Heads - they smell pretty awful

[Modulation]

and I can't understand why! I clean and wash the heads compartment every month - I'm a weekend user only - and still the smell like the lav in Trainspotting. No leaks but the problem seems worse in warmer weather.
Could it be the pipework? It's 12 years old.

<hr width=100% size=1>Brendan

 

[jimi]

Have you got a holding tank that you're unaware of?

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[HeadMistress]

The intake for your toilet is most likely the source of your odor...sea water, which is alive with micro-and not so micro-organisms, sits in the intake hose and stagnates...those same sea organisms get left in the channel in the rim of the bowl to die and decay...the result, especially in warm weather, is odor that will knock you off your feet...especially, the first couple of flushes after the boat has sat for a few days.

Otoh...when was the last time--if ever--you cleaned your shower sump? A wet dirty sump smells WORSE than a sewer.

<hr width=100% size=1>Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987

 

[maxi]

Take 10 seconds out, just to have a close-up smell of your inlet/outlet pipes. Most of them only last a couple of years before letting smells permeate through, and they appear to be thoroughly steeped in these odours which they give off all the time.

You may need nothing more than new flexible pipes.

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[Sunnyseeker]

stagnent sea water, as the others have said. We added a sea blue system to the inlet pipe, a small container that holds a solid anti bacterial cleaner you can replace, but lasts 6 months, this stops the inlet smelling then if we left the boat for any more than a day allways flush through with fresh water and a detergent so that theres nothing nasty in the pump or outlet/rim/bowl etc. It smelt of roses..almost

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[Talbot]

The most important thing to do to delay your loo pipes being permeated by the smell, is to make sure you flush adequately. It is best if the pipes from loo to outlet are as short as possible (less pumps required for complete flush!). Suggest that you do a pipe change as soon as possible - but dont pull the pipes off the sea cock while the boat is afloat cause the cock may be leeaking - especially if it is a gate valve

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[Birdseye]

The inlet problem if you have one, is relatively short lived ie a few flusshes after the boat has stood for a while clears the problem. And the smell is of hydrogen sulphide rather than urine / ammonia since it comes from the anaerobic decay of micro organisms (apparently!)

if your loo smells like a train station urinal, then the problem is likely to be small leaks at pipe joints or even a crack in a plastic fitting as I once had in an RM69. unless there is something obvious, then the best approach I found was to totally strip and clean the system, remaking all joints and replacing all flexible pipes. bit of a pain, and not the nicest job. but the reward was a boat toilet that didnt smell like most boat toilets.

other minor issue - unless you have a remarkably good aim / giro stabilisation of the ........, sit down to pee girly fashion. odd splashes get in odd places and are difficult to clean completely. hope you dont mind me saying that!

<hr width=100% size=1>this post is a personal opinion, and you should not base your actions on it.

 

[gtmoore]

I've just had the same problem which turned out not to be the toilet at all. I replaced all the pipes again in desperation (only did it a couple of years ago) and I don't have the inlet pipe full of seawater problem because I have a T piece and seacock with a length of pipe that I use to flush fresh water through the whole system before I leave the boat.

I eventually traced the nasty niff to where some trapped seawater under the heads moulding had sat - right next to the log skin fitting. Obviously when pulling the log to clean it I was getting a fair bit of sea water in and I was a bit lax about cleaning up afterwards. After a good flush of warm soapy water and Toilet duck all seems to be fine again.

Like you say though - it's much worse when in warm weather and it really does smell like a toilet!

<hr width=100% size=1>Gavin

 

[AndrewB]

Peggie is far too modest to mention it, but do a web search on her name for a host of good advice over many forums on this problem. Also see if you can find her book "Get Rid of Boat Odors: A Boat Owners Guide to Marine Sanitation Systems and Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor" - recommended.

 

[HeadMistress]

If the odor is confined to the head, it's not likely to be due to permeated hoses...there'd be odor in any area the hoses pass through.

If only stagnant sea water in the head intake is the source of odor, it will diminish after flushing enough to flush it all out. However, if any marine life has become trapped in the head intake line or the channel in the rim of the bowl, the odor can last. I've found dead minnows, jelly fish...the worse EVER was a baby squid! Even weeds can do it. If you spend much time in waters that are full of animal or vegatable sea life, it would be wise to install a strainer in the head intake...strainers are a lot easier to clean out than hoses and bowl channels.

Gavin is right, though...trapped water anywhere--not only just in a sump--will stink...so check around the base of your toilet for signs of moisture.

It's also possible for odor from inside the head discharge to escape through the bowl if the joker valve is worn out...joker valves only last a year or two before the slit ceases to be a slit any more and becomes an open hole.

Thanks for the kind words, Andrew! And since you were also kind enough to mention my book, modesty only goes so far! It's available from Amazon UK or, if you don't like their price, from a number of US sources including my publisher at http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detail.tpl?fno=400&group=327



<hr width=100% size=1>Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987

 

[Vara]

Do you have a teak grating in heads?
After similar problem new pipes all the usual remedies(thanks Peggy).
Finally traced to this,bleached it and varnished,last vestige of odour gone.
SWMBO suggested a sitting only rule might also have solved the problem/forums/images/icons/frown.gif

<hr width=100% size=1>If it can't be fixed with a lump hammer dont fit it!

 

[VicS]

Re: Sit? Why not kneel?

Kneeling is also a satisfactory method of connecting the male plumbing to the ships plumbing and requires less disrobing.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=purple>Ne te confundant illegitimi.</font color=purple>

 

[cliff]

Re: Sit? Why not kneel?

I thought that was what cockpit drains were for! quick widdle then sluice it away with a bucket of sea water.

Either that or stand on the transom, holding onto the backstay, and cast all to the wind.

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[Boathook]

Our heads are washed / wiped down after every weekend with disinfectant. Also 'flush' the lav. well after every use. For our baby blake this means at least 3 flushes after removal of the deposited goods !

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[HeadMistress]

Put a quart or two clean fresh water, followed by a cupful of white vinegar, down it at the end of each weekend. The fresh water will rinse the "pong" AND sea water-both of which can stink--out of the discharge hose...the vinegar will help to reduce, or prevent entirely--mineral buildup in the hose. Do NOT leave vinegar sitting in the bowl, though...when soft rubber--namely your joker valve--is allowed to soak in vinegar it swells up and distorts.

<hr width=100% size=1>Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987

 

[dickh]

The ONLY way to cure this problem is to flush FRESH water through the loo & pipes as you leave the boat. I have a seperate 20l container near the seacocks with a Tee Piece & Ball valve as close to the inlet seacock as possible. When I leave the boat I turn off the inlet seacock, open the ball valve, insert the loose hose from the Tee piece into the container and pump fresh water through. Turn off the ball valve and Outlet seacock and hey presto - NO SMELLS!! Since doimng this I can leave the boat for several weeks and on first pump out NO SMELLS!
I replaced all the hoses with No Smell type and fitted an in-line deodoriser - all to no avail. As others have said - the smell comes from micro-organisms in the Inlet pipe.

<hr width=100% size=1>dickh
I'd rather be sailing... /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[HeadMistress]

Dick is absolutely right. However, an easier alternative to jugs--IF your boat is plumbed to allow it to be done, and many are--is one I've posted here before : tee or wye the head sink drain line into the head intake line (in fact, several sailboat builders even do this to eliminate a thru-hull). Flushing all the sea water out only requires closing the seacock and filling the sink with fresh water water. Because the seacock is closed, the toilet will pull the water out of the sink. This does, however, require keeping a plug in the sink except when its in use...otherwise, the toilet will pull air through it and can't prime.

If the head intake and sink drain plumbing don't make this practical, Dick's solution is the next best thing.

<hr width=100% size=1>Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987

 

[Miker]

I've just spotted this thread. Thanks for the welcome advice as my toilet niffs a bit too despite any amount of pumping!

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[Robin]

Sooner or later.....

.......they all do, we are currently in our 3rd season of remission but take each day as it comes!

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>