Quote:
Originally Posted by ERTF
Well I just discovered my vacuflush pump was spraying a horrific mixture of brown liquid and disintegrated toilet paper globs in my engine room. Then it leaked down into bilge.
My plan of attack is:
1. Disinfect
2. soap/scrub/wet vac out liquid/tp
3. Degreaser/disenfect
3. Fill bilge up high with water / agitate
4. Pump out thru bilge
5. Fill bilge again (to rinse) and pump out thru bilge pumps
Question is what degreaser and disenfectant should I use?
The lowest point of my bilge is near an aluminum water tank (the bottom of which is essentially inaccesable). So that just gives me pause whether I should be putting bleach / purple power in my bilge.
Opinions / recommendations?
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Most degreasers (oven cleaner, dishwasher detergent, windex, fantastik) are all alkaline (high pH) for dissolving grease. Aluminum is generally incompatible with any alkaline substance (those listed above plus bleach, baking soda, lye, caustic, etc.).
Mild acids and neutral cleaners are OK for use on aluminum. I'd read up on the citrus type cleaners that are typically good degreasers. Maybe Simple Green. Those are the only two non-alkaline degreasers that I know of. Any surfactant is OK too, like Dawn dish soap. They work differently than alkaline cleaners.
After a good cleaning, a very dilute solution of bleach should be fine, because you'll only be rinsing it and short contact with aluminum and dilute bleach won't be an issue.