Holding tank leak into bilge

[derekslife]

Our 36 year old fiberglass holding tank has fractured and started leaking. I will be repairing and/or replacing the tank this week.

The failed holding tank has leaked into areas of the bilge which we don’t have access to. It’s either under the cabin sole or under stainless fuel/water tanks.

Does anyone have any recommendations to clean and de-odor these inaccessible areas?

[bensolomon]

I just finished reading Peg Hall's book. She recommends a product called Pureayre. I will be getting some myself, but do not have first hand knowledge, yet.

Ben

[Shrew]

Bleach is a pretty good killer.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by bensolomon

I just finished reading Peg Hall's book. She recommends a product called Pureayre. I will be getting some myself, but do not have first hand knowledge, yet.

Ben

This book is right up there with all your service manuals

[Lazerbrains]

I had this problem in a deep bilged boat before. I used Star Brite Pine bilge cleaner - you just dump it into the bilge with about 5-10 gallons of water. Then go for a sail for an hour which sloshes it all around the bilge, then turn on your bilge pump to pump it all out. Worked great for me, got rid of all the smell and bilge looked better than it ever had.

[Sea Q]

Sprinkle some Noflex digestor in the bilge and rince with some water

[derekslife]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[Dave22q]

Peg Hall is probably your best source., I would arrange an immediate pump out, add some f hot water, detergent and lots of bleach. If drains dry, repeat.

[Scubaseas]

Nature's Miracle which is sold in pet and grocery stores as a pet stain remover works well on the stank. Good old bleach works fine for killing the bugs. I read your post header and could only think "ain't boats great"?

[explorer 3]

Be careful, Do NOT mix bleach with sea water !
It will produce a very toxic gas.

[Saltyhog]

Originally Posted by explorer 3

Be careful, Do NOT mix bleach with sea water !

It will produce a very toxic gas.

What? Sorry, but incorrect. There is no reaction between salt water (NaCl) and bleach (NaOCl).

However, don’t mix bleach with ammonia. That would be bad.

[kmacdonald]

Hang air fresheners all over the place. Sell boat.

[peghall]

PureAyre is NOT a cleaning product nor is it just an air freshener. It's the only product I've ever found that eliminates ANY odor. Not only will it get of diesel and residual odor left behind by stinking sanitation hoses, but PureAyre is also rated for use around food...which means you can even use it to get rid of the odor left in your fridge by the steaks or fish that spoiled when a natural disaster took out shore power for 3 days. Also does a great job on musty PFDs and foulies.

How to use it:
You can never eliminate any odor unless you first eliminate the source...'cuz as long as the source continues to exist, it'll continue to generate new odor. So first you have to find and fix any leak or replace the stinky hoses, then thoroughly clean the site, including every nook and cranny ...a good scrubbing with detergent and water. Mop up an excess water and let the air dry till it's at least only damp...no standing puddles. Now you're ready to eliminate the residual odor. Use PureAyre full strength...I'd use pump garden spray jug set to a fine mist. Spray every surface, nook and cranny...just a light spray. Do NOT rinse...just let it dry with hatches open so that plenty of fresh air can circulate. If the soft goods in the cabin have picked up the odor, just spraying it on the surface won't do much...you need to spray enough on carpets and rugs to penetrate to the backing...enough to penetrate cushions to the middle from both sides..not enough to make 'em drippy, just enough to get into the cushion....you'll prob'ly have to remove the covers and send 'em to be cleaned. Again, just let everything dry. If you still have any odor, you missed a spot.

A spray bottle won't go very far...plus, it's cheaper in the long run to buy it by the gallon...it has an indefinite shelf life, so just keep it on hand. Amazon has it...the "household" version works as well as any of the others.

--Peggie

[peghall]

Would you just dump a cleaning product into a sinkful of dirty greasy water, swish it around a bit, then just pull the plug and expect to be left with a clean sink? Then why do you and so many other boat owners think doing that will leave you with a clean bilge??? At the very least, you need to rinse all the dirty water out with clean water! And if you really want to do it right, you need to actually CLEAN the bilge at least once a year. You can use a long handled brush and a shop vac if you want to, but a power washer makes the job a lot easier and gets into places you can't reach by hand.



--Peggie

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by derekslife

Our 36 year old fiberglass holding tank has fractured and started leaking. I will be repairing and/or replacing the tank this week.

The failed holding tank has leaked into areas of the bilge which we don’t have access to. It’s either under the cabin sole or under stainless fuel/water tanks.

Does anyone have any recommendations to clean and de-odor these inaccessible areas?

Happened to me last year... I used a soapy solution Tide for washing machine clothes and let it slosh around then pumped it out, Then a cup of bleach with a lot of water then pumped it out, rinse a few times. I also used pressure washer in hard to reach places.