Chuck Gould wrote:

Along with sanitation hoses past their prime, inadequately vented
holding tanks are also frequent sources of offensive sewage odors.



I hear from people all the time who tell me they pump out every weekend,
always rinse out their tank, and have tried every holding tank product
on the market, but still have odor inside the boat. They've just been
chasing their tails...'cuz unless the tank is leaking, odor from inside
the tank can't be the source of odor inside a boat, 'cuz unless there's
a leak, odor from inside the tank has only one place to go: out the tank
vent...although a worn out joker valve in the toilet can allow gasses
from the tank to escape into the head via the toilet. But in that case,
the odor would be confined to the head, it wouldn't permeate other parts
of the boat.

In this case, my money is on permeated sanitation hoses. And it doesn't
matter how old or new the boat is, how long it takes for a hose to
permeate--whether it ever permeates--can't be predicited. I used the
same brand/type of hose on two of my own boats...it was on the first one
for more than 7 years without a trace of odor...it permeated on the
second boat in less than 90 days.

--
Peggie
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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://shop.sailboatowners.com/books...ku=90&cat=1304