How do I clean the bilge

[Sea Mitch]

I have a '93 23' GW walkaround with two bilge pumps, fore and aft. I had a strong gas smell in the bilge so I had the marina check it out. They noticed a loose vent hose so they tightened it. They suggested I clean the bilge to make sure the smell went away. How do I clean this. I've read some prior threads so I figured out that I have to pour some biodegradable cleaner down there, but how much water do I add, how do I scrub, if necessary, and how do I get the water out. I'm as green as they come when it comes to boat repair! Hopefully I won't screw something up.

 

[QC]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

In or out of the water? <br /><br />Out of the water, I use dish washing soap and a ton of water (hose) and let it drain out of the drain hole. I run the bilge pumps to give them and the hoses a little cleaning too, but of course that's on my trailer in the driveway, so it drains just like I was washing the car.<br /><br />If it is in the water, then I guess someone else can give you some ideas . . . I'd use 409 and some rags, but a biodegradable soap and the method I described above could work too.

 

[Sea Mitch]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

Thanks Quietcat, it's in the water. It's got a few access ports, I'd need some kind of tool I guess to get in there and scrub around.

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

It really depende on how dirty or greasy you bilge is.If you have an outboard,then your bilge probably does not have any substantial amount of grease in it so I would recommend getting some Fantastic or dish detergent and use the pressure of a garden hose to do the cleaning.Finish off with a bleach and water solution to kill any mold or mildew in there.If you have an i/o then access will be a problem along with some caked grease.For this I would recommend Castrol degreaser for parts and driveways or greased lightning or I had great results with a product called Simply awesome from a .99 cent store.You will have to saturate all the dirty and greasy areas and either scrub with a deck brush or power wash.Like I said,it really depends what the bilge looks like.Some people can get away with adding "bilge cleaner" from the marine store and combining it with water and driving their boat around for the day letting it slosh around in the bilge.Charlie

 

[Buttanic]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

Zep cleaner and degreaser available at Home Depot or Lowes or Power Clean at Auto Zone.

 

[Sea Mitch]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

It's an outboard and it's not very greasy at all. In fact it looks pretty clean, it just smells of gas. Fantastic followed by a bleach and water solution sounds perfect. How does the water drain out? How much water should I put in the bilge? Should I be afraid of sinking it? Are there usually sections in the bilge or is it one big area so I can put the hose in one end and it'll slosh all around down there. Any problems with the batteries or wires or other stuff down there that shouldn't be real wet? Sorry for the dumb questions.

 

[Surffx]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

Q: How does the water drian out?<br /><br />A1: You could syphan it out in to containers for prober disposal (if it has cleaning chemicals or bleach in it)<br /><br />A2: You could use a Shop Vac A.K.A. wet/dry vac and again dispose of properly.

 

[QC]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

If it is in the water the only way to drain your bilge is the pumps . . .

 

[whblaylock]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

I have always used a bilge cleaner that is available thru this site and many others. I think star brite makes it. My boat is in the water too and I put in a healthy amt then add water and let it soak and slosh for a little while. As far as the amt of water just don't put so much in that when you are underway it wants to slosh out onto the floor of the boat. Sometimes I need to do it again and sometimes I will need to scrub a little but this stuff is designed to work without alot of scrubbing. It is also said to be safe to pump into the lake although what gets carried out might not be but I pump it out just the same. The bilge is usually one section and serves many purposes from being a gathering place for water and a routing area for cables and wires. Keeping a bilge dry is hard in most boats so getting it wet is a usual thing and the wires and cables that may lie on the floor will tolerate alot of moisture. Leaving alot of water in a bilge during lay up time is usually not good because the moisture will end up in places that overtime will cause problems from corrosion to mildew etc... Usually what is left that the pump can't remove will be okay especially if you leave something open that will allow air to circulate thru that area during lay up. wh

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

First Boat.There should be a pump in the rear of the compartment called a bilge pump.There should be a switch somewhere on the dash for it.There may also be an automatic switch near the pump.Charlie

 

[Sea Mitch]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

Thanks everyone! There is a switch on the dash for the bilge pump. It also goes on automatically when there's too much water down there (I think). I hope the batteries hold out. I'll get some biodegradible stuff and pour it down there. Then I'll add some water with a hose until the bilge pumps start. Hopefully they'll be working and able to pump the water out.<br /><br />Should I disconnect the batteries so the water and cleaner sits down there for a while without being pumped out or is that a bad idea.

 

[jaxsun]

Re: How do I clean the bilge

drop some air fresheners down there and call it good