Flushing bilge after black water overflow

[ScottF]

Can anyone suggest an environmentally friendly way to flush the bilge after a blackwater overflow? We've suctioned out the actual blackwater so now only the stink is left (slight smell to my sense, but big to my wife). I've found that lime is recommended for sewage contamination under a house. We are on a very large lake so the flushed water must be environmentally safe.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Can anyone suggest an environmentally friendly way to flush the bilge after a blackwater overflow? We've suctioned out the actual blackwater so now only the stink is left (slight smell to my sense, but big to my wife). I've found that lime is recommended for sewage contamination under a house. We are on a very large lake so the flushed water must be environmentally safe.

Why not use something that *isn't* 'environmentally safe' but does the job properly - but instead of flushing it overboard, hoover it up into some containers and dispose of it appropriately landside?

 

[kashurst]

Oops , made that mistake once many years ago. A couple of big bottles of bleach down there with a few big buckets of water. Swill it all around with a mop as much as possible. Better, go for a drive and do lots of figure of 8 turns to get the bleach into all the nooks and crannies. Leave overnight for the bleach to do its thing. Use a pump and suck it up into the holding tank. Go and get another pump out. Should shift any nasty niffs or lingering bacteria. When you leave the boat, open up any hatches into the bilge and leave the portholes open so everything dries out properly.

 

[piratos]

Can anyone suggest an environmentally friendly way to flush the bilge after a blackwater overflow? We've suctioned out the actual blackwater so now only the stink is left (slight smell to my sense, but big to my wife). I've found that lime is recommended for sewage contamination under a house. We are on a very large lake so the flushed water must be environmentally safe.

I understand you have suctioned out and the area is now "clean and dry" - Crushed coffee beans will do the job.

 

[vas]

Why not use something that *isn't* 'environmentally safe' but does the job properly - but instead of flushing it overboard, hoover it up into some containers and dispose of it appropriately landside?

picking up an not too old thread to ask what would be the NON-environmental friendly liquid please???

I still haven't installed a gauge for my blackwater tank and on my last trip with 9 on board tank filled up overflowed from the 200mm dia access hatch (telltale of dust free runs on two spots around it...) and I now have a few lt of nice smelly brown coloured liquid in the bilges. I can suck it up back in the blackwater tank no problems (other than the smell!) but I need to clean the bleeding mess.
Will be out with the son on the w/e so I can do the 8s and opposite locks, no problem and then I can use the bilge pump to pump overboard way out on the sea, so no issues there.
What should I use?
Not sure bleach on all that timber would be the right solution.

I note the coffee beans for the final stage for the right flavour
Crushed or should I use my 70s italian grounder on a coarse setting piratos??

cheers

V.

 

[Sea Q]

Have heard of 2 boats in New Zealand that had the blackwater tanks rupture; because their vents had blocked.
First they used a shop vac all they could, then washed with fresh water while pumping their bilge.
They then washed it down with a soap mix smell was still there . They didn't want to use bleach because they were worried that any hoses in the bilge could be effected. instead they used a sewage treatment call Noflex Digestor and washed that around with a little water fixed all their problems