Remove calcium build up in head bowel

[rmbriggs]

I have a Jabsco toilet with severe calcium and lime scale in the bowel. Many household chemical cleaners work well at home but I’m concerned about damage to the head hoses or holding tank (fiberglass). I could use a heavy hand with a pumice stone but the scale is very thick and I don’t want to damage the bowl. Any suggestions for cleaners that at least would loosen the build up so I wouldn’t have to scrub so vigorously with the pumice. I’ve tried vinegar- did nothing.

[Knot Safety]

Muriatic acid - available in paint section of hardware stores. Mixed to a concentration of 20 percent with fresh water. Always add the acid to the water not the water to the acid! Wear gloves and eye protection

Put in enough to fill bowl and lines (mine is 10 litres). Pump into system. Let sit one hour. Repeat the process again. Let sit one hour. Then completely flush with fresh water. Voila, you will have a head that works like new. Lines and bowl will be clean.

[thinwater]

If you want something a little more gentle and safer to work with, there are many grocery store and marine products based on citric or lactic acid that are FAR more effective than vinegar and less harmful to hoses and pump parts than vinegar. They are just as effective as HCl, just slower.

https://www.practical-sailor.com/boa...potty-overkill

Also CLR (Home Depot) is very good for lime (lactic acid).


There is more to lime removal than simple acidity. For example, citric acid has 3 acid groups per molecule.

[Pete7]

Don't mess about, take the toilet out of the boat and take the pump off. Fifteen minutes work, tops. Then use brick cleaner
(hydrochloric acid 5 - 10%) and let it soak before giving it some more with an old paint brush. Fit new joker valve when you re-assemble and away you go.

Pete

[JPA Cate]

@thinwater,

What harm does a prophylactic squirt of vinegar do? Assuming a buildup-free system?

Thanks.

Ann

[rmbriggs]

I thought I’d give some follow-up on my ugly toilet bowl. I read the Oct. 22, 2019 Practical Sailor article as suggested by Thinwater. Practical Sailor was pretty emphatic that chemical treatments were bad for the Joker valve, the holding tank, and the environment. PS recommended CLS. I bought the 24oz bottle at Home Depot and followed the instructions exactly except I let it sit for about 10 minutes rather than 2 minutes. Per directions, I flushed it with copious fresh water. To my surprise, I could see the calcium and lime coming off. I took a soft rag and literally wiped the rest off in less than a minute. Before treatment, brushing and rubbing did nothing.

Maybe I got lucky but my bowl went from a terrible mess to looking like new.

I appreciate all the suggestions.

[GWilly]

Good for you, but darn! I wanted to see what Peggy was going to suggest!

[George DuBose]

First off, old seadogs told me that I should flush my Jabsco with at least 20 flushes. My boat is mostly in fresh water, but salt water adds to the calcifying problem when mixed with urine.

There are acetic acids (vinegar) in much stronger concentrations than what one would put on one's salad. There are even toilet cleaners based on acetic acid.

What I found works really well is denture cleaning tablets. I do think that they and other cleaners will dissolve the vaseline that is around the plunger, so after a heavy cleaning, one might want to regrease the plunger's "O" ring.

When I do use cleaners, I try to leave them in the bowl and then after the "cleaning" I flush it all away completely.

[celle2000]

Boat or House - I buy online a 5 kilo bucket of Citric Acid Powder to clean out calcium deposits or uric acid. Stir some into hot water - let sit 30 minutes - then any residues should come off easily. Vinegar (60% and then dilute to 20%) together with Natron (baking soda) which you can also buy in 10 liter / 5 Kg Buckets respectively is also a relatively gentle way to clean and keep clean.

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@thinwater,

What harm does a prophylactic squirt of vinegar do? Assuming a buildup-free system?

Thanks.

Ann

Vinegar can damage some types of rubber hoses and seals.

I've used a vinegar and baking soda solution to de-scale my head for 20 years without a problem. I also use a cap of vegetable oil every 2 weeks or so.

Personally, I'm very leary of putting chemicals into the head that would end up in the holding tank or the ocean. As I tell guests and crew aboard..."if it hasn't passed through the alimentary canal or kidneys...it doesn't go into the head."

[Russ]

I second the CLR treatment but I've switched to fresh water flush for smell and since doing so Calcium buildup a non-issue. Once I did actually attack the build-up with a screwdriver and GENTLY used it like an ice pick and I was amazed to see the stuff just crumble and while I wiped up the large pieces with a paper towel, the small stuff flushed away. Bowl was slick after

Like I said gently!

[ussvdharma]

once every week or so put vinigar in the head , let it soak over night then dump it.
OR...wast all you fresh water by using it to flush the toilet.....met a guy once was doing just that de W7KFI

[peghall]

prevention is almost always easier and cheaper than cure, but since a cure has become necessary, I'd go with CLR.


--Peggie

[peghall]

once every week or so put vinigar in the head , let it soak over night then dump it.

Not a good idea to leave vinegar standing the bowl for longer than 45-60 minutes because soft rubber --your joker valve, for instance--left to soak in vinegar will swell and distort.

A weekly cupful--2 at most--of distilled white vinegar flushed all the way through the system, left to sit for 45-60 minutes, then followed by at least a quart of clean FRESH water will PREVENT, but not dissolve (actually it can if used correctly,which no one ever does, but it's such a labor intensive job that it's not worth the effort)--sea water mineral buildup in sanitation hoses.

--Peggie

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

@thinwater,

What harm does a prophylactic squirt of vinegar do? Assuming a buildup-free system?

Thanks.

Ann

Thats the key

A scale free hose with the vingear used every time.

To anyone thinking otherwise take your scaled up hose out and break some scale out of it. Place the scale into a few different bowls and add vingear, CLR, full strength muric acid. Come back next day and tell me if any scale has dissapeared. .... It wouldn't because you dont have enough acid to do it and you arent going to ever flush/soak the hose enough with it.

Scale is fairly easy to prevent but pretty hard to remove. Save you money from vinegar and acid and buy hoses more often.