and pour about 1/4 of the bottle in your bilge with about five gallons of water in as well and leave it there for three days, then pump it out.
it will get all the ever thing out and the smell will go away.
you can do the same to your hoses as well, they both work and its easy.
winthrop

HI EVERYONE, I HOPE YOU CAN GIVE ME SOME GOOD ADVISE ON WHAT I SHOULD REPLACE TO HELP ALEVIATE A STINKY SMELL BELOW. WE REPLACED THE HEAD ALREADY ( SOMEONE PUMPED IT IN THE CLOSED POSITION) WE'VE HAD HER 5 YEARS NOW AND I'D BET NO ONE EVER DID ANY MAINTANANCE ON HER. WE'VE TACKLED ALL THE WIRING, REBUILT THE ENGINE, BROUGHT THE TEAK BACK TO LIFE AND ON AND ON...

[David VanDenburgh]

Dampen a rag, rub the hose, sniff the rag. If your hoses are letting smells out into the boat, your nose will know.

If you do decide to replace hoses, go with the best hose you can buy. It's worth it.

[Stephen Marino]

If nose test confirms hose smells after rinsing with water- replace.

I tried removing the smell from the hoses on a Bristol 29.9 .

I tried plain water, filled hose with diluted clorox solution and left it outdoors half the winter, filled it with water a loose gravel plugged the end and then while doing a dance with the gravel and hose shaking around.

Left it in the rain for months.

Hose still stinks.

Solution-
Replace hoses with the best you can afford.

Use hot water to ease inatallation. A heat gun is too hard to control the temperature. Don't over heat hose.

Regards

Stephen Marino
CD 26 Hull number 52

[Bill Michne]

All good advice above. One more to add. The warm hose (by hot water or heat gun) expands the hose slightly and makes is a bit more pliable but doesn't decrease the friction between the hose and the fitting you're trying to put it on. You can make the process easier by smearing a thin film of lubricant on the inside of the warm hose before assembly. I have used grease, oil, mineral oil, and liquid soap, and all work well.

[Phil Shedd]

Bill

Last year we also developed a smell that I thought was the head hose. I replace one hose but still had a smell. The smell seemed more mildew like as the summer progressed. We tried a number of things but nothing seemed to help.

This spring I took the port berth apart and removed the water tank. There between the tank and the bulkhead was a patch of mildew. We had had a wet summer and I think moisture had gathered (condensed) on the cooler water tank. Once it started it spread.

I proceeded to scrub and disinfect a large area around the mildew . Then I sealed the area with a mildew sealer. I also sprayed the under of the cabin floor with a disinfectant . The boat seems much fresher now but we are having a cold wave the past week . Has rained for over a week off and on so have not had any heat to see how things are. Heres hoping.

Phil

[John R]

Your holding tank needs as much fresh air flow through the tank as you can engineer. That is absolutely critical to reducing odors in your sanitation system. To put it in simple terms it benefits the good bacteria and that reduces odor build up by reducing the bad bacteria. Two large vent lines as straight as possible is the preferred way to vent a holding tank to maximize beneficial bacteria. This allows cross ventilation over the tank contents. High air flow in that tank is your best friend, do whatever you can to improve tank ventilation.

All head hose will eventually permeate with odor. Some are slower to do so than others. The two best hoses are Trident and Sealand. Low spots in your head and tank hoses will allow effluent to settle and that will cause premature permeation of the hose wall. You can simply eliminate hose altogether and use PVC, schedule 80 is best but in a sailboat you can use schedule 40 if everything is well supported and secured. Use hose collars to make your connections to the head, tank and valves.

[RMeigel]

Don't forget to check the vent hose. Another CD 27 owner told me he had an odor problem which he determined occurred when holding tank contents got into the vent hose when the boat heeled. He solved the problem by routing the vent hose UP before turning it toward the forward connection to outside air. That way, when stuff slopped in, it slopped back into the holding tank when the boat righted itself and did not settle (as had been happening) in the permeable vent hose itself.

Robin Meigel