Bilge floor cleaning, not the engine

The best cleaner bar none - is Oven Spray Cleaner .... spray on ... leave to foam up ... if you can scrub it a bit then thats great.

After a reasonable period ... wash off with plain water ...

If you use the Bio-Degradable stuff .. not quite as good as the older Phossy based - but still good if repeated,

Just make sure that its well rinsed off after.
 
Those long brushes with an angled end for painting behind radiators can be used. I sometimes tape a rough sided sponge to mine for under the bilge.

Had good results with 'Pink Stuff' recently, very pleased and cheap as chips.
 
Refueler said:
The best cleaner bar none - is Oven Spray Cleaner .... spray on ... leave to foam up ... if you can scrub it a bit then thats great.

After a reasonable period ... wash off with plain water ...

If you use the Bio-Degradable stuff .. not quite as good as the older Phossy based - but still good if repeated,

Just make sure that its well rinsed off after.
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Phossy based ???????

My oven cleaner is a potassium hydroxide gel ( 10- 30% KOH according to the label)
 
VicS said:
Phossy based ???????

My oven cleaner is a potassium hydroxide gel ( 10- 30% KOH according to the label)
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Phosphoric Acid was the GOTO for all sorts of cleaners in years gone by ... generally encountered in very weak fowm .. ie in Fizzy drinks ... but in stronger forms is good rust remover and as was years ago0 - one of the forms of general purpose cleaners for Ovens etc.

KOH - if you get the good stuff is Good.

Trouble is like Cilit Bang - the Greens have got their way and we end up with crap !

Doesn't change the fact that if you have manky bilges - Oven Cleaner is your best - cheapest - easiest cleaner ...
 
simonfraser said:
Plenty of products
issue is floor cleaning under and behind the engine
is the cleaner good enough to just let it soak in and rinse off ?
how does one reach under and scrub the floor ?
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I did this very job last week on my Beneteau 440 and it was a real pain. I used multipurpose cleaning wipes from screwfix and basically just squeezed my arm in at various points and scooped up the crud. I do however still have the scars on the top of my forearm but the engine bilge is now spotless.
 
Just about anything will do unless you have 25mm of baked crud on the floor, like my first boat had! A long brush will be fine, perhaps a cheap bog brush.
 
Sandy said:
Just about anything will do unless you have 25mm of baked crud on the floor, like my first boat had! A long brush will be fine, perhaps a cheap bog brush.
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I learnt the Oven Cleaner trick when need to sort Echo Sounder tube in hull. The old castor had leaked and was resisting all attempts with all the cleaners I could muster ... even turps / white spirit ... nothing was touching it.

Wife said : Oven Cleaner ...

WOW - it lifted it like there was no tomorrow !

In fact it was so clean that with water rinse and dry off - the new tube and resin took to the hull perfectly.
 
After a diesel leak took far too long to track down, resulting in seriously stinky bilges, the only stuff I found that got rid of the stench was Bio Clean. Pour it in, leave it to slop around for a few days and mop it out. It uses bacteria that digest organic stuff like oil and dirt. Why it doesn't digest other organic stuff like rubber pipes is above my pay grade, but it doesn't seem to.
 
Refueler said:
I learnt the Oven Cleaner trick when need to sort Echo Sounder tube in hull. The old castor had leaked and was resisting all attempts with all the cleaners I could muster ... even turps / white spirit ... nothing was touching it.

Wife said : Oven Cleaner ...

WOW - it lifted it like there was no tomorrow !

In fact it was so clean that with water rinse and dry off - the new tube and resin took to the hull perfectly.
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oven cleaner is not going to damage the paint / hoses etc ??
 
Refueler said:
Oh c'mon ... this is daft ...

If using Oven cleaner is going to lift the paint - then I reckon the paint is then lifting anyway ...

I've used OC on bilge painted areas and NEVER had paint lift as if its Paint Stripper !
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Caustic soda is used as a paint striper. It wont remove all types of paint but is very effective at removing ordinary "oil based" paint
Potassium hydroxide will be just as effective.

I said that the potassium hydroxide based oven cleaner I use would make an effective paint stripper ..... It would be as effective as any caustic based paint stripper

I did not suggest that oven cleaners in general would make effective paint strippers only that the one I use would. Read what I actually posted !
 
VicS said:
Caustic soda is used as a paint striper. It wont remove all types of paint but is very effective at removing ordinary "oil based" paint
Potassium hydroxide will be just as effective.

I said that the potassium hydroxide based oven cleaner I use would make an effective paint stripper ..... It would be as effective as any caustic based paint stripper

I did not suggest that oven cleaners in general would make effective paint strippers only that the one I use would. Read what I actually posted !
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Don't start ... the implied of your post was that Oven Cleaner would be a Paint Stripper ... If someone new to this and was none wiser - we have to be careful to not mis-inform. That includes implied content.

I am well aware of what you posted - but as I said - because we are not face to face - the implication of a post can be different.
 
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