Removing Nasty Boat Odors with Aurora Odor Free
Removing Nasty Boat Odors
Bill Ludlum asked:
We have a nasty odor inside the boat.
I have checked the holding tank (there is no leak), the head is working fine and the bilge is mostly dry.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions?
Answer:
Eliminating boat odors can be a frustrating exercise, especially if you don’t know where they are coming from. Worst, if not rectified fairly quickly, the smells can permeate the upholstery and wood inside the boat and remain for long periods of time. If you can’t identify the source then the answer is to over compensate. Attack all the possible odor sources!
Inspect the sanitation and pump out hoses and give them a squeeze. If they are soft and spongy you will have to replace these hoses. Use a clean dry cloth and give these hoses a wipe. Smell the cloth. If it smells, you have a problem with permeation odor from the hose. This is common when bleach, the wrong toilet chemical or no chemical at all is used. It this is the problem and the hoses are still in good order, Odor Free can often eliminate this smell. Try flushing one or two ounces of Odor Free through the hose on a daily basis. Fill the bowl with water, pour the Odor Free into the bowl and give it time to dissolve, then flush it through. This may take a week or two but it is very effective and has saved many boat owners from having to replace the sanitation hose. If it’s the pump out hose, dissolve one or two ounces in a gallon of water and pour it into the pump out fitting.
Another problem with holding tanks is sludge build up. Again this can happen when the sanitation system is not properly maintained or the wrong chemicals used. Odor Free will break up the sludge and digest…