My fresh water stinks...

[sailorboy1]

as a water treater I will say that I normally recommend hydrogen peroxide

but I wouldn't do it in this case as there could be a heavy biofilm in the lines and tanks and the reaction might just blow it apart

think bleach!

[weavis]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

baking soda and vinegar liberate carbon dioxide I think, not carbon monoxide and putting that mixture in your water tank is pretty much like putting salt water in, I believe. Not much would happen, unless of course there was no vent, that could be interesting

Not sure where you could get enough hydrogen peroxide to do the job, but that may be one solution, actually not even sure how much would be needed

yup is what happens when writing fast doing 2 jobs at once.. tis indeed dioxide.
BUT....... will clean pipes very well..... I found that out at home years ago cleaning drains. I did several pipe/ water tank jobs on different boats and it cleaned out a lot of stuff...... Salt water doesnt do that. vinegar and baking soda foams and eats up stuff.

[jeepbluetj]

Bleach is cheap and plentiful. I've always used bleach for RV and/or boat stuff. It'll take awhile to clear out the bleach smell/taste - but the shock and wait 24 hours is a good solution.

And look in the tanks to see how much gunk you really do have. A shopvac may be useful to reduce the amount of gunk you need to flush through.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

as a water treater I will say that I normally recommend hydrogen peroxide

but I wouldn't do it in this case as there could be a heavy biofilm in the lines and tanks and the reaction might just blow it apart

think bleach!

What is it about peroxide that you prefer in boats? There are obvious advantages; no aluminum corrosion, and few residuals. On the other hand, it does not last as long and far more is needed.

There must be a better place to buy it than the drug store. Pool stores?

[HopCar]

"Hi Hopcar,
I used to use Puriclean religiously but it disappeared from all my usual sources a few years ago. I noticed on their website that you are a US distributor. Just curious if you know why availability is so limited in the US? "

Hi Mike, We used to buy Puriclean and Clean Tabs from a distributor in the US. He went out of business so we contacted Clean Tabs and asked to be their US distributor.

We are trying to get other dealers to carry it but right now, we're it. We actually sell quite a bit of it. I get internet orders almost every day and we sell some out of our store as well.

Yes I'll be glad to ship to Canada but don't order it off our website. Send me an email with what you want and I'll quote you with postage. Our website would charge you UPS shipping but I can mail it for less.

If you do business with a local marine store, let them know you want to buy it and that I can supply them.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Take a look at Puriclean to clean the system of gunk and Clean Tabs to keep it sweet.
http://www.cleantabs.co.uk/puriclean.htm

Puriclean - MFG#UPCSTD - 14 oz. Tub

These seem like a great idea, far more user friendly than bleach (tablets come in sized that are virtually matched to tank sizes). NSF certified.

Any other brands?

[Capt Phil]

You may need to replace all your fresh water lines and thoroughly clean all fixtures but your fresh water tank may also be a major contributor. Open the inspection plate to your F/W tank and if there isn't one, install one. Using 1/2 cup of bleach per gallon of water scrub out your tank bottom, sides and interior top thoroughly. Refill, let sit with same mixture for at least a day and flush entire system with fresh water. Let us know if that does the trick. Phil

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by thinwater

What is it about peroxide that you prefer in boats? There are obvious advantages; no aluminum corrosion, and few residuals (no residuals just water and oxygen left behind). On the other hand, it does not last as long and far more is needed.

That is what I like about it. But for everyday treatment on my boat I use bleach like everyone else mostly does. But I stress on all these threads that you really need to measure the chlorine levels and test kits are easy to get.

I don't know when one would get hydrogen peroxide but I'm sure it you look it wouldn't be too hard. You really need industrial strength of 15%+ not the stuff at the store. It is dangerous compared to bleach, but has its' place.

[Pete7]

We use puriclean, because a tub is just the right size for our tank, costs slightly more than bleach but its a measured dose and convenient. However, what do they use for cleaning beer lines in a pub?

Pete

[thinwater]

Some chemistry, simplified.

* Vinegar is only a disinfectant used neat. No miracle, it simply has a low pH. So do lots of things. As soon as you dilute it it becomes extremely biodegradable. It becomes mold food and makes them grow faster. I've done the lab testing and published it. Mold likes a lower pH.
* Vinegar will neutralize the bleach smell. Practically anything organic will. Then the water will taste like nasty vinegar and will be more vulnerable to infection. EPA and NIH did research using ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to neutralize the taste. Works well, since bleach is an oxidizing agent and vitamin C is an antioxident.
* Ethanol is only a disinfectant above ~ 30%. Any medical site will state this. That is why we can ferment it and why open wine can go bad. Diluted vodka will go bad.

This is obvious.

Mixing vinegar and baking soda? That's like placing an air conditioner and a heater in the same room and taking bets. Stuff will happen, but they work better separately.

Mixing acid and bleach. That's on the label, man. Bleach and ammonia are bad too (chloramine gas). Yes, water can be treated with chloramine, but the EPA considers it too dangerous to advise methods for the public.

----

If you don't know the chemistry, use packaged products SEPARATELY. Follow the instructions.

[Stu Jackson]

Skippers, someone mentioned Peggie Hall in this discussion. She spend years in the industry, and knows her stuff. She worte OMG a BOOK! about all this sh*t, and weavis actually spent the time to copy what I would normally post as a link.

It may be prudent to stop reinventing the wheel and use what has been shown to work.

Thanks, weavis, hope the sippers read it and use it.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Skippers, someone mentioned Peggie Hall in this discussion. She spend years in the industry, and knows her stuff. She worte OMG a BOOK! about all this sh*t, and weavis actually spent the time to copy what I would normally post as a link.

It may be prudent to stop reinventing the wheel and use what has been shown to work.

Thanks, weavis, hope the sippers read it and use it.

I just feel terrible that a chemical engineer is pointing out that my vinegar and soda is not a good idea. Im not questioning his knowledge or abilities but I do have the cleanest drains I ever had using them. I have done all my water tanks from time to time and it maintains them. However.. the ONLY way to get your tanks working right is to follow Peggies advice.

addendum: .... I notice the link to Peggies book was not pasted in and I cant go back and add it..... sorry about that.... I copied it from somewhere a while back and kept it for my own use.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by weavis

I just feel terrible that a chemical engineer is pointing out that my vinegar and soda is not a good idea. Im not questioning his knowledge or abilities but I do have the cleanest drains I ever had using them. I have done all my water tanks from time to time and it maintains them. However.. the ONLY way to get your tanks working right is to follow Peggies advice.

addendum: .... I notice the link to Peggies book was not pasted in and I cant go back and add it..... sorry about that.... I copied it from somewhere a while back and kept it for my own use.

weavis, here it is:

Get Rid of Boat Odors

[weavis]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

weavis, here it is:

Get Rid of Boat Odors

Thanks for that.

[Dave0549jv]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Upstate NY...??
Hmmmm... remember pulling into a Motel in NY State on my way to Vermont and being summer and having driven all day I headed for the shower to freshen up...
Man.. the stink of sulphur from the water was over powering..
Check the smell of the water before it goes in your tanks..

Yeah, that would have been well water. I've got relatives that have had some stinky well water. The marina has treated city water that's actually pretty delicious.

Originally Posted by Cheechako

are your tanks fiberglass? what kind of smell is it? Fiberglass resin smell? sulpher? give us a hint!
If fiberglass you are screwed. A carbon filter can help a lot but not enough to be drinkable.
If something organic... do the bleach kill routine and clean the system. Install a carbon filter to sweeten the water. It doesn't take a lot of bleach.

It's not a fiberglass or resin smell. It's not sulphur either. It smells like rotting organic material. I've got a 30 gallon aluminum tank.

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

You may need to replace all your fresh water lines and thoroughly clean all fixtures but your fresh water tank may also be a major contributor. Open the inspection plate to your F/W tank and if there isn't one, install one.

I'm hoping I won't have to replace all of my lines... It would be quite a while before I could get to a project like that. I'm hoping the bleach flush will be enough to clean them out. I haven't been able to locate an inspection plate. I'd probably have to install one. Add it to the list... haha

Originally Posted by thinwater

Mixing acid and bleach. That's on the label, man. Bleach and ammonia are bad too (chloramine gas).

When I was in college, we had a janitor we called 'Fast Eddie.' It was an ironic name. He was found asleep in peoples' rooms on a few occasions... Anyway, one day I was using the little mate's room when Fast Eddie came in and started cleaning the urinals. He used bleach and ammonia. It was a hell of a smell. It took less than a minute to get bad, and felt like my lungs were filling up with fluid. To this day, that's the second fastest I've ever wiped myself. /endstorytime

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

Skippers, someone mentioned Peggie Hall in this discussion. She spend years in the industry, and knows her stuff. She worte OMG a BOOK! about all this sh*t, and weavis actually spent the time to copy what I would normally post as a link.

It may be prudent to stop reinventing the wheel and use what has been shown to work.

Thanks, weavis, hope the sippers read it and use it.

This seems to be the highest regarded source, and it definitely makes sense. I'll be starting with Peg's recommendations. Thanks weavis and Stu.