Chemical cleaning product for grime in the bilge?

[c.K.]

Originally Posted by Lou-In-NJ

I'm looking for comments from people who have experience with cleaning products related to getting the grime out of a bilge. On my S2 11.0A, there is a bilge channel that is about 10" deep that runs under the sole, for the length of the keel, this is fairly easy to access and clean, however, on the aft end of the channel is a bilge-well that is about 18" deep, and the access plate is annoyingly offset so cleaning the bilge-well by hand is difficult at best. Last year while on the hard, I tried engine degreaser, and then an enzyme-based septic tank cleaner to try and break down the decades of shower soap, diesel, and the general flotsome and jetsom that found its way into the bottom of the boat that built-up the grime.

The boat now has only a slight tinge of a diesel smell that I believe can be completey eliminated if I can get rid of the grime that is in the bilge well, and other than trying to manuver a toilet brush down there through the offset access plate, does anyone know of any product that can be used to breakdown the grime so it can be simply washed away?

Hi use a good degreaser let it soak and pressure wash with a rotating tip

[sinnerman]

I used the simple green and the orange bilge cleaner. Not a fan of either.

I would get a spray bottle with a very small amount of Dove dish soap diluted in water and try that.

Spray the bilge, dump some water in the bilge and go for a sail.

Throw you dirty dishes in there as well...(LOL)

My two cents

cheers

[pcmm]

When I got my boat the bilge had 40 years of grime, oil residue and all sort of other dirt in it. First week we had the boat we dumped a couple of bags of small pet betting into the bilge and left it there (we were on the hard at the time) By the end of the week it had leached almost all the grime and dirt out. all we had to do was scoop it out into garbage bags to dispose. The rest we got with a bucket of hot water and "LA's Totally Awesome" cleaner dumped into it. I don't know whats in that cleaner but it literally melts the dirt way. Bilge and keel area have been much much cleaner since then!

[djdeakyne]

Discovered by accident. I was using Denatured Alcohol to clean up bilge engine oil. Using a rag works but leaves a smeary finish. Didn't have a rag handy so grabbed a bilge pad that was sitting close.


The Methyl Alchohol doesn't actually dissolve the oil but for some reason, the Metho/Oil mixture is chemically bonded to the bilge pad, or the pad provides an affinity to the Metho/Oil.


Don't know why it works but it leaves a squeaky clean surface.
Metho is a mild irritant but nowhere near as bad as using Acetone or MEK in a confined space.



Also, any Metho left on the surface or in the pad evaporates quickly and then all that's left in the pad is the oil.

[Num1fireman]

Easy off oven cleaner.. let sit over night and pressure wash in the am... no aluminum... works like magic

[Moosemiester]

Dishwasher detergent works great. Doesn’t require a lot of scrubbing and easily removed, wear rubber gloves if you have soft skin.

[SV Confianza]

If it’s hard to reach, let whatever you use slosh around for a week while sailing for the agitation.

Also, nice boat! We had an s2 9.2c and loved it very much.

[LadyAnn]

Trisodiumphosphate (TSP) is a cleaner I stumbled on for my bildge cleaning issues.

[Captain Steve]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned De-Oil-It, (https://hydrocarbon-degrader.deoilit.com/) which is available in a small spray bottle but is also used for large oil spills as it is environmentally safe. I have used it in my business for the past 20 years. Good for cleaning engine compartments and bilges, good for the little oil sheen on the water after pumping a bilge from a boat that has an old Perkins diesel engine. I usually buy it by the concentrated gallon and dilute it in a spray bottle. Good for cleaning oil off concrete floors or my porch before my wife sees it! A client had a diesel spill get into a 200 gallon gelcoat lined water tank in his boat and repeated flushing with soapy water by the boatyard couldn't get the smell out of the water. The manufacturer of De-Oil-It recommended putting several gallons in the tank with water and leaving for a few days -- never had a chance to try it as the boat left town.

[spoolin01]

As anyone who's tried to unclog a stubborn shower drain finds out, it's hard to beat sodium hydroxide/Easy-Off (original formulation)/Draino (original formulation) if the goal is cutting greasy crud with minimal mechanical assistance. I like the crystals over liquid formulations, for lesser spill risk. Add the crystals to the area, followed by the minimum needed hot water for best action. If you can observe what's going on and depending on the size of the job, start with a few tablespoons, and escalate the amount as seems necessary. It's not as hard to work with safely as some imply. Just don't get it on you, and wear a respirator if you can't avoid sharing a confined space with the fumes. Final rinsing with plain water, or mild acid like vinegar removes any residual caustic hazard. It will attack aluminum aggressively, releasing hydrogen gas, so don't do that.

[Lou-In-NJ]

**UPDATE**
This past Spring I did my regular inspection of the bilge area, and I really wasn't satisfied with the cleaning I was able to do over the past few seasons; so I thought I would take the small power washer I have, down the boat and see what I could do with that, and that proved to be better than any of the soap/chemical/solvent products I had tried in the past, and better than the garden hose at the boat yard.

For one thing, the small pressure washer only uses 1.2 gallons per minute, so it's hard to flood the bilge while you're cleaning it. Secondly, at that limited volume, it keeps the spray of water, that can get areas that you prefer not to get wet, to a minimum.

Finally, it removed decades of gunk, formed by oils, soap residue, dirt and dust, and the power washer broke down the grime enough so it didn't clog the bilge pump. So for those who cannot remove the sole of their boat, a small power washer and a flash light, is probably the best solution for cleaning out your bilge.