You cannot eliminate any odor until you've found and eliminate the source(s), 'cuz as long as the source continues to exist it will continue to generate odor.
The most common sources of odor are 1. a
bilge in need of a serious cleaning for a change instead of just dumping in some bilge cleaner, adding water, then turning on the
bilge pump and calling it done. You wouldn't just add some dishwashing liquid to a kitchen sink full of dirty greasy dishwater, pull the
plug and expect to have a clean sink, so why do so many boat owner expect doing essentially the same thing to result in a clean--and odor free--bilge??? 2. permeated sanitation hoses. There's a simple test to determine whether they are a source of your odor: wet some clean rags in HOT water, wrap each one around a separate section of hose. When they've cooled, remove each rag and smell it...if you can't smell anything on the rag, that section of hose has not permeated...if you can, it has...new hoses are the only cure. 3. Sumps in need of cleaning. 4. Chain locker. The same micro-sea organisms that die, decay and stink in your
toilet intake line will die, decay and stink on your
anchor rode. The cure: pull the line and chain out and lay it on the
dock to hose off...clean the chain with plenty of detergent and water while it's out. 5.
Mold and mildew can be the result of humid conditions or pfds and rain
gear that have been stored wet. Wipe hard surfaces down with a mild solution of bleach (the ONLY use for bleach on a boat), put soft goods outside the sun for a day. 6.
Oil and
diesel odors. Find and eliminate any
leaks, put "diapers" down to catch any new ones, scrub with a strong solution of detergent and water.
Ozone is a bad idea for two reasons: 1.it's highly corrosive and damaging to rubber and plastics...2. retail ozone generators are just very expensive air fresheners...they're not allowed to generate enough ozone to kill the sources of any odors, so while they remove odors from the air as long as they're running, the odors will return while they're off.
This is just an overview of the sources and cures for odors...the bottom line, keeping a boat odor free requires an attention span and manual labor.
--Peggie