"Peggie Hall" wrote in message
m...
Undiluted white vinegar is the best thing for hoses...it not only reduces
odor, but also dissolves sea water minerals. And won't hurt the toilet or
the hoses.

However, it's your boat, Gordon...I can only advise and pass on what I've
learned over the last 20 years.

Gordon Wedman wrote:

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...

Don't see how nasties are going to wake up if everything is totally dry?

Spores.

--

Roger Long



Spores need water to germinate. That's the whole point of my comment.
If everything is bone dry they are going to remain dormant no matter how
warm things get. If you smell anything its from decomposition not
growth.

As for 10% bleach damaging hoses, I suppose a very thin layer of hose
might be degraded but hoses are pretty thick. If you have any kind of
scum inside the hose the bleach will attack that before it gets to the
hose. After a few days all the oxidizing power of the bleach is lost and
you've basically got a weak solution of sodium chloride.
By the way, when I suggest 10% bleach I mean a 10% dilution of household
bleach.
Household bleach is about 5% sodium hypochlorite so 10% gives you a 0.5%
final solution. That's 1 gallon of household bleach to 9 gallons of
water.
I think there are more concentrated solutions of sodium or calcium
hypochlorite available for "super chlorinating" swimming pools and water
supply systems. You don't want to use these.

--
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
http://shop.sailboatowners.com/detai...=400&group=327

Well I've not actually put any diluted bleach in my own system. I don't
have any odour problems. I just provided the info in case someone wants to
kill off all the bugs. 10% bleach is a good general disinfectant.
I agree that vinegar is going to be good at dissolving mineral deposits and
possibly some critters as well. I suppose the acidity would kill off a lot
of microorganisms as well but if you flushed out the tank afterwards and had
some residual dilute vinegar in there it might actually serve as food for
some other type of bug. Just need to flush well I guess.