Salvaged Cat - Dank smell

[ArranP]

My cat had been underwater 7m of water for two weeks and refloated several years ago, I have since fixed many things and she is mostly comfortable to use again.

There is a dank smell in the berths maybe from the salt water in the wood or earth which has since been cleaned out, all the hulls have been scrubbed, all the furniture is structurally sound.

What works best for getting rid of the dank smell ?

[CSYChip]

If there is no mold, you might try washing with fabric softener. It works on diesel and some other hard to get rid of smells.

[marcjsmith]

how about an ozone generator?

[SailingHarmonie]

Are you SURE there is no damp, spongy, rotting wood hiding somewhere? If the wood smells "dank" it is rotting.

You might want to rent, borrow, or buy a moisture meter to track this down.

[Shrew]

Just like with houses. If it smells like damp rotting wood. It's damp rotting wood. This is the case no matter how dry everything seems. Take a moisture meter and start systematically reading every stringer, bulkhead, deck....basically anything that is wood or wood cored.

Wherever the meter spikes is your culprit.

[Avionics_Joe]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pHqxhm0YEw

I hope you don't have this problem. I second getting a moisture meter.

Good luck.

[peghall]

If the odor is only in the berths, the mattresses and cushions are the most likely source. Replacing them is the easiest solution...if your budget doesn't allow for that, removing the covers to have them cleaned and putting the foam out the sun (sunshine is an excellent mold killer) for a day, prob'ly more than once, will go a long way toward eliminating the dank moldy odor in them. Cleaning the insides of lockers and behind drawers with a strong solution of detergent and water (be sure to rinse thoroughly too) is also needed. If you were in the US or Canada there's a product called PureAyre that you could apply to the foam and the hard surfaces after cleaning, but but the shipping cost to get it to you would be outrageous unless you have any friends coming to join you who could bring you a gallon of it.


So you have a bit of work to do, but worth the effort.


--Peggie

[The Boat Galley]

Take the cushions, etc. out for a week. If the smell is gone (give it a week to really air out inside), you'll know it's the cushions or mattresses/pillows and it's time to replace them. If the smell isn't gone, check with the moisture meter -- and also your nose -- to pinpoint the spot. Bilge is a frequent problem area, as is the chain locker.

[JPA Cate]

If you're in Thailand like your avatar says, I'd say that unless you replaced the foam in the cushions, that it is probably the source of the smell you mention. You still can try the remove them and see if the smell goes away plan, because cushions absorb salt from the ocean air, and will therefore stay damp, allowing the growth of mildew.

You CAN wash them, and sun dry them, if you have access to a bath tub, or a big enough vessel to wash them in (I used the dinghy). It will take A LOT of fresh water, both for the washing and for the rinsing. The hardest part is squeezing them out to remove the water, and keep doing it till the water is clean and odorless. Then hang them to dry and use gravity to help get the water out. Eventually, you can no longer squeeze water from them and they will dry. I have only done this once, and it is a real pita, but it did work. Way easier to buy new foam, and cover with new fabric, maybe even there in Thailand, cheaper.

Ann

[rognvald]

I would assume you got rid of the cushions unless they are closed cell. Then, washing the covers would be necessary. However, the smell is from dead marine organisms/pollution that were in the sea water(alive) when it sank. I've have been aboard many previously sunken boats and they all smell ,forever, if they've been underwater for awhile. Some have tried spraying anti-bacterial cleaning chemicals on the inside of the hull ,wherever possible, and cleaning exterior surfaces but once it gets in wood and inaccessible areas--- it's game over. Live with the smell or sell!
Rognvald

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by marcjsmith

how about an ozone generator?

That will definitely work and if the smell comes back ... there is wet wood somewhere.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Just like with houses. If it smells like damp rotting wood. It's damp rotting wood. This is the case no matter how dry everything seems. Take a moisture meter and start systematically reading every stringer, bulkhead, deck....basically anything that is wood or wood cored.

Wherever the meter spikes is your culprit.

I agree, a moisture meter may help but they also tell lies.
Moisture Meter Mythology

[pbmaise]

I think I recall this. Did you have a delivery crew for a brand new Lagoon and a painter line wrap around a prop? Yikes.

I am sure all the cushions and bedding after the initial sinking. Further, every inch of the vessel was cleaned with bleach and the headers were removed.

There is at least one source that would have been really hard to have cleaned. Your AC ducts and the condensing unit. Find someone with a sensitive nose and see if the smell is coming from the air duct.

Google the term HVAC duct deodorizer.

[DLincoln3]

I second the opinion on the ozone generator. I bought one on Amazon. My boat sunk as well. You cannot get to every corner of your boat with bleach no matter how hard you try. Putting the cushions out in the sun will help a little. Mildew killer (concrobium) works, but like the bleach you can't get to every corner. Dryer sheets never worked for anything but your laundry, I honestly don't know why the myth gets perpetuated. I have tried all of these things. The only thing that has worked is pulling up floorboards, opening every cabinet and drawer, propping up cushions, and running an ozone generator an hour at a time about 5 times. Mildew smell is gone. I now run the ozone machine at the beginning of every season just to make sure it doesn't come back.

[SailingHarmonie]

But wait! This is a catamaran. They can’t sink. I know it’s true, I have read it on the internet!