David asked: > People are recommending things to mop up the oily water in my bilge but > there isn't any. What I do have is a kind of oily slime which I'd like to > mop out. > Fairy Liquid has been recommended but AFAIAA it contains salt which would be > possibly an unwise substance to introduce into a metal environment. > > <http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Science/Question422885.html> > > So, my question boils down to: > > 1) is there a salt-free detergent I can wash the oily (water-free) gunge off > with? > > 2) how do I dispose of the resulting bucket of filthy slops in an > environmentally-friendly manner? (*) >
Dave, My experience in the motor trade would suggest Jizer or Gunk type products but it depends on how thick your slime is. If it is thick enough to scrape up, and you have adequate access, then that may get rid of much of it into newspapers. If it is just a film, or after your scraping just a residue, then Gunk or Jizer will work but then should be diluted with water after working into the area and the residue mopped up. Another product that will work but is more expensive and will evaporate from any cloths that you use to wipe out the softened residue is Brake and Clutch Cleaner (from a motor factor or motorists' shop). In this case the cloths that you use will have the oil impregnated in them but the B&C cleaner will evaporate out. I cannot guarantee that Gunk or Jizer are salt free but, during use on any metals I have never seen any evidence of accelerated corrosion other than the fact that the oily protection has now been removed from the metal surface. As to disposing of the residue, that is not so easy to answer these days. It depends on the amount of oil content I suppose. I don't see any real environmental risk with a domestic householder putting the odd oily rag into the bin. If you're talking a great deal more than that then it may be worth you talking to the boatyard as they will have to comply with the relevant legislation and should have facilities for doing so. You might find that they want you to make a donation as it costs a lot of money to dispose of waste these days and they may wish you to offset the extra load on their waste disposal with a small contribution. ;-)) >From my experience your scenario of a bucket of mixed (water/degreaser/oil/grease) slops will be the most difficult to dispose of as it comes under the heading of mixed waste oil and is about as popular with recyclers as a dose of Aids. Try to minimise the amount of this type of waste that you generate if at all possible and don't pour it into the marinas waste oil tank without checking with them first as, often, the oil recyclers will increase the charges to the marina for collection of waste oil if it contains water and other, non-oil, products. I believe that oil recyclers often use chemical analysis to ascertain whether a mixed load has been slipped into a waste oil tank. HTH Roger
