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Old 05-20-2019, 03:41 PM   #1
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Toilet smell

Purchased a MS 34 T two years ago. The toilet had a smell when flushed.
The smell got better briefly when I back flushed the raw water intake with a hose. When smell returned I changed the raw water intake hose. This stopped the smell for about 6 mo. but has now returned. Since purchase I have been in fresh water if that makes a difference. I assume the smell is coming from the walls of the raw water hose. Is there a hose with a special lining to prevent a smelly substance from attaching to the hose walls etc. Help!
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Old 05-20-2019, 04:02 PM   #2
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Keith, do you notice any difference in the smell between the first flush when you go to the boat vs after a couple of flushes when the boat is being used?
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Old 05-20-2019, 04:08 PM   #3
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If it smells bad by the head after the first flush and then gets better it is from the stagnant water sitting in the water intake hose from the seacock to the head. The real fix is to go to a freash water flush head. The micro organisms die while sitting in the intake hose due to lack of oxygen then they decay ans start to smell. If the smell is coming out of the holding tank vent then the cause is usually lack of oxygen in the holding tank. Remove any filter in the vent hose and try to get more air into the tank and the smell will go away when it has enough oxygen.
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Old 05-20-2019, 04:31 PM   #4
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MS 34Ts are notoriously bad for smelly holding tanks due to poor ventilation.
I just did a head rebuild w a impeller / seal kit. Took the whole unit home to flush it well. I was amazed at how much "stuff" came out of the inlet hose and the bowl rim and we are also in fresh water.
I used to get a smell at the head after flush but believe it was at least partially from the holding tank as we could hear s gurgling after flushing and assume the poor vent allowed some tank pressure to push vapors back to the head.
I switched to NoFlex and added a tank bubbler and it made a huge improvement. During layup I figured out how to run a larger / straighter vent from bow to holding tank. Anxious to see if that helps even more.
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Old 05-20-2019, 04:47 PM   #5
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Your description of the problem sounds like the problem is originating in the toilet intake line. This should eliminate odor from it: Remove the intake line from the thru-hull (close the seacock first!) and stick it into a bucket of water to which you've added a quart of distilled white vinegar. Flush the entire bucketful through the toilet.

If that doesn't do the trick and especially if you see black flecks in the flush water coming out the rim of the bowl, there has to be some dead and decaying animal or vegetable sea life trapped in the hose or possibly in the channel in the rim of the bowl. Best solution for that will be a new intake hose. A plain ol' Shields or Trident flex PVC (the least expensive sanitation hose) will be fine for this--and btw, the size needed is 3/4". If you continue to see black flecks in the bowl after replacing the hose, the culprit is in the channel in the rim of the bowl...it needs to be flushed out with water under pressure (garden hose nozzle is enough). Unless you want water all over the head, 'twould be a good idea to remove the bowl and put it on the dock to do this. You'll need to replace the bowl seal--which you can get from the toilet mfr--if you don't want it to leak when you put it back.


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Old 05-20-2019, 05:23 PM   #6
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Sorry about toilet spelling. The smell does get a little better after several flushes. I am going with Peggy's idea. Much less work than a hose change which was a temp fix. Also I can remove the tank filter to try that. Thanks for all the suggestions!!
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:29 AM   #7
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Bacchus, it's usually a simple matter to modify the tank venting to allow more air exchange. Shortening/straightening the vent line, replacing the vent thru-hull with an open bulkhead thru hull, even "upgrading" the vent from the standard 5/8" to 1" or even 1.5" has become a fairly easy job on most tanks thanks to a little gadget called the Uniseal UNISEAL. Every boat is different, even different model years of the same boat, so I won't post "boilerplate" instructions, but I'll be glad to help you or anyone else figure out how best to do it on YOUR boat if you want me to.


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Old 05-21-2019, 08:44 AM   #8
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If you remove the toilet, you might flip it over and immerse the rim in a vat of white vinegar for a day or two before flushing with rim with fresh water.
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Old 05-21-2019, 08:45 AM   #9
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Bacchus, it's usually a simple matter to modify the tank venting to allow more air exchange. Shortening/straightening the vent line, replacing the vent thru-hull with an open bulkhead thru hull, even "upgrading" the vent from the standard 5/8" to 1" or even 1.5" has become a fairly easy job on most tanks thanks to a little gadget called the Uniseal UNISEAL. Every boat is different, even different model years of the same boat, so I won't post "boilerplate" instructions, but I'll be glad to help you or anyone else figure out how best to do it on YOUR boat if you want me to.


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I did those on a previous boat but Mainship did a very poor job of routing & connecting vents. I have an access plate in the area of fuel fill and FW, fuel & holding tank vents. Only problem is all hose clamps were installed prior to assembling hull to deck and clamps are now "backwards" and screws hidden/unaccessible.
I finally abandoned the holding rank vent and left it in place. Then ran a new, larger hose to a straight thru hull vent placed near the bow so the run is pretty straight to the tank.
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:22 AM   #10
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I installed masterflush fresh water toilets and eliminated the Y valve. Then I repurposed the direct overboard hose to an additional vent for the holding tank. With no quantitative evidence, it seems that everything is working better. No stink at the toilet, pumping out seems faster.
Thanks Peggy!
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Old 05-21-2019, 10:59 AM   #11
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If it smells bad by the head after the first flush and then gets better it is from the stagnant water sitting in the water intake hose from the seacock to the head. .
I had this problem (Brackish water here). A couple of 1" Bromine tablets in the strainer from a Pool/Spa store (or Amazon) completely cured the problem..
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Old 05-22-2019, 08:37 AM   #12
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I had this problem (Brackish water here). A couple of 1" Bromine tablets in the strainer from a Pool/Spa store (or Amazon) completely cured the problem..
Bear in mind you want to limit any exposure of plastics to that stuff. It'll weaken most plastics if they're not designed to be exposed to bromine. This I know from taking ownership of a hot tub that the previous owner misused bromine in it. More is not better.

This holds true for all kinds of cleaners and such when it comes to the fiberglass, plastics and vinyls found in boats. What "works" today turns out to be a nightmare down the road when it causes the materials to fail because of leaching out the things that made the materials work. Always check that any products you use are actually safe for the materials.
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Old 05-22-2019, 09:01 AM   #13
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Plastic Hot tub jets very sensitive th Ph... I swear they make them intentionally that way to be a replacement item as other plastic parts in the jets are OK. One piece fails... toss & replace
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Old 05-22-2019, 09:34 AM   #14
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Plastic Hot tub jets very sensitive th Ph... I swear they make them intentionally that way to be a replacement item as other plastic parts in the jets are OK. One piece fails... toss & replace
While planned obsolescence is always a factor, truth be told it's difficult to make plastic pieces cost-effectively that'll withstand constant immersion in treated hot water. Sure, for lab and factory setups there's options but those are seriously expensive; more than the market will bear for residential hot tub installs.
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Old 05-22-2019, 09:34 AM   #15
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I thought it was chlorine bleach that was bad for plastic and bromine that was benign.....?
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Old 05-22-2019, 01:39 PM   #16
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CLORINE is destructive to rubber as well as plastics...and bleach (sodium hypochlorite) isn't the only type of chlorine...halogen is one, bromine is type of halogen. Hypochlorous acid is yet another type of chlorine. An occasional dose of any of 'em not left in the system very long is one thing, but a "steady diet" of any of 'em is not only destructive to plastics, but highly destructive to rubber. So I'd remove the bromine tabs from your intake strainer and use a bucket of water to which a quart of distilled white vinegar has been added to clean out your intake hose and bowl channel as needed. Or upgrade your toilet to one designed to use pressurized fresh water. Both Raritan and Jabsco offer "conversion" kits that replace everything south of the bowl.



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Old 06-07-2019, 07:00 PM   #17
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Lots of comments on venting the waste holding tank. Very important to install a vent to both port and starboard side. This allows cross ventilation and maintains good levels of oxygen in the tank.

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Old 06-07-2019, 07:45 PM   #18
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Lots of comments on venting the waste holding tank. Very important to install a vent to both port and starboard side. This allows cross ventilation and maintains good levels of oxygen in the tank.

Unfortunately, most of us are stuck with what the builder did to begin with. Mine has one vent line that is too small, too long, and had a cowled fitting on the hull. Very common. I have changed the hull fitting to just a simple open mushroom but of course it would be idea to increase the size of the vent line as well as add another one on the opposite side of the boat. However, it would be a pretty challenging task on my boat.

It was frankly much easier (and likely cheaper) for me to add a bubbler to the holding tank for an O2 source.
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Old 06-07-2019, 08:03 PM   #19
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As Peggy said, with an Uniseal, two larger diameter vent line can be added to almost any holding tank made of plastic or metal. Ports can be bonded to fiberglass. I prefer spin welding fittings to poly tanks but that is dependent on router access to the tank.

Uniseals are very reliable for a long time.
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Old 06-07-2019, 08:07 PM   #20
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Unfortunately, most of us are stuck with what the builder did to begin with. Mine has one vent line that is too small, too long, and had a cowled fitting on the hull. Very common. I have changed the hull fitting to just a simple open mushroom but of course it would be idea to increase the size of the vent line as well as add another one on the opposite side of the boat. However, it would be a pretty challenging task on my boat.

It was frankly much easier (and likely cheaper) for me to add a bubbler to the holding tank for an O2 source.
A bubbler will do the job extremely well. Have done it on a previous boat with great success.
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