Head aroma

JVM225 said:
Ya know? That’s my philosophy. I ask everyone to avoid that unless in the case of an extreme emergency.
I remind them that whatever they do stays aboard.
When we overnight at a marina we make the trip to their facilities.
But, I’ve been told that doing it is okay if you treat the heads. In fact, they say something about enzymes etc..
I just can’t wrap my mind around it though.
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No issues using the head for all purposes. In fact, for me personally, if I had to use a public toilet every time I spend the night on the boat, I would enjoy boating much less...but that's just me. What I'm most disappointed with is that there isn't a better way to have a shower sump system on boats. Maintaining sump boxes are a much dirtier job than maintaining a clean holding tank, but I digress.
 
THJeff said:
No issues using the head for all purposes. In fact, for me personally, if I had to use a public toilet every time I spend the night on the boat, I would enjoy boating much less...but that's just me. What I'm most disappointed with is that there isn't a better way to have a shower sump system on boats. Maintaining sump boxes are a much dirtier job than maintaining a clean holding tank, but I digress.
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Yes, the sumps are a pain in the neck. This year I put the tablets in the pans of both A/C systems to keep that slime down a bit, and before I took the first showe I dropped a teaspoonful of Noflex Digestor down the drain to see if it cuts down on the soap scum buildup.
 
JVM225 said:
Ya know? That’s my philosophy. I ask everyone to avoid that unless in the case of an extreme emergency.
I remind them that whatever they do stays aboard.
When we overnight at a marina we make the trip to their facilities.
But, I’ve been told that doing it is okay if you treat the heads. In fact, they say something about enzymes etc..
I just can’t wrap my mind around it though.
Click to expand...

Same here. Except in case of emergency you walk to the clubhouse for no. 2.
 
JVM225 said:
Yes, the sumps are a pain in the neck. This year I put the tablets in the pans of both A/C systems to keep that slime down a bit, and before I took the first showe I dropped a teaspoonful of Noflex Digestor down the drain to see if it cuts down on the soap scum buildup.
Click to expand...
JVM - One of the things we have learned is to use liquid "pump" soaps - body washes - rather than hard bar soap - really cuts down on the soap buildup in the shower sumps...
 
It is like a municipal sewage treatment facility in the sense it needs to be managed. Do that properly and you have no oders. Ours gets a lot of use because we do cruise our boat for weeks at a time. Still using the original 2004 duckbills and hoses. Head holds a vacuum for days on end. And, absolutely no oders. We irrigate the heck out of it at each pump out, and take that to the extreme before storing the boat for the winter. Last pump out is clear water. The tank is virtually empty at layup time.
 
THJeff said:
No issues using the head for all purposes. In fact, for me personally, if I had to use a public toilet every time I spend the night on the boat, I would enjoy boating much less...but that's just me. What I'm most disappointed with is that there isn't a better way to have a shower sump system on boats. Maintaining sump boxes are a much dirtier job than maintaining a clean holding tank, but I digress.
Click to expand...

Sumps do not have to be a dirty job to clean. The shower/AC sump on my boat could not be located in a worse position. Getting to it requires removal of the steps to the salon as well as cutting a bunch of wires inside the steps prior to its removal. The Tiara manual instructs owners to clean the sump under the steps monthly. There are two schools of thought on the care of this sump. One owner group just ignores it until it breaks and hires a mechanic to fix it until it breaks again. The other school subscribes to a preventive approach. I'm in the second school and my sump has never been touched since it was installed in the boat in 2004. We use our shower twice a day for weeks at a time so this approach is tested, is cheap and it works. The key is to keep hair out of the drain, and to use a concentrated bilge cleaner in the shower sump. We pour the cleaner down the drain weekly when cruising. So, that amounts to once every 14 showers give or take. Keeping hair out of the drain is accomplished by cutting circular pieces of fiberglass window screen to fit, and placing the screen beneath the shower drain cap prior to reinstalling the drain cap. You know it is time to replace the screen when water pools in the shower pan. They last about three weeks before needing replacement. Our drain cap is a screw in type that opens and closes with a spanner wrench that was supplied for the sea chests in the bilge. Some drain caps are friction fitted caps. This approach works with both types of caps. If your sumps are dirty, clean them one final time and switch to this method and you are good to go for years.
 
carterchapman said:
JVM - One of the things we have learned is to use liquid "pump" soaps - body washes - rather than hard bar soap - really cuts down on the soap buildup in the shower sumps...
Click to expand...

I cleaned the shower sump last September when we got the boat home. It was not bad then. We only use liquid body wash and it is just as it was when I cleaned it 10 months ago. we take about 4-6 showers/week.

Bennett
 
I (touch wood) have never had to replace duck bills, seals, or anything else on our head. I have owned it 9 years. The head holds a vacuum for weeks. I am going there tomorrow and have not used the boat in more than 2 weeks. The head will have its vacuum still.

I don’t use harsh chemicals, bleach or anything like that. I do use one of the biological septic tank treatments. its the one that is dormant bacteria pellets in like a bran powder. I put that in the head after every trip where the head was used. Change the charcoal in the fart filter each year and no nasty odour.
 
carterchapman said:
JVM - One of the things we have learned is to use liquid "pump" soaps - body washes - rather than hard bar soap - really cuts down on the soap buildup in the shower sumps...
Click to expand...

I like that idea. Thanks!
 
Ordered Dove Body Wash from Amazon Prime this morning. We use that at home, so I know the boss while be happy.
Costco member too, but never get out of there without spending a bundle on stuff we don’t really need, plus too nice outside to spend it there anyway.
 
In your head, does it use freshwater for flush water or raw?

Also, my wife makes the liquid soup we use both at the house and boat. It's great when we go places that have hard water. It's Bonners Castille soup and Essential Oils. I can get you the mix if you wish
 
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That's funny... My wife has what we call OCD (obsessive cleaning disorder)... She makes her own cleaning solution... There are a million products out there and she somehow made her own that out performs them all....doesnt cause cancer and protects the environment
 
Hi Guys,
We are located in Midland Georgian Bay Ontario, so we use fresh lake water. Use the club house for showers and number 2s, after I had a pump out and flush smells gone, but I’m going to order Noflex.
Thank all for the advice!
 
A good many of the folks at my marina are having issues with their raw water flush systems. The raw water sours in the system causing very bad odoers when they flush. We have put together 5gal fresh water tanks and plumbed they in. It has fixed the problem
 
dwna1a said:
A good many of the folks at my marina are having issues with their raw water flush systems. The raw water sours in the system causing very bad odoers when they flush. We have put together 5gal fresh water tanks and plumbed they in. It has fixed the problem
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My old 300 Sundancer had a raw water flush head. I stopped using it the first season I had the boat. Instead, I would squirt fresh water from the shower head in to the commode. No more stink!
 
I've heard it so many times on this forum and elsewhere I'm truly curious: for those who have a liquid waste only rule "except in an emergency"....are you taking solely three hour tours? If not, how in the world can you stick to that plan? :confused: We often stay out 36 - 48 hours at a time, it's pretty much guaranteed one or more of us will need facilities at least once, and it's quite impractical to untie from the raftup to return to the marina....

Should our crew be eating less fiber? ;) :p
 
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