Smelly loo

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southace26

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G''day all
I have fitted a basic hand pump loo to my yacht,I find the main smell comes from the salt water inlet perhaps alge and weedy smell rather than toliet smells,My thoughts are to perhaps T the water inlet to my fresh water tanks so I have the option of flushing with fresh water,I would say it would only use about half a litre to flush so it wouldnt be to much waste of fresh.......any thoughts or replys will be much appreciated...
 
If you loo hasn't been flushed for a week, bacteria/algae build up in the inlet pipes and your next few flushes will have a fine 'rotten eggs' tinge to them.

The easiest solution is to ignore the problem - it'll go away after three or four flushes. The next easiest solution is to do a really long start - up flush, till it runs smell free!
 
I had a fresh water flushing loo on my last boat and it was wonderfully smell-free. If you're not concerned about water consumption then do it. If you want to also retain the option to use salt water be sure that you can't accidently contaminate your fresh water tanks via a leaking valve. Also make sure the redundent salt water pipe doesn't have stagnant water sitting in it when not in use.
Slightly off subject, clear (see-through) piping from seacock to bog causes more smell because of the sunlight encouraging bacterial activity.
 
My loo used to really smell but now every time I leave the boat I flush with fresh water and problem solved. Luckily I have a pull out shower tap in the sink so it is dead easy to squirt about a litre of fresh water into the Lavac and pump it away. Also when the bowl is empty I give it a squirt of Tesco bathroom cleaner. Makes it smell really clean!
 
You are correct, it is the inlet that pongs...

Depending on your loo and how much you enjoy taking things apart you can give it a clean by closing the skin fitting, removing the hose and getting your pipe cleaners out.

The there's the daring open the skin fitting and give that a good scrub, then close it. Put hose back on. Smell gone.

Perhaps try closing the inlet when you leave the boat, pump it dry and then back fill it with something sweet smelling by removing the pump end of the hose if possible /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I get round the problem with regular use and also once a week putting some hot washing up liquid laced water through it and flushing.

Good luck!

Ben
 
Steredent tablets work great on our boat, they come in tablet form for sterilising dentures. Stick one in your head each year and it kills anything that has formed. We have never had a problem with smelly loos and that's probably why. Also, I would be very wary of using domestic toilet cleaner as it will probably attack the hose fitting.

One way to test if the hose is ok, run a damp cloth over it and sniff - if there is anything nasty then your hose is not designed for purpose and you should replace with a black water hose.
 
if it's a lavac don't open it until you've given it a good pumping. If it's not a lavac put some clingfilm over it and again pump away all the smelly water before opening. I leave a skoosh of toilet duck in ours when away for more than a day or so.
 
I'm not a loo expert, but the previous boat loo expert (the now retired Peggy) always used to say that under no circumstances must your fresh drinking water supply be connected to your loo because of the risk of contamination.

Her suggested solution was to take water from your washbasin outlet and T it into the loo inlet. Before you leave the boat flush the loo with some freshwater from the basin. You'd need a valve in the line from the basin to the loo inlet so that when the basin was empty you're not sucking in air. The air gap provided by the basin in the water supply is sufficient to prevent contamination.

Do a search on posts by user headmistress.
 
OK. Here's my experience.

If you get a bad smell when you first flush after being away from the boat, it is correct that this is the bacteria in the INLET side. They cause something that smells like rotten eggs as a by-product of whatever they do.

Flushing several times will only help if the contamination is minor as you will be flushing water through that has no by-products in and diluting the problem. However, once you go away from the boat, you may well end up with the problem when you return.

If it doesn't go away, the first thing to consider is changing the inlet pipe as it may be too badly contaminated with bacteria.

To be honest, for the price of a bit of pipe, I can't see the point in dismantling and flushing the inlet side and putting the original pipe back the first time you do this. You may want to clean what you can see of the skin fitting and toilet bowl inlet side whilst the pipe is off.

Using specific pipe is supposed to hinder the reappearance of the bacteria.

Having got the best inlet side you can, you may find that the problem reappears in the short or long term. Depending upon the frequency of this, you may want to repeat the above process or consider one of the inline systems that treat the water as it enters the inlet pipe.

Putting things in the loo itself - washing up liquid, bleach, etc - will only clean and/or descale the bowl and the outlet side but will do nothing for the inlet side where the problem lies. Some of these products could also harm the marine environment or damage the seals on the pump and the outlet side leaving you with more smells than you started with!!

As someone else mentioned, leesan do the pipe and the system you may require or you may find something similar elsewhere. Bear in mind that domestic systems may not work in a salt-water environment.

I am also on the side of keeping the loo systems completely separate from the fresh water for obvious reasons.

Bit on the long side but hope it helps.

Cheers

D
 
Won't help the inlet side, but as a general reducer of pongs, I am a convert to use of white vinegar in bowl & flush thru before leaving the boat. Picked up the tip on this site & used the last two seasons- very effective & pretty inexpensive.
 
I endorse Jims post - on boarding the boat open the loo seacocks and flush all the stagnant water from the system. Thereafter your loo will be sweet smelling.

The biology is natural and to be expected. Upon leaving the boat you've closed the cocks. The aerobic bacteria have gone about their business until all oxygen was exhausted. Then the anaerobes took over - their waste product is hydrogen peroxide (bad eggs)

Flush it through and you'll be fine for your cruise - no need to buy products that will damage the marine environment.

White vinegar is to dissolve the calcium like build-up which is a reaction with urine and seawater and a separate issue.

ps. I swear my jabsco will be the death of me. Howcome despite the instructions of nothing but No 1 and No 2, when the loo jams up with other stuff, muggins here has to dismantle the bloody thing???
 
The pong comes from the inlet hose. I have found that if you disconnect the inlet hose at the toilet (Jabsco) and connect a freshwater hose (obviously you have to be alongside for this) and blast through to sea for a couple of minutes, this will keep things sweet for a few weeks. It is a good idea to do this if you are leaving the boat for a while. One reason we changed to Jabsco toilet is swmbo hates lavacs as she says they stink.
 
well lucky you. Trust me. Lavacs STINK. Plus the seat soon becomes very unsavoury with the rubber seal sticking, After you flush it is wet and unhygienic. Ok for the lads but the ladies HATE them. Ask any swmbos.
 
For what it is worth ... I fitted a new loo 12 - 18 months ago. The instructions said when leaving the boat flush it with fresh water and pump out. So everytime I leave boat I pour any remaining water from the kettle or water carrier or anything down the loo, pump it all out, close up inlet and outlet seacocks. It never has bad egg smell. Wouldn't like to use bleach or other toilet cleaners for reasons given above. Tip given to me by old seadog is to pour vegetable oil down loo every now and then to lubricate the works. Think vinegrette, vinegar to clean, oil to lubricate.
 
Wife hates Lavacs. And she got fed up with pumping the Jabsco (we're getting old and creaky), and with the stink from the inlet pipe.
So to keep her happy I fitted an electric loo. And flush it from the fresh water supply.
Brilliant. And no pong whatsoever.
(Apart from after I've been in there...!)
 
Yes, this is because they were dealing with the INLET side.

Many people are missing the point - it is the inlet pipe that gets contaminated. The longer you leave it the worse it gets. Anyone who 'cures' a smelly loo by flushing several times or putting stuff in the bowl etc doesn't have the real problem just a temporary one.

Heads treatment systems sold commercially or made by owners always inject fresh water and/or cleaning products as close the the inlet seacock as possible.

Our Lavacs used to stink before the inlet pipes were replaced because they had been on the boat for quite a while before we bought her and, more importantly been unused for ages. This meant that the inlet side water had sat there all that time undisturbed and the dear little bacteria had got themselves into the walls of the pipes and couldn't be flushed out.

If anyone wants info about the various things you can do, look at the Leesan site as it's very helpful and mildy amusing given the subject matter.

Cheers
 
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