Marley wrote:

I see ads on tv now and then for a product called CLR (which I believe
stands for Calcium Lime Remover). According to the tv ads, you can use
it to remove calcium and lime deposits as will often form where a tap
may drip or in a home shower.

I was wondering if you know of the product...

Yep...I've used it at home, to remove hard water scale from my shower
door...didn't work very well, so I switched to LimeAway, which is doing
a better, but still not great, job. (Both are readily available at Home
Depot, Walmart, supermarkets etc, btw. I have bottles of both in the
closet, both of which have 800#s on the labels to call for product
information...so I did, to ask them if either is safe to use in a marine
sanitation system--one in which rubber is used in toilet pumps in which
the lines are rubber or flex PVC hose (a question they said no one had
ever asked before, btw g)...and both gave me the same answer: No...the
chemicals in them are likely to damage the hoses and rubber parts in
marine toilets.

In case you already guessed, I am NOT looking forward to the job of
pulling the hose and cleaning/replacing it.

You don't have to pull it to clean it out...2 or 3 applications of
undiluted white vinegar--let it stand several hours, or even overnight
will dissolve the sea water calcium carbonate buildup in hoses...a
cupful--or no more than two, depending on how long the hose is--of white
vinegar flushed through once a week will prevent it.

Do NOT leave vinegar sitting in the bowl, btw...flush it all the way
through the hoses.

--
Peggie
----------
Peggie Hall
Specializing in marine sanitation since 1987
Author "Get Rid of Boat Odors - A Guide To Marine Sanitation Systems and
Other Sources of Aggravation and Odor"
http://www.seaworthy.com/store/custo...0&cat=6&page=1