Stus-List Re: Smelly bilge water

[Dave S via CnC-List]

Could it not just be stagnant fresh water? Not a problem here as the boat is covered and any water would be solid, but maybe a box of baking soda dumped in the bilge in the fall would change the ph enough and make any accumulating water unfriendly to bacteria.   I change the oil absorber every two seasons or so, and I keep a layer of the oil absorbing sheets under the engine. A few times during the season I set the oil sponge aside, and I half-fill the bilge sump (it holds around 5 gal or more) with fresh water andsplash In Some detergent.  I scrub it with a brush with a suitable-length handle, pump it out. When I leave the boat,  I lift the floorboard above to sump to maximize air movement. Hope this helps.   Other Dave  33-2 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 14, 2021, at 12:01 PM, David Knecht via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: I was at the boat yesterday and pumped out the water that had accumulated in the bilge due to rain over the winter.  I used the hand pump into a bucket and noticed that the water was really smelly.  I have an oil treating pad in there (Clean Waters Microbial Bilge pad) but that was from last spring so likely beyond its usable lifetime. I am wondering if the smell is likely from bacteria/algae growing on some oil in the bilge water.  I have not been putting a cleaner/detergent in the bilge because I was afraid it would interfere with the action of the Bilge pad.  I probably should have put some Simple Green in the bilge in the Fall when the boat was moved to the hard.  What do others do to prevent this kind of odor?   Dave S/V Aries 1990 C&C 34+ New London, CT

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Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the 
costs involved.  If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to 
send contribution --   https://www.paypal.me/stumurray  Thanks - Stu