Muriatic Acid to clean toilet
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Goldenstar38
Senior Member
Good question and I look forward to the answer.
My neighbors and I have plastic tanks and this acid works well. Curious about the SS tank.
My neighbors and I have plastic tanks and this acid works well. Curious about the SS tank.
Yes...but SewClean Sew Clean ® | TRAC Ecological is a better choice (Raritan private labels it as "C.H. Cleans Hoses.") It'll clean out your head discharge hose too--which, if your bowl is scaly, also have to be even more scaly--It's more expensive than muriatic acid, but a lot safe to handle, plus it's also enviro-friendly. I checked prices including Amazon...Defender at $51.xx is right in there with the lowest, but check with HoPCar...he may be able to do better.
About your tank. Fwiw, urine is so corrosive that the average life of any metal waste tank, even 316 SS, is only about 10 years. They typically start to leak at a weld--seam or fitting within about 5 years as the bottom and sides are gradually turning into a colander... ..and it doesn't matter whether you flush with fresh or salt, what tank product you use, or how often you pump out and rinse out and rinse out. I'm not suggesting that you need to replace it before it can leak, only that you keep a close eye--and your NOSE--on it. The early leaks aren't catastrophic, but the first leak is always be ONLY the first leak...so when it occurs, repairing it will only buy you a little time before you have another one...and another one. I knew one houseboat owner who'd repaired so many leaks in his aluminum tank that he'd just about replaced all the metal with JB Weld!
Meanwhile, neither muriatic acid or Sew Clean will have any negative impact on it or any other tank material, but this would be a good time to thoroughly flush it out...which should be done to all tanks 2-3 x season to eliminate sludge buildup.
It does attack metal, but any consequential damage from the recommended 10-12% dilution would require very frequent use and still would take a long time. Plus you wouldn't be sending it into totally empty tank even if you'd just pumped out 'cuz there'd still be an inch or so of water or waste at the bottom of it. Boat owners and yards have been using muriatic acid to clean sanitation plumbing for decades, and Raritan's instructions for cleaning the LectraSan/ElectroScan called for the 10-12% solution of muriatic acid until they began marketing the more eco-friendly Sew Clean as their own private label brand "C.H." But if you're not comfortable using it, spend the extra money for Sew Clean.
Btw...found these directions for muriatic acid use in an article by Don Casey:
Pour two cups of the diluted acid (be sure to CAREFULLY read and FOLLOW directions for mixing!) into the bowl. It will fizz as it reacts with the calcium deposits on the bowl valve. When the fizzing stops, pump the head--intake closed--just enough to empty the bowl. This moves the acid into the pump. After a few minutes pump again to move the acid into the discharge hose. Let it sit a few more minutes before opening the intake and thoroughly flushing the toilet and lines. The acid is "used up" as it reacts with the calcium, so heavy scaling may call for more than one treatment. Scale and salt also find their way into the anti-siphon valve in the discharge line. Remove the valve and soak it in warm, soapy water to dissolve deposits that could be holding it shut or open.
Btw...found these directions for muriatic acid use in an article by Don Casey:
Pour two cups of the diluted acid (be sure to CAREFULLY read and FOLLOW directions for mixing!) into the bowl. It will fizz as it reacts with the calcium deposits on the bowl valve. When the fizzing stops, pump the head--intake closed--just enough to empty the bowl. This moves the acid into the pump. After a few minutes pump again to move the acid into the discharge hose. Let it sit a few more minutes before opening the intake and thoroughly flushing the toilet and lines. The acid is "used up" as it reacts with the calcium, so heavy scaling may call for more than one treatment. Scale and salt also find their way into the anti-siphon valve in the discharge line. Remove the valve and soak it in warm, soapy water to dissolve deposits that could be holding it shut or open.
DHeckrotte
Guru
I use ordinary household white vinegar to dissolve/soften the lime-ey deposits in our old toilet from the stuff that the City of Philadelphia puts in the water (to coat the old city and house pipes and reduce lead poisoning - it's what they saved money on in Flint, MI). Never had a problem in the bowl on the boat; the hose is another story.
The vinegar is dilute acetic acid and not all that aggressive.
The vinegar is dilute acetic acid and not all that aggressive.
Yes, it's safe, but unless your fresh water is exceptionally "hard," or any buildup is actually urine crystals (an indication that you're being way too conservative with flush water), you shouldn't need it. Just flush a cupful of distilled white vinegar once a week, followed after 30-45 minutes by a bowlful of clean water to prevent any hard water mineral buildup in the system.
I'll be glad to send you my "VacuFlush 101" document that explains how the V/Flush works (you'd be amazed by how many owners think they know but don't) and how much flush water it really needs to remain trouble free. Anyone who'd like to have it, just send me a PM that includes your email address (not possible to attach documents to PMs).
caltexflanc
Guru
+1 for starting with distilled white vinegar, which I could swear I originally learned via Peggy... Kept our three Vacuflush systems tidy..
Lepke
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If you use Rydlyme for cleaning your engine cooling, it works fine in a toilet bowl and doesn't bother any marine metals. It's also biodegradable. You add enough Rydlyme until the scale bubbles. When it stops either it's exhausted or the lime is gone. A little agitation after a short soak will usually finish off the scale. Works in fresh or salt water.
If you use Rydlyme for cleaning your engine cooling, it works fine in a toilet bowl and doesn't bother any marine metals. It's also biodegradable.
I checked the MSDS for Rydlime, and it is biodegradable...more importantly it's also environmentally safe. Those two terms do not mean the same thing.
"Biodegradable" is a meaningless feel-good term that product mfrs put on product labels to mislead consumers into believing it's environmentally safe...in fact, formaldehyde is only one of several lethal chemicals used in some holding tank products that can legally be labeled "biodegradable." Others include glutaraldehyde and quaternary ammonium compound. They will eventually bio-degrade, but not until they've had plenty of time to do plenty of environmental harm.
The first aid warnings in a product label or MSDS are best indication of whether a product is enviro safe or not. If they say something like "harmful or fatal if swallowed, may cause blindness, call poison control immediately if ingested," that product is no more enviro friendly than a toxic chemical spill. But if they say something like, "if ingested, drink copious amounts of water, flush eyes with clean water for 15 minutes, consult physician if symptoms develop" (which, btw, is close to the first aid instructions in Rydlime's MSDS)...it won't harm you or the environment. Muriatic acid's warnings are bit stronger, requiring a bit more care in handling.
Just something I thought y'all should know....
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein
I checked the MSDS for Rydlime, and it is biodegradable...more importantly it's also environmentally safe. Those two terms do not mean the same thing.
"Biodegradable" is a meaningless feel-good term that product mfrs put on product labels to mislead consumers into believing it's environmentally safe...in fact, formaldehyde is only one of several lethal chemicals used in some holding tank products that can legally be labeled "biodegradable." Others include glutaraldehyde and quaternary ammonium compound. They will eventually bio-degrade, but not until they've had plenty of time to do plenty of environmental harm.
The first aid warnings in a product label or MSDS are best indication of whether a product is enviro safe or not. If they say something like "harmful or fatal if swallowed, may cause blindness, call poison control immediately if ingested," that product is no more enviro friendly than a toxic chemical spill. But if they say something like, "if ingested, drink copious amounts of water, flush eyes with clean water for 15 minutes, consult physician if symptoms develop" (which, btw, is close to the first aid instructions in Rydlime's MSDS)...it won't harm you or the environment. Muriatic acid's warnings are bit stronger, requiring a bit more care in handling.
Just something I thought y'all should know....
Peggie
"If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't completely understand it yourself." --Albert Einstein
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questionmark
Senior Member
This had me curious, so I checked the SDS for Rydlyme. Turns out it's 5-9% Hydrochloric Acid. So it's the same as Muriatic Acid, which is a trade name for Hydrochloric acid.
With a little math you can make your own from a pool supply house and avoid the whole "marine" price.
Ace Hardware has muriatic acid for $9/gal, $5/qt.
Yes..no problem.
Dilute to 12% of the strength that's in the bottle...flush all the way through to the tank...flush with clean fresh water after 45-60 minutes. If the buildup is severe, it may require a second application. If so, repeat all the steps.
Or...it'll cost you a bit more than muriatic acid, but I suggest you take a good look at Sew Clean Sew Clean before settling on muriatic acid.
Dilute to 12% of the strength that's in the bottle...flush all the way through to the tank...flush with clean fresh water after 45-60 minutes. If the buildup is severe, it may require a second application. If so, repeat all the steps.
Or...it'll cost you a bit more than muriatic acid, but I suggest you take a good look at Sew Clean Sew Clean before settling on muriatic acid.
firstbase
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Question for Peggy...when you say a 10% acid solution are you talking about a 1 to 10 ratio of store bought acid to water or are you talking about lowering the "standard" acid which comes at 32% if you buy the 20 baume down to 10% which would be different math.
I hate math.
I hate math.
Yes...except it's a 12% solution (10% would be a bit weak), which would be 8.33 oz of water/1 oz of the store bought acid. It doesn't have to be exact... a ratio of 4 oz of acid to a quart (32 oz) of water will be close enough.
Always add water to acid, never add acid to water.
Peggy,
Good info... but are you sure it isn't add acid to water? Adding water to acid can cause a chemical reaction like instantly boiling the water and splashing up on you. I've been taught the acid to water and used it for years without one issue. And I use a LOT of muratic acid. Good and cheap.... but can be very dangerous.
OMG, I said it backwards! Thanks for catching it. The directions on the bottle will include the correct way do it...follow them, along with all other instructions for handling it!
RT Firefly
Enigma
Greetings,
Acid to water is correct for the reason Mr. S. notes.
Acid to water is correct for the reason Mr. S. notes.
Let me say a few things about acid cleaning on a boat that comes from my early career in the industrial chemical cleaning industry as well as a decent knowledge of chemistry. The following comments apply to acid cleaning your toilet, the hose from the toilet to the holding tank as well as circulating acid through the raw water system.
Toilet and toilet hose scale comes from uric acid in urine reacting with calcium, magnesium and similar compounds in sea water to form an insoluble scale. Fresh water unless it is really hard doesn't do this.
Raw water scale is similar calcium and magnesium compounds that have precipitated out of sea water due to the elevated temperatures on the heat exchange surfaces of your raw water system.
There are lots of acids that will dissolve this scale: muriatic (or HCl), phosphoric or some organic acids like sulfamic. Proprietary cleaning compounds like Barnacle Buster and Rydlyme are just one of these acids plus detergents to help disperse other solids. Muriatic acid is by far the cheapest and is about 1/30 the cost of Barnacle Buster on an equivalent acid basis.
Both head and raw water systems have more than acid disolvable scale in them like algae in the sea water system that gets incorporated in the scale and crap in your head. That is where the detergents in the proprietary compounds can earn their high price. The detergents work along with the acid to dissolve and disperse the buildup.
In my experience acid flushing works well for heat exchangers- both engine as well as A/C systems but doesn't work well in heads. That is because the scale in head hoses is often very thick- as much as 1/2". The acid starts to dissolve the surface scale but after a while it is blocked by the embeded crap that is not affected by the acid. I once pulled out a bronze y-valve that was definitely worth saving and let is sit for several hours in acid. It took lots of agitation and changing out the acid solution several times to work through the 1/2" layer of scale.
For raw water heat exchangers I have used Barnacle Buster, but only after making sure that there are absolutely no internal heat exchanger leaks, particularly in the intake air after cooler. An acid leak here can trash your engine. Also make sure that all tubes are open and rod out any that are blocked so that acid can get to the scale.
Circulating works much better than filling and soaking. A small bilge pump in a bucket connected to the first heat exchanger and using the raw water injection hose as a return works great.
Below is a pic of the Barnacle Buster solution after 15 minutes of circulation. The black color tells me that it got out a lot more than just calcium scale.
Safety and corrosion:
Well muriatic acid is the strongest acid you can use, but if you are careful diluting it the diluted solution is no worse than Barnacle Buster or similar.
As Peggie noted above the term "environmentally safe" has no real meaning and is just happy marketing talk. But dumping a couple of gallons of acid into your marina cove or creek won't make a measurable change in the pH of the water.
All of these acids are corrosive. Unfortunately as best as I can tell, none of the proprietary (and very expensive) compounds have any acid inhibiter like we used for industrial cleaning of heat exchangers, boiler, etc. This is unfortunate as it might add a buck to the cost of a gallon of Barnacle Buster but cuts the corrosion rate by a hundredfold.
But our sea water systems are made of corrosion resistant alloys- bronze castings and cupro-nickle tubes, so periodic cleaning won't add measurably to the corrosion that they experience in sea water. Stainless steel is another mater. Muriatic acid will affect welds in SS holding tanks if let sit for days and days at a time. If you have a stainless steel holding tank, after dumping acid through the head, I would empty it and fill and empty it again to flush the acid out. Dumping a couple of pounds of baking soda in the head after soaking with acid will also work to neutralize the acid.
Acid flushing can work but only if the scale is relatively thin, like inside heat exchanger tubes or on a joker valve. For heavily fouled head hoses, it is better to remove them and replace or bang them against a tree to break up the scale inside.
David
Toilet and toilet hose scale comes from uric acid in urine reacting with calcium, magnesium and similar compounds in sea water to form an insoluble scale. Fresh water unless it is really hard doesn't do this.
Raw water scale is similar calcium and magnesium compounds that have precipitated out of sea water due to the elevated temperatures on the heat exchange surfaces of your raw water system.
There are lots of acids that will dissolve this scale: muriatic (or HCl), phosphoric or some organic acids like sulfamic. Proprietary cleaning compounds like Barnacle Buster and Rydlyme are just one of these acids plus detergents to help disperse other solids. Muriatic acid is by far the cheapest and is about 1/30 the cost of Barnacle Buster on an equivalent acid basis.
Both head and raw water systems have more than acid disolvable scale in them like algae in the sea water system that gets incorporated in the scale and crap in your head. That is where the detergents in the proprietary compounds can earn their high price. The detergents work along with the acid to dissolve and disperse the buildup.
In my experience acid flushing works well for heat exchangers- both engine as well as A/C systems but doesn't work well in heads. That is because the scale in head hoses is often very thick- as much as 1/2". The acid starts to dissolve the surface scale but after a while it is blocked by the embeded crap that is not affected by the acid. I once pulled out a bronze y-valve that was definitely worth saving and let is sit for several hours in acid. It took lots of agitation and changing out the acid solution several times to work through the 1/2" layer of scale.
For raw water heat exchangers I have used Barnacle Buster, but only after making sure that there are absolutely no internal heat exchanger leaks, particularly in the intake air after cooler. An acid leak here can trash your engine. Also make sure that all tubes are open and rod out any that are blocked so that acid can get to the scale.
Circulating works much better than filling and soaking. A small bilge pump in a bucket connected to the first heat exchanger and using the raw water injection hose as a return works great.
Below is a pic of the Barnacle Buster solution after 15 minutes of circulation. The black color tells me that it got out a lot more than just calcium scale.
Safety and corrosion:
Well muriatic acid is the strongest acid you can use, but if you are careful diluting it the diluted solution is no worse than Barnacle Buster or similar.
As Peggie noted above the term "environmentally safe" has no real meaning and is just happy marketing talk. But dumping a couple of gallons of acid into your marina cove or creek won't make a measurable change in the pH of the water.
All of these acids are corrosive. Unfortunately as best as I can tell, none of the proprietary (and very expensive) compounds have any acid inhibiter like we used for industrial cleaning of heat exchangers, boiler, etc. This is unfortunate as it might add a buck to the cost of a gallon of Barnacle Buster but cuts the corrosion rate by a hundredfold.
But our sea water systems are made of corrosion resistant alloys- bronze castings and cupro-nickle tubes, so periodic cleaning won't add measurably to the corrosion that they experience in sea water. Stainless steel is another mater. Muriatic acid will affect welds in SS holding tanks if let sit for days and days at a time. If you have a stainless steel holding tank, after dumping acid through the head, I would empty it and fill and empty it again to flush the acid out. Dumping a couple of pounds of baking soda in the head after soaking with acid will also work to neutralize the acid.
Acid flushing can work but only if the scale is relatively thin, like inside heat exchanger tubes or on a joker valve. For heavily fouled head hoses, it is better to remove them and replace or bang them against a tree to break up the scale inside.
David
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Let me say a few things about acid cleaning on a boat that comes from my early career in the industrial chemical cleaning industry as well as a decent knowledge of chemistry. The following comments apply to acid cleaning your toilet, the hose from the toilet to the holding tank as well as circulating acid through the raw water system.
Toilet and toilet hose scale comes from uric acid in urine reacting with calcium, magnesium and similar compounds in sea water to form an insoluble scale. Fresh water unless it is really hard doesn't do this.
Raw water scale is similar calcium and magnesium compounds that have precipitated out of sea water due to the elevated temperatures on the heat exchange surfaces of your raw water system.
There are lots of acids that will dissolve this scale: muriatic (or HCl), phosphoric or some organic acids like sulfamic. Proprietary cleaning compounds like Barnacle Buster and Rydlyme are just one of these acids plus detergents to help disperse other solids. Muriatic acid is by far the cheapest and is about 1/30 the cost of Barnacle Buster on an equivalent acid basis.
Both head and raw water systems have more than acid disolvable scale in them like algae in the sea water system that gets incorporated in the scale and crap in your head. That is where the detergents in the proprietary compounds can earn their high price. The detergents work along with the acid to dissolve and disperse the buildup.
In my experience acid flushing works well for heat exchangers- both engine as well as A/C systems but doesn't work well in heads. That is because the scale in head hoses is often very thick- as much as 1/2". The acid starts to dissolve the surface scale but after a while it is blocked by the embeded crap that is not affected by the acid. I once pulled out a bronze y-valve that was definitely worth saving and let is sit for several hours in acid. It took lots of agitation and changing out the acid solution several times to work through the 1/2" layer of scale.
For raw water heat exchangers I have used Barnacle Buster, but only after making sure that there are absolutely no internal heat exchanger leaks, particularly in the intake air after cooler. An acid leak here can trash your engine. Also make sure that all tubes are open and rod out any that are blocked so that acid can get to the scale.
Circulating works much better than filling and soaking. A small bilge pump in a bucket connected to the first heat exchanger and using the raw water injection hose as a return works great.
Below is a pic of the Barnacle Buster solution in the circulating bucket after 15 minutes of circulation. The black color tells me that it got out a lot more than just calcium scale.
Safety and corrosion:
Well muriatic acid is the strongest acid you can use, but if you are careful diluting it the diluted solution is no worse than Barnacle Buster or similar.
As Peggie noted above the term "environmentally safe" has no real meaning and is just happy marketing talk. But dumping a couple of gallons of acid into your marina cove or creek won't make a measurable change in the pH of the water.
All of these acids are corrosive. Unfortunately as best as I can tell, none of the proprietary (and very expensive) compounds have any acid inhibiter like we used for industrial cleaning of heat exchangers, boiler, etc. This is unfortunate as it might add a buck to the cost of a gallon of Barnacle Buster but cuts the corrosion rate by a hundredfold.
But our sea water systems are made of corrosion resistant alloys- bronze castings and cupro-nickle tubes, so periodic cleaning won't add measurably to the corrosion that they experience in sea water. Stainless steel is another mater. Muriatic acid will affect welds in SS holding tanks if let sit for days and days at a time. If you have a stainless steel holding tank, after dumping acid through the head, I would empty it and fill and empty it again to flush the acid out. Dumping a couple of pounds of baking soda in the head after soaking with acid will also work to neutralize the acid.
And don't even think about dumping acid in an aluminum holding tank or even flushing afterwards with baking soda.
Acid flushing can work but only if the scale is relatively thin, like inside heat exchanger tubes or on a joker valve. For heavily fouled head hoses, it is better to remove them and replace or bang them against a tree to break up the scale inside.
David
Toilet and toilet hose scale comes from uric acid in urine reacting with calcium, magnesium and similar compounds in sea water to form an insoluble scale. Fresh water unless it is really hard doesn't do this.
Raw water scale is similar calcium and magnesium compounds that have precipitated out of sea water due to the elevated temperatures on the heat exchange surfaces of your raw water system.
There are lots of acids that will dissolve this scale: muriatic (or HCl), phosphoric or some organic acids like sulfamic. Proprietary cleaning compounds like Barnacle Buster and Rydlyme are just one of these acids plus detergents to help disperse other solids. Muriatic acid is by far the cheapest and is about 1/30 the cost of Barnacle Buster on an equivalent acid basis.
Both head and raw water systems have more than acid disolvable scale in them like algae in the sea water system that gets incorporated in the scale and crap in your head. That is where the detergents in the proprietary compounds can earn their high price. The detergents work along with the acid to dissolve and disperse the buildup.
In my experience acid flushing works well for heat exchangers- both engine as well as A/C systems but doesn't work well in heads. That is because the scale in head hoses is often very thick- as much as 1/2". The acid starts to dissolve the surface scale but after a while it is blocked by the embeded crap that is not affected by the acid. I once pulled out a bronze y-valve that was definitely worth saving and let is sit for several hours in acid. It took lots of agitation and changing out the acid solution several times to work through the 1/2" layer of scale.
For raw water heat exchangers I have used Barnacle Buster, but only after making sure that there are absolutely no internal heat exchanger leaks, particularly in the intake air after cooler. An acid leak here can trash your engine. Also make sure that all tubes are open and rod out any that are blocked so that acid can get to the scale.
Circulating works much better than filling and soaking. A small bilge pump in a bucket connected to the first heat exchanger and using the raw water injection hose as a return works great.
Below is a pic of the Barnacle Buster solution in the circulating bucket after 15 minutes of circulation. The black color tells me that it got out a lot more than just calcium scale.
Safety and corrosion:
Well muriatic acid is the strongest acid you can use, but if you are careful diluting it the diluted solution is no worse than Barnacle Buster or similar.
As Peggie noted above the term "environmentally safe" has no real meaning and is just happy marketing talk. But dumping a couple of gallons of acid into your marina cove or creek won't make a measurable change in the pH of the water.
All of these acids are corrosive. Unfortunately as best as I can tell, none of the proprietary (and very expensive) compounds have any acid inhibiter like we used for industrial cleaning of heat exchangers, boiler, etc. This is unfortunate as it might add a buck to the cost of a gallon of Barnacle Buster but cuts the corrosion rate by a hundredfold.
But our sea water systems are made of corrosion resistant alloys- bronze castings and cupro-nickle tubes, so periodic cleaning won't add measurably to the corrosion that they experience in sea water. Stainless steel is another mater. Muriatic acid will affect welds in SS holding tanks if let sit for days and days at a time. If you have a stainless steel holding tank, after dumping acid through the head, I would empty it and fill and empty it again to flush the acid out. Dumping a couple of pounds of baking soda in the head after soaking with acid will also work to neutralize the acid.
And don't even think about dumping acid in an aluminum holding tank or even flushing afterwards with baking soda.
Acid flushing can work but only if the scale is relatively thin, like inside heat exchanger tubes or on a joker valve. For heavily fouled head hoses, it is better to remove them and replace or bang them against a tree to break up the scale inside.
David
Attachments
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I'm posting here to keep track on other's great posts of this informative thread - and - to give strong cautions on handling Muriatic acid.
As a four [4] decades learned, experienced masonry, concrete and tile contractor I have much on-site working experience with Muriatic acid. Good stuff if handled/used correctly. Bad/dangerous item if handled/used incorrectly. I've seen people get hurt. One spent days in hospital.
If a person is not accustomed to handling/using Muriatic acid I herein place a big word... CAUTION!!
1. Do NOT Breath the Fumes - at all! Do Not drink out of container that had Muriatic acid in it, diluted or not.
2. Always have plentiful supply of clean water instantly available for rinsing skin if acid splashes onto skin. Active hose with spray head and/or at least a full 5 gallon bucket on hand
3. For dilution purposes... add acid to water and NOT water to acid. Keep arm extended away from you while adding acid and keep the jug/bucket/toilet bowl you are filling down wind. Do Not use Muriatic acid full strength.
4. Always immediately recap the acid container after pouring
5. Keep acid container on stable surface so it will not fall and possibly split open or become punctured
6. Soon as task is completed store acid container in cool secure location where children can never get to the container for any reason
I repeat - CAUTION!! For handling/using containers that have full strength Muriatic acid.
As a four [4] decades learned, experienced masonry, concrete and tile contractor I have much on-site working experience with Muriatic acid. Good stuff if handled/used correctly. Bad/dangerous item if handled/used incorrectly. I've seen people get hurt. One spent days in hospital.
If a person is not accustomed to handling/using Muriatic acid I herein place a big word... CAUTION!!
1. Do NOT Breath the Fumes - at all! Do Not drink out of container that had Muriatic acid in it, diluted or not.
2. Always have plentiful supply of clean water instantly available for rinsing skin if acid splashes onto skin. Active hose with spray head and/or at least a full 5 gallon bucket on hand
3. For dilution purposes... add acid to water and NOT water to acid. Keep arm extended away from you while adding acid and keep the jug/bucket/toilet bowl you are filling down wind. Do Not use Muriatic acid full strength.
4. Always immediately recap the acid container after pouring
5. Keep acid container on stable surface so it will not fall and possibly split open or become punctured
6. Soon as task is completed store acid container in cool secure location where children can never get to the container for any reason
I repeat - CAUTION!! For handling/using containers that have full strength Muriatic acid.
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In my experience acid flushing works well for heat exchangers- both engine as well as A/C systems but doesn't work well in heads. That is because the scale in head hoses is often very thick- as much as 1/2".
I've seen it thicker than that (see photo)....sea water calcium carbonates are the main component. Like most things, prevention is easier than cure...a cupful of undiluted distilled white vinegar flushed through the system weekly, followed after 45-60 minutes a by bowlful of clean fresh water will eliminate the need for cure.
As Peggie noted above the term "environmentally safe" has no real meaning and is just happy marketing talk.
That's not what I've ever said. Bio-degradable is the meaningless feel-good term that mfrs use to mislead consumers into thinking it means the same thing as environmentally friendly. A good example is formaldehyde, which is biodegradable believe it or not, but is anything but environmentally friendly. Holding tank products labeled "non-formaldehyde formula" have just replaced formaldehyde with gluteraldehyde or quaternary ammonium compound, which are equally if not more lethal than formaldehyde.
I've seen it thicker than that (see photo)....sea water calcium carbonates are the main component. Like most things, prevention is easier than cure...a cupful of undiluted distilled white vinegar flushed through the system weekly, followed after 45-60 minutes a by bowlful of clean fresh water will eliminate the need for cure.
As Peggie noted above the term "environmentally safe" has no real meaning and is just happy marketing talk.
That's not what I've ever said. Bio-degradable is the meaningless feel-good term that mfrs use to mislead consumers into thinking it means the same thing as environmentally friendly. A good example is formaldehyde, which is biodegradable believe it or not, but is anything but environmentally friendly. Holding tank products labeled "non-formaldehyde formula" have just replaced formaldehyde with gluteraldehyde or quaternary ammonium compound, which are equally if not more lethal than formaldehyde.
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firstbase
Guru
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- Black Eyed Susan
- Vessel Make
- Grand Banks 42' Classic
I am assuming that cleaning out the holding tank-to-macerator-to-through hull hoses is not a part of this process? I would think that a) use of these hoses is minor league compared to the main sanitation hoses so they would be much "cleaner" b) it would be difficult to do and c) it would be easier to just change the hoses. Yes? No? How would you clean these out?
No reason why the overboard discharge pump and plumbing shouldn't be part of the cleanout process...IF it appears to be necessary. So the first step: disconnect any piece of hose in that plumbing to see whether there's any buildup in it or not. If it does, cleaning it out is not that difficult but does require a first step that should be done 3-4x/season anyway: thoroughly flush out the holding tank (I've posted instructions for doing that without the need to fill the tank with water several times). Put a couple of bucketfuls of the acid solution into the tank via the deck pumpout fitting--which cleans out that hose...turn on the overboard discharge pump just long enough to get the solution all the way through it and out the thru-hull. Turn it off and wait the same 45-60 minutes, then stick a hose into the deck pumpout fitting and turn on the pump again to flush it all out.
