Why do so many Heads have that Musty Smell?

[djtopper]

Been on a few catamrans which have had this issue. Ironically there was one at the boat show">Annapolis boat show today that suffered from it. I suspect that the problem is not just with multihulls though.

What causes this? Failure to properly and consistently pump out the holding tanks?

Perhaps most importantly, how can you get rid of it? Does it become difficult to eliminate as bacteria and mold are likely growing in hard-to-eliminate places?

Mainly just curious, but i could see remedies being useful when chartering a boat the suffers from "the stink" such as it is.

Also curious if its just inevitable?

[FLLCatsailor]

saltwater is the cause of the bad odor... When water sits stagnate in the plumbing all the little micro-organisms start dying off, and stinking...

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by djtopper

Been on a few catamrans which have had this issue. Ironically there was one at the Annapolis boat show today that suffered from it. I suspect that the problem is not just with multihulls though.

What causes this? Failure to properly and consistently pump out the holding tanks?

Perhaps most importantly, how can you get rid of it? Does it become difficult to eliminate as bacteria and mold are likely growing in hard-to-eliminate places?

Mainly just curious, but i could see remedies being useful when chartering a boat the suffers from "the stink" such as it is.

Also curious if its just inevitable?

If its coming from the tank, it will smell like a sewer. If it's because of flushing with salt water, it will be more of an ammonia-like smell.

That "musty" smell is mildew. There just isn't good air circulation in the head. I would check in the back corners of any cabinets or storage areas. Mildew-type organisms love to grow in dark, moist places with poor air circulation. It's a real pain, because usually there's so little room, but I actually clean my head space with toothbrush and q-tips to get into some spots.

I'm not a perfect housekeeper, but my head doesn't smell.

You can also spray those dark corners periodically with bleach water. It doesn't take much to kill mildew.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

saltwater is the cause of the bad odor... When water sits stagnate in the plumbing all the little micro-organisms start dying off, and stinking...

Yep! And once the plastic (PVC) absorbs the odor it's almost impossible to get rid of in a short time. One has to start flushing vinegar in and let it set for a day and then do it again and again and again.

Another thing too is if there are ANY leaks that will cause odor as well. Then the spill area needs to be cleaned with bleach.

And I'm sure Peggy Hall has some answers too.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

Yep! And once the plastic (PVC) absorbs the odor it's almost impossible to get rid of in a short time. One has to start flushing vinegar in and let it set for a day and then do it again and again and again.

Another thing too is if there are ANY leaks that will cause odor as well. Then the spill area needs to be cleaned with bleach.

And I'm sure Peggy Hall has some answers too.

I had that strong urine odor coming from my head. I just started flushing with buckets of fresh water -- problem solved.

[Steve Bean]

I like to keep the door to the head open all the time except when the head is in use. Also I almost always sit to use the head. It's easier and safer in a seaway.

[Steve Bean]

I like to keep the door to the head open to free ventilation all the time except when it's in use. Also I almost always sit when using the head. It's so much easier and safer in a seaway and no problem with aim. Speaking as a male...

[Andrew Troup]

Puts me in mind of a bumper sticker I once saw:

"REAL sailors do it in their seaboots"

(in the interests of inter-hull harmony, I won't offer any smart-arse speculations about whether the way male cats define their territory extends to male cat owners ;-)

[TeddyDiver]

Get Lavac toilet, it's with vacuum flush..

[endoftheroad]

Originally Posted by FLLCatsailor

saltwater is the cause of the bad odor... When water sits stagnate in the plumbing all the little micro-organisms start dying off, and stinking...

Thanks for the correction as I always thought the odor when using saltwater was from micro organisms breeding in there and not dying off.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

Thanks for the correction as I always thought the odor when using saltwater was from micro organisms breeding in there and not dying off.

Could well be, but it's a distinctive (and harsh) smell. And, if that's what it is, it doesn't happen if you flush with fresh water.

I had one know-it-all (whose boat had a porta-potty, so he really didn't realize the potential issues of screwing up your head system). Told everyone to use one bucket of water to flush -- because *I* wanted everything to make it to the head.

He came back and bragged that he was getting away with 1/3 of a bucket.

"Great. When it clogs, you're the one who has to clean it out."

You should have seen the look on his face! He was the one I would have put off. Directions weren't directions to him but an opportunity to do things any other way possible.

[valhalla360]

Lots of sources. It's the rare boat that doesn't have the smell.

Our solution was a composting toilet. Solves the issue pretty well. As a side benefit it included installing a solar vent as composting likes lots of oxygen, so any smells that do form are constantly vented outside of the boat.

[Kettlewell]

Practically every boat with a holding tank system smells--I know Peggy and others claim they can create a system that doesn't stink, but in practice they are pretty rare. There are just too many joints, too much piping, too many leak points and too many things that are supposed to be impermeable but aren't in the typical holding tank system. You can smell some boats as you dinghy by! Composting head eliminates the smell, and with its constantly running vent sucks air through the head area keeping it drier helping to reduce mold and mildew too.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Practically every boat with a holding tank system smells--I know Peggy and others claim they can create a system that doesn't stink, but in practice they are pretty rare. There are just too many joints, too much piping, too many leak points and too many things that are supposed to be impermeable but aren't in the typical holding tank system. You can smell some boats as you dinghy by! Composting head eliminates the smell, and with its constantly running vent sucks air through the head area keeping it drier helping to reduce mold and mildew too.

I guess I'm just lucky -- mine doesn't smell. I wouldn't be able to stand that sewer/urine smell and I'm not fond of mildew either although it's easier to deal with. It is possible to eliminate the smells, and really worth the effort.

[clockwork orange]

Im with Ketterwell on this, im a boatbuilder and have been working around marinas for over 30 years, most boats stink, ive also noticed that a lot of owners say their boat doesn't smell when in fact they do. We have built odor free systems using common sched 40 pvc pipe from home depot, with either off the shelf plastic or custom fitted plywood/epoxy/glass tanks but I will be installing an Airhead composting toilet on my Gemini cat next month, partly for the lack of stink but also for a lighter, simpler system.

Steve.