Showering aboard- question

[Pineapple Girl]

I'm not sure what section to put this in so I am going with "general."

Ok, so I am used to the sailboat style head where the whole thing IS the shower, and there was an overhead hatch to open for ventilation.* It was really*easy to wipe the*whole thing down after showering. *Now we have a trawler with a separate shower stall, a teak grate floor and a shower curtain.* Whoo hoo, living in style.* The only thing is, after two showers I can already see that the nice shower stall is going to be a problem as it gets a little hot and humid in there (even with the door into the cabin open for better air circulation)*and we already have the mildew thing happening.* There is a window in the head but no overhead hatch.*

Today I pulled up the grate and thoroughly wiped the walls and floors before I left.* What tips and tricks do you have for dealing with the moisture?* At home I always leave the shower curtain closed so it doesn't mildew in the folds but I am afraid on the boat this will make the air circulation worse and cause the whole stall to mildew more.*

Please note we are not living aboard but will spend 2 or 3 nights a week on the boat.

thanks for your input!

 

[bshanafelt]

we open the port in the head as well as the door to vent out as much of the steam as possible - leave it that way until it is gone - usually 10 min or so,

I do use a small squeegee to wipe down all the wet surfaces into the drain afterward.

also, I leave the grate up in the shower pan to air out for an hour or so.

get rid of the water - no mildew.

 

[RT Firefly]

Spray down shower with Tilex and leave it on (the Tilex that is)

 

[Fotoman]

I installed a small ventilation system made of little computer fans. Simple and effective to circulate the air and avoid moisture and odors.

 

[jleonard]

We do similar to bshanafelt*except we have a tub as a base, no grate. We also leave the shower door open for those 10 or so minutes to make sure it gets ventilated.

 

[Keith]

I have the exact same setup. Is your boat air conditioned in hot weather? I live aboard and mine is. I've never had a problem. No special ventilation; I just spray down with Tilex Fresh Shower (NOT regular Tilex) after every or every other shower. This helps it stay clean longer between real scrubbings. About once a month I pull up the grate and scrub down that area. I use a bottle brush and Dow Bathroom Cleaner on the grate to clean as best as I can, then take outside and spray down with either a bleach solution or Mildew Shield - a product from Home Depot. The underside of the grate will get funky no matter what you do because of all those little wood joints. If I ever see anyone with a pressure washer I run down with my grate and blast it off. If nobody shows up with one, I take it to the DIY car wash and blast it there. Overall not a big problem though.

Oh yea, I spray the shower curtain down with the Fresh Shower too. Don't let it stick to the fiberglass after a shower or it will eventually grow critters there.

 

[Steve]

We used to use a squeege on the wet surfaces, but have found that one of those (shamwow type) artificial chamois works better. The floor of our stall is not quite level, some water doesn't make it out of the drain. The absorber soaks it all up as well as drying any other wet surfaces very well. wring it out in the sink and hang it up for the next use.
Steve W

 

[Marin]

We keep the head window open when showering, and when we're done we leave the head door open a bit (there's a hook setting for this). Also, whoever showers last uses their towel after they're dry to wipe down the walls and the grate, which makes the compartment dry out very quickly. We also clean the shower pan fairly frequently to remove soap scum, hair, etc.

I dissassembled our teak shower grate not long after we bought the boat because all the joints were loosening up.* I epoxied the whole thing back together and then "painted" the bare teak with CPES.* This is not something I would normaly do to wood because CPES, like most epoxies, breaks down quickly*under UV light.* Which is why it has to be covered by a UV-resistant finish like varnish, paint, Bristol, etc.

But the shower grate lives in the dark or near-dark 99 percent of the time.* Any sort of finish like varnish, Bristol, etc.*will lift in short order from moisture getting through cracks and joints i the grate*and under the finish.* But CPES soaks into the wood and seals the upper wood cells.* So water can't soak in.*

The end result (over the last eleven or so years) has been a grate that looks like satin-finished teak but sheds water completely instead of soaking it up and then taking a long time to dry out.* And so far the CPES "finish" has shown no signs of breaking down due to UV thanks to the head compartment being dark or almost dark all the time.* Where before the bare wood grate would soak up water and take forever to dry out, the grate now absorbs no water, there is no "finish" to fail and lift off, and it has greatly helped the shower/head compartment to*dry out fast.

-- Edited by Marin on Thursday 9th of September 2010 06:11:31 PM

 

[Datenight]

We have been using liquid soap instaed of bar soap and found it cuts down on the scum in the sump.

Rob
37'Sedan

 

[Forkliftt]

Our head is set up with the same blower that the engine room uses to ventilate with. I think it would be an easy add on. When I switch the blower on both are turned on. I like the idea that it "ventilates" the interior into the engine room which is then drawned outside. There is a ss grate mounted over a hole below the sink. The blower actually mounts inside the engine room but it draws from inside the sink cabinet- effectively pulling from the aft head.

 

[Tom.B]

Datenight wrote:

We have been using liquid soap instaed of bar soap and found it cuts down on the scum in the sump.

Rob
37'Sedan

I thought this was common knowledge. The residue from bar soap resolidifies on the teak, the walls, and in the sump. Liquid soap stays liquid and washes off during your rinse stage

*

 

[Capn Chuck]

Mount a 12 volt Caframo fan on the wall somewhere and keep the air circulating. In 20 years of cruising, that is all we have ever done except keeping the port open whenever we can, and no problems. Chuck

 

[sunchaser]

Or have a high volume exhaust fan. It also comes in handy for clearing odors from other head related activities.*

 

[Pineapple Girl]

thanks for all of the ideas!!

 

[Capn Chuck]

A high volume exhaust fan is going to require a pretty big hole somewhere. Chuck

 

[Pineapple Girl]

Capn Chuck wrote:

A high volume exhaust fan is going to require a pretty big hole somewhere. Chuck

Yeah I am probably not going to be able to do that one.*

*

 

[skipperdude]

Yeah,
I always have to take a deep breath before I cut a hole in da boat.

SD

In the head I just hold that breath.

 

[Pineapple Girl]

skipperdude wrote:

Yeah,
I always have to take a deep breath before I cut a hole in da boat.

SD

In the head I just hold that breath.

LOL I love this board!*

In theory I wouldn't mind the hole to put in the fan, there is just no practical place to put one in this head.** It would either be a toe stubber on the sundeck or a growth on the side of the boat.* Some of the other fan ideas would work.

No AC on the boat, here on the SF bay it doesn't actually get HOT.* I am sure we will bake when we go to the delta.

But at the very least, I have about a zillion shamwows and can certainly wipe out the water and leave doors and hatches open and the grate propped up.* It has some kind of finish on it.* I will have to investigate further to try and figure out WHAT is on it and how good the condition of it is.*

have you seen, they now sell shamwows at Costco?* You get about twice as many for your $20 as what he was always selling them for at the boat show once he "threw some extras in."*

 

[ralphyost]

Pinapple -
It will definitely help if you wipe down as much excess water as you can when the last person showers. We do this regularly, and our tub/shower is painted with an epoxy paint. Clearing out the moisture is needed, and air from any fan will be essential too.
R,

 

[hollywood8118]

We mounted a 110cfm computer fan on a sheet of plastic that fits the port in the master head, it is a surplus piece* (the plastic)* I had from a greenhouse we built. The admiral loves it for both the exhaust feature and the privacy when tied to a dock. I wired a pigtail to the fan and on the recent rewire of the boat installed a outlet in the ceiling right above the fan. The shower dries in minutes* head door left open after a shower. It also works wonders on the nefarious odors created after burrito night!


-- Edited by hollywood8118 on Saturday 11th of September 2010 08:14:48 PM

 

[RT Firefly]

Hiya,
** 8118, GREAT idea!* You have burrito nights?*** Holy crap!!!!!

 

[skipperdude]

Just a thought. What about a fan in the door.

You could make the vent look like a 1/2 moon

SD

 

[hollywood8118]

RT Firefly wrote:

Hiya,
8118, GREAT idea!* You have burrito nights?*** Holy crap!!!!!

did I mention they are shrimp burrito's !!

*

 

[FF]

Nicro marine has a solar 12v, 4 inch vent that runs 24/7 (internal nite battery).

 

[Peter B]

FF wrote:

Nicro marine has a solar 12v, 4 inch vent that runs 24/7 (internal nite battery).

Yes, they do, and they work well, with a solar charge to the Ni-Cad batt during the day that keeps it running at night, and they last for years.* I have one in the hatch of the front cabin where we sleep to keep it fresh even when all closed up.* Works a treat, however, we leave out the battery now because the buzz it makes is intrusive at night.* But for a toilet.........

*

 

[rwidman]

We use the transom shower in the cockpit. There are drains and plenty of natural ventillation. No problem. Using the shower in the head, we would probably have many of the problems mentioned above.

Of course, you probably don't want to do that in a crowded anchorage or at a marina. If we're at a marina we use the marina's showers.

 

[rwidman]

Peter B wrote:


FF wrote:

Nicro marine has a solar 12v, 4 inch vent that runs 24/7 (internal nite battery).

Yes, they do, and they work well, with a solar charge to the Ni-Cad batt during the day that keeps it running at night, and they last for years.* I have one in the hatch of the front cabin where we sleep to keep it fresh even when all closed up.* Works a treat, however, we leave out the battery now because the buzz it makes is intrusive at night.* But for a toilet.........

*


It has a switch, doesn't it"

*

 

[Peter B]

No. Ours didn't anyway - maybe there is a Rolls Royce version that does, but we had to open a flap with Phillips screw and disconnect the battery to stop it at night. Became a pain. but as I implied, probably not an issue in the loo.

 

[JD]

Peter,

I think all of*the newer Nicro's have a switch.* My last two seamed to get a light*ticking sound that was really a PIA.* But they were in the salon so we could not hear it in the aft cabin.

 

[rwidman]

Peter B wrote:

No. Ours didn't anyway - maybe there is a Rolls Royce version that does, but we had to open a flap with Phillips screw and disconnect the battery to stop it at night. Became a pain. but as I implied, probably not an issue in the loo.

Mine has a push button switch but you have to stick your finger in between the fan blades to get to it.* The switch failed and I had to replace it.

*