Ozone Generator

Hey, sorry Mrs. Peggy. I got busy with other things.
No I have not replaced the hoses. After replacing the holding tank the sewer smell is gone. I think it’s a diesel smell, but I’m not sure. There is always a bit of diesel or oil around the engine room after a trip.
Fuel pump drip or transmission seal drip.
I run a large dehumidifier all the time. And the air conditioner keeps the interior at 80 when I’m not there. I have installed a blower to suck air out of the engine room. It’s on all the time.
Sooner or later I will figure it out!

Hi William,
If it is a (small) diesel leak, the best thing would be to find the leak(s) and stop (repair) them. Keep the engine and bilge clean and as long as there is no "adding of diesel" (continued leaking) cleaning with Simple Green should help with the smell. Allowing the engine and/or fuel system to continue leaking will result with an ongoing smell.
Diesel has a distinct smell, especially compared to sewage. Mold is different again but sometimes just smells "stale". To eliminate any of these smells, you must first find and stop the route cause, and then clean up the problem. Otherwise you will just keep "chasing your tail" or have to put up with a "smelly" boat.

Good luck.

While it is true that ozone can eventually damage rubber , you night rent an ozone generator for a 2 or 3 day clean up.' Even a week if required.

It is claimed by car dealers the ozone burns up the stench and it wont come back.

I think it’s a diesel smell, but I’m not sure. There is always a bit of diesel or oil around the engine room after a trip. Fuel pump drip or transmission seal drip.

Here's how to get rid of the odor:
1. As I posted earlier, [FONT=&quot]You can never eliminate any odor unless you first eliminate the source...'cuz as long as the source continues to exist, it'll continue to generate new odor.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So Step 1: Find and fix any leak, then thoroughly clean the site, including every nook and cranny ...a good scrubbing with detergent and water...for petroleum leaks, I'd use a good automotive engine degreaser....NO bleach! Rinse thoroughly, then mop up any excess water and let the air dry till it's at least only damp...no standing puddles.[/FONT]

Step 2. [FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]PureAyre [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]PureAyre is the only product I've found that eliminates ANY odor. I found it at a boat show in Seattle in 2005...they gave me some samples and it's been knocking my socks off ever since. Not only will it get of diesel, smoke, and residual odor left behind by stinking sanitation hoses, but PureAyre is also rated for use around food...which means you can even use it to get rid of the odor left in your fridge by the steaks or fish that spoiled when a natural disaster took out shore power for 3 days. Also does a great job on musty PFDs and foulies. [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Amazon carries it…I’d buy a gallon, maybe even two...it has an indefinite shelf life.
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Use PureAyre full strength...I'd use a pump garden spray jug...SO much easier than a trigger sprayer ...Walmart has 'em, a good one will cost you about $15...cheap ones aren't worth $0.50) set to a fine mist. Spray every surface, nook and cranny...just a light misting. Do NOT rinse...just let it dry with hatches open so that plenty of fresh air can circulate....turn fans on if possible. If the soft goods in the cabin have picked up the odor, just spraying it on the surface won't do much...you need to spray enough on carpets and rugs to penetrate to the backing...enough to penetrate cushions to the middle from both sides..not enough to make 'em drippy, just enough to get into the cushion....you'll prob'ly have to remove the covers and send 'em to be cleaned. Again, just let everything dry. If you still have any odor, either you didn't do a good enough job of fixing any leaks or cleaning, or you missed a spot.
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]--Peggie
[/FONT][/FONT]

Back in 2011 I had a small fire in my house, little damage besides smoke and a restoration company put ozone generators in the house. Long story short they made the house so toxic we couldn't live in it for two years and all the furniture, paint, rugs and personal belongings had to be sent to a toxic waste dump. The whole shitshow cost the insurance company $250,000.00. So no, I would never put one in anything especially my boat.

They really work. I have mine on a timer and let it run a few hours around midnight while I am away from the boat. When I arrive the boat smells fresh and clean. Without the ozone generator it tended to get musty smelling.

I never use it while I am on board.

The instructions echo Peggy though. First, find and eliminate the source of the odor

They are inexpensive and do the job.

pete

So a quick update.


I had Simple Green in the basement and took it to the boat. Mop and bucket and swabbed out all the holds and boxes - rear to forward. WOW what a difference. I could be wrong but my thought is between cleaning and washing down the simple green and then using the bilge pumps to pump it out - huge difference. The bilge was darn near perfect and I put a box fan in the engine room to run all night and clear out any smells and dry it out.
Slept on the boat last night - no more tight chest or coughing fits. Had a cup of coffee this morning and thought about heading home - had some work I needed to get done.

But as a boaters life often happens I got curious and looked in the bilge - beautiful white bilge but my eyes saw a thin stream of fluid running down into my clean bilge. Oh oh - it is coming from yeah you all knew it all along - my holding tank... I could not see where it was coming from but sure as heck it looked clean and was coming from the space where my holding tank sits. Dang it - I didn't have time to drop the engine exhaust and move hoses to gain access to the tank which is wedged between three walls...
I could not keep good enough alone - I looked in the forward engine hatch and noticed brownish redish fluids. Here we go - so now I also found a hydraulic hose that was rubbing on fiberglass cut thru - the chaff cushion that went half way around the hoses was not on the bottom. I could feel the wet fluid and the cut hose with my fingers. So I had to head home and now I need to start thinking about how to fix these new to me leaks...

Lol - it really does not stop does it? Oh and this time I really think I found the reason for the boat smell... Argh...
It is only time and money right??

LovetoBoat said:

So a quick update.


I had Simple Green in the basement and took it to the boat. Mop and bucket and swabbed out all the holds and boxes - rear to forward. WOW what a difference. I could be wrong but my thought is between cleaning and washing down the simple green and then using the bilge pumps to pump it out - huge difference. The bilge was darn near perfect and I put a box fan in the engine room to run all night and clear out any smells and dry it out.
Slept on the boat last night - no more tight chest or coughing fits. Had a cup of coffee this morning and thought about heading home - had some work I needed to get done.

But as a boaters life often happens I got curious and looked in the bilge - beautiful white bilge but my eyes saw a thin stream of fluid running down into my clean bilge. Oh oh - it is coming from yeah you all knew it all along - my holding tank... I could not see where it was coming from but sure as heck it looked clean and was coming from the space where my holding tank sits. Dang it - I didn't have time to drop the engine exhaust and move hoses to gain access to the tank which is wedged between three walls...
I could not keep good enough alone - I looked in the forward engine hatch and noticed brownish redish fluids. Here we go - so now I also found a hydraulic hose that was rubbing on fiberglass cut thru - the chaff cushion that went half way around the hoses was not on the bottom. I could feel the wet fluid and the cut hose with my fingers. So I had to head home and now I need to start thinking about how to fix these new to me leaks...

Lol - it really does not stop does it? Oh and this time I really think I found the reason for the boat smell... Argh...
It is only time and money right??

Click to expand...

Well now you know the problems and you can set aside time to correct them.
When you get all the repairs accomplished and cleaned up again, get a non-boater to come sniff your boat. You might be "nose blind" and need a second or third opinion.
Good luck and I do hope all repairs go quickly.
Dan.

LovetoBoat said:

So a quick update.
Lol - it really does not stop does it? Oh and this time I really think I found the reason for the boat smell... Argh...
It is only time and money right??

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the update! So many times posters figure out the problem they posted about, but never pass it on to the forum! Thanks again, and I hope you get it solved. The Hydraulic hose should be a simple replacement. The holding tank . . . hopefully it's something simple . . . but I'm not betting any money on that

AlanT said:

Is it worst in the cabin where you sleep? If so take a look under your mattress. condensation leading to mold is a common problem. Moisture from the bedding migrates to the relatively cooler slab that the mattress sits on and it is not uncommon to find mold there.

If this is the problem, it is easy to remediate. Clean with the appropriate chemicals, then you need to build a slightly elevated platform that allows air to circulate under the mattress.

Last one I built I used the thinnest plywood available 3/16th I think. I used a hole saw to fill it with 3" holes, then glued the discs from the hole saw to the underside of the plywood. It raised the bed about 1/2" and solved the problem.

Click to expand...

I have used 1" thick redwood lattice under cushions and mattresses. I made extra holes with a hole saw also. Huge difference!

We also got a bad smell from new sealant in our shower. Oxy-precarbonate (sp?) stuff helped with that smell and the bilge and shower sump.

Great work! You got things clean so you could discover the problems and now you can fix them.

It also sounds like you might have already fixed other problems that also made suboptimal smells.

Congrats!!

LovetoBoat said:

So a quick update.


I had Simple Green in the basement and took it to the boat. Mop and bucket and swabbed out all the holds and boxes - rear to forward. WOW what a difference. I could be wrong but my thought is between cleaning and washing down the simple green and then using the bilge pumps to pump it out - huge difference. The bilge was darn near perfect and I put a box fan in the engine room to run all night and clear out any smells and dry it out.
Slept on the boat last night - no more tight chest or coughing fits. Had a cup of coffee this morning and thought about heading home - had some work I needed to get done.

But as a boaters life often happens I got curious and looked in the bilge - beautiful white bilge but my eyes saw a thin stream of fluid running down into my clean bilge. Oh oh - it is coming from yeah you all knew it all along - my holding tank... I could not see where it was coming from but sure as heck it looked clean and was coming from the space where my holding tank sits. Dang it - I didn't have time to drop the engine exhaust and move hoses to gain access to the tank which is wedged between three walls...
I could not keep good enough alone - I looked in the forward engine hatch and noticed brownish redish fluids. Here we go - so now I also found a hydraulic hose that was rubbing on fiberglass cut thru - the chaff cushion that went half way around the hoses was not on the bottom. I could feel the wet fluid and the cut hose with my fingers. So I had to head home and now I need to start thinking about how to fix these new to me leaks...

Lol - it really does not stop does it? Oh and this time I really think I found the reason for the boat smell... Argh...
It is only time and money right??

Click to expand...

Careful with Ozone..

I would also add to the above - Ozone is poisonous. I would never intentionally inject it into a space which I was inhabiting, let alone a living space.

I used to have one, but the overwhelming evidence I came across suggested they work no better than a spray air freshener, ozone is harmful to humans man mechanical items in the quantities many generators produce (even residual levels) unless many precautions are taken.


Generally they are not recommended for use other than in industrial applications.

Smells like battery acid to me.

Need to go touch them to see if they are hot, if low on acid add water.

Cycling power will cause battery charger to restart cycle, can heat up a battery bank. Maybe some low voltage draw causing it to charge.

Run engine room fans for awhile then open hatches for awhile with blower running.

This will eliminate smells then you can sniff around and find it.

If you have to replace the leaking holding tank, it that is what you find leaking. Look at Ronko tanks. They make a very good quality tank. They will put the fittings where you need them. No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.

Not only do they kill natural rubber but they will rust any exposed metals, cause pitting in chrome and generally reek havoc over time. Obviously I do not recommend them in a boating environment.

I agree on not using an ozone generator. Why not just fix the leak and clean it up. The smell will be gone and no need for a possibly dangerous situation. Don’t just cover up the smell, fix the problem.

The way to rid the boat of mold, mildew and dampness is to vent. All my bilge areas are power vented 24/7. I use bilge blowers with the speed reduced with a rheostat. The bilge air is replaced with cabin air that is dry even in the winter because I run a stove.
My boat smells like a house, I don't get moisture buildups because showers and cooking area is vented when in use. No damp bedding or clothes, no rusted zippers or snaps.
I suppose I have a higher heating cost, but the boat humidity runs about 40%, sometimes less. Even in the PNW when it's raining.
I do have an ozone generator, used it once. Didn't seem to do much.

Try a dehumidifier.

William983 said:

Has anyone ever used an ozone generator inside their cabin?
I have washed, bleached, changed black water components in and on.
But I still have an odor in the boat.

Click to expand...

Ozone will attack latex rubber and bleach out some colors in things and, yes, it shouldn't be inhaled.

There are ozone generators made that use the ozone INTERNALLY but have destructors so that what comes out of them is only oxygen. Requirement for sales in California.

But these will only 'purify' the air that makes it through them and will not do search and destroy in all the little nooks and crannies attendant to watercraft.

I haven't read all the posts, so please forgive me if this is a duplication.

Elsewhere, there was a discussion between Peggie and me regarding my Raritan pump failure. We don't do ozone, but...

The techie at Raritan warned me that the plastic used in their housings (base and pump body) will suffer structural failure in the presence of ozone; ozone causes some reaction to whatever stuff it is they use in their housings...

Just a heads up in case you have Raritan heads...

Nozone

Don't do it ... ozone destroys plastics and rubber. Most particularly when the materials are in tensile conditions.

skipgundlach said:

I haven't read all the posts, so please forgive me if this is a duplication.

Elsewhere, there was a discussion between Peggie and me regarding my Raritan pump failure. We don't do ozone, but...

The techie at Raritan warned me that the plastic used in their housings (base and pump body) will suffer structural failure in the presence of ozone; ozone causes some reaction to whatever stuff it is they use in their housings...

Just a heads up in case you have Raritan heads...

Click to expand...

I doubt that it is just Raritan heads that will suffer, more like most plastics and rubber.

Comodave said:

I doubt that it is just Raritan heads that will suffer, more like most plastics and rubber.

Click to expand...

I just checked this Pureayre on Amazon.ca, it comes with a Wooping $106.00 Price tag. Not $50 bucks. ‘
Times are a changin’

The times may be a-changing, but not that much! $106 CD is price gouging for a product that sells on Amazon.com (US site)for $39 USD/48.42 CD. You couldn't run that price up to $106 even paying for all the ridiculous international shipping fees! It's the "household" version, but it works just as well on boats as the "marine" version, which Amazon doesn't seem to stock, but I guarantee you the price for it wouldn't be more than $60 USD/75



--Peggie

David Burgess said:

I just checked this Pureayre on Amazon.ca, it comes with a Wooping $106.00 Price tag. Not $50 bucks. ‘
Times are a changin’

Click to expand...

Is this what you are talking about?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SBJBM0?th=1
I guess it needs liquid Pureayre to work?

William983 said:

Has anyone ever used an ozone generator inside their cabin?

Click to expand...

Do not use an ozone generator. Get a dehumifier instead.

Is this what you are talking about?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SBJBM0?th=1


No. Not even the same company...that one spells it PurAyre. As many times as I have posted "buy a gallon"..."put it in a garden pump spray jug".... "fine mist"... it should be obvious that PureAyre is a liquid, not a device.

--Peggie

Peggy,
That is just one of many examples where we Canadians "get the shaft"!
Also, if we order from a US supplier and they ship by courier, not only do we pay a much higher "international" shipping charge (when compared to similar distances but to US destinations), but when they deliver it, they always want to charge us full duty, Canadian (additional) taxes, and a fairly hefty "brokerage" fee. In my experience, sometimes the extra fees (not counting the original shipping charge) amount to more than the value of the item purchased.
So we can be "vandalized" by either our Canadian suppliers often significantly "overcharging" or we can be "vandalized" by the courier companies.
Ain't life grand being a Canadian, eh?

HeadMistress said:

Is this what you are talking about?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004SBJBM0?th=1


No. Not even the same company...that one spells it PurAyre. As many times as I have posted "buy a gallon"..."put it in a garden pump spray jug".... "fine mist"... it should be obvious that PureAyre is a liquid, not a device.

--Peggie

Click to expand...

Ah yup, that's what I though, no machine other than a sprayer.
Now, do you recommend PurAyre before or after getting the carpet cleaned?