Smelly heads

Marlene

Well-Known Member
Joined
2 Jul 2015
Messages
143
Visit site
What do people use to combat the smell from a sea loo, trying to save the planet I am using the Ecover products but the toilet is sti kng the boat out.
 
Would be useful to know which loo and age. Switching to freshwater flush will remove 75% of problem. After that you need to look downstream. I wouldn't bother with the book linked to above.
 
It's the seawater inlet hose 90% of the time and if it's the Jabsco manual then it's always the culprit. In the inlet pipe, just above the seacock, fit an inline filter but remove the stainless mesh and periodically put in a toilet fresh cube. That means that the hose is regularly sanitised - the vile smell comes from bacteria and this way you kill them.
 
I had to change the sea water in and flush pipes on mine to get rid of the smell, has been fine for nearly 4yrs now.
That was an acrid smelling job!
 
This product was featured in this month's MBY

http://www.seasmartmarine.co.uk/

I have no personal experience of it so I have no idea whether it works but it might be worth a look. Otherwise agree with the others in that freshwater flushing is the way to go

The other thing is that it might not be the toilet at all which is giving off the odour but the pipework. Builders often use bilge water quality hose when they should use sanitation quality hose and the hoses become porous over time particularly on those pipe runs which have slack gradients and in which the waste water may not flow very well. Get a piece of kitchen paper and rub it on the outside of the hoses. If the paper smells you may have porous pipework and its worth considering replacing it but as I say do use sanitation quality hose
 
Pump out the seawater then fill up with fresh water from a kettle or something. We found the seawater became smelly but freshwater remained neutral.
If it is not from the loo then it must be the piping.
 
... In the inlet pipe, just above the seacock, fit an inline filter ...
I do the same, but with a Milton tablet and leave the mesh intact. Flush until you can smell chlorine, leave for a few minutes, then flush through.

Incidentally, I read a lot of stuff that Peggy Hall (The Head Mistress) had written, none of it worked in my case. As stated above, the problem is in the inlet.
 
Last edited:
Particular problem in the Med with sometimes long periods between visits and warm climate. Problem for most is in the inlet pipe which breads nasties while we are away.
We discovered this total cure some years ago. It's a bit of a 'faff' before leaving the boat but is a total cure and leaves the inlet with fresh water and also leaves the motorised pump with fresh water which is less likely to corrode the innards.
No smells for over 5 years now.
See:
http://www.leesan.com/uploaded_files/datasheets/fresh water flush it kit.pdf
 
Top