Scented Urinal Cake or block in bilge?

hillsideshortleg

Active Member
Feb 5, 2012
254
Lake Pend Orielle, Idaho
Boat Info
92 Express Cruiser /89 Sea Ray 280 Sundancer
Engines
489s / 350's Mercruiser drives
Is there a reason I wouldn't want to try throwing a nice little lovely urinal cake down in the bilge. Just for the heck of it, to freshen things up in the occasion that there is a little water in there.
 
Might make it smell like a urinal?
 
A good cleaner like spray 9, simple green, even a squirt of dawn dish soap and a spray of water to wash things out once in a while will be good to keep things from getting funky.
 
My starboard rudder packing is getting thin & leaking a little now (normally totally dry) so I spray the little puddle left in the bilge with Simple Green and it seems to "get the funk outta there"... hahahahaha
 
If you're reaching down in there anyway, why not suck the water out with a shopvac on a regular basis? A dry bilge is a happy bilge.
 
I am not sure I would know how to "get in there and clean it" could someone show me how to do it? LOL Reminds me of my brother. He had to clean my uncles barn. My brother found a door he never knew he had. Give the laziest person the hardest job and he will find the easiest way to do it. LOL Urinal cakes!!!
 
The reason you want to have a factory clean bilge is that boat engines are trouble makers in general. You want to be able to see drops of water or any other fluid immediately. That is your first clue to a future failure and can save you huge boat bucks by a simple hose clamp that's loose to a head gasket ready to blow. Please just clean your bilge like you clean your windows.
 
The reason you want to have a factory clean bilge is that boat engines are trouble makers in general. You want to be able to see drops of water or any other fluid immediately. That is your first clue to a future failure and can save you huge boat bucks by a simple hose clamp that's loose to a head gasket ready to blow. Please just clean your bilge like you clean your windows.

I assume you're parked under cover? My bilge is NEVER dry and it's not for lack of cleanliness. Hard rain and aggressive washing both put water into my bilge. I haven't seen any boats around me that don't generally have an inch of water in their bilge perpetually.

If I was buying a boat in my area and found the bilge dry during an inspection I'd assume they were trying to hide something :)

Nevertheless.....the last thing I'd want to be reminded of whilst suffering in my engine room would be a public bathroom. Urinal cakes...dear god.
 
A lot of good options brought up already here. I'd suggest a 5 gal shopvac to suck the water out periodically as was previously suggested. I went this route and found that with a dry bilge I was able to diagnose and follow the water flow to a leaking thru-hull for my smartcraft transducer. Had I left the water and slime in the bilge I'd have never known where it was coming from. I've since fixed the thru hull and cleaned the bilge as thoroughly as I clean the interior of the boat and it stays dry. I keep the boat covered whenever we aren't on it, but at most I pick up a half cup of water from a heavy rain. Nothing a towel or sponge can't soak up.
 
I assume you're parked under cover? My bilge is NEVER dry and it's not for lack of cleanliness. Hard rain and aggressive washing both put water into my bilge. I haven't seen any boats around me that don't generally have an inch of water in their bilge perpetually.

If I was buying a boat in my area and found the bilge dry during an inspection I'd assume they were trying to hide something :)

Nevertheless.....the last thing I'd want to be reminded of whilst suffering in my engine room would be a public bathroom. Urinal cakes...dear god.

Actually not undercover. Out in the open 24/7/365. Never a drop. Okay with that said I did chase a few leaks until I found and sealed them up. The biggest issue was the shower box on the transom. The hardest one to find was the windshield frame. One screw near the arch was allowing water to drip down. Pulled it the box and the window boot on the frame and rebedded both. Two years now and bone dry.
 

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