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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

What kind of soaps/detergents do you use?

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 08/18/2008 : 15:23:01

While Rita & I were down at the boat yesterday, we noticed a nasty odor of diesel and a sheen on the water. Turned out that someone upstream from us had a fuel leak into his bilge, which got pumped over the side by his bilge pumps. Apparently Seattle Harbor Patrol, USCG & Seattle Police all showed up. I predict an expensive bill.

Talking about this led to a conversation about the soaps & detergents we use on the boat while on the water. We try to be ecologically friendly & have been using Simple Green for most cleaning chores except dishes where we're currently using Dawn (I think). I haven't been able to find if it breaks down reliably in the environment, and we'd like to find one that does if it doesn't.

What do you use for cleaning your boat, washing your dishes, showering, etc, and why?

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 08/18/2008 : 18:03:45

I use all environmentally friends products for most stuff at the boat, especially if it gets into the water like washing the boat down.
I don't know the names but I have gotten stuff at WM however my wife sound stuff at a Target Store for a lot less.
Why, cuz I care what goes into the water and want to have a little effect on sea life as possible.
Steve A

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Breezy Cat
1st Mate

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38 Posts

Response Posted - 08/18/2008 : 18:17:14

I haven't bought "Soft Scrub" for years I mix Bon Ami, ivory soap and water.
Vinegar 50/50with water and a little soap cleans mildew you can add lemon juice.
Baking soda, soap, and vinegar mixed 50/50 with water cleans everything very well.
I use mineral oil, a dash of lemon oil and vinegar to wipe down the interior wood. The same without the vinegar is a good interior wood oil.
Over the last year or two I have used up all my store bought cleaners in the house and the boat.
There are tons of sites with homemade non toxic cleaners here is just one.
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm#formulas

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 08/18/2008 : 19:29:46

Sea Suds. Works well in both salt and fresh water.
I shower with it, it works well as a shampoo.
We wash dishes with it and have used it to clean the zodiac and the non-skid areas of the cockpit and deck.
It is made of all natural products - completely breaks down and is benign.
This gets my highest rating for an all-round soap. I also use it in my mast track to help the slugs slide easier.

Edited by - on

MartinJW
Navigator

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USA
241 Posts

Response Posted - 08/19/2008 : 02:19:45

We use [url="http://www.rei.com/product/736656"]Campsuds (from REI)[/url], which is made by [url="http://www.sierradawn.com/products.asp#original"]Sierra Dawn Products[/url]. Campsuds was originally formulated by an outdoorsman who also happened to be a [url="http://www.sierradawn.com/aboutus.asp"]real chemist[/url], not just a well-intentioned hippy, so I think it really may be super-environmentally-friendly.

It's not the most effective detergent in the world, but when we're sailing or camping, we have a lower standard of "clean"; that's part of the adventure.

Besides, it contains <i>Germaben</i>(R)!

Edited by - MartinJW on 08/19/2008 02:38:37

Stardog
Captain

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USA
319 Posts

Response Posted - 08/19/2008 : 08:08:07

I've always used Dr. Bronner's soaps, they come in a variety of scents and are environmentally friendly. I started using these soaps when I was a kid and needed something to take backpacking in the Rockies, the local camping supply store always kept it in stock. It has an interesting history and funky, amusing statements written all over the bottle.

http://www.drbronner.com/timeline.html

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lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 08/23/2008 : 02:47:14

I use Dawn for hand and dish washing, in amounts as small as possible, like maybe three drops to wash hands and 1/2 teaspoon to wash dinner dishes. Now that I will do most of my boat camping in my C-22, I may go to disposable stuff, paper plates and cups, as it is a lot harder to wash dishes in the C-22 than in my C-25.

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britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 08/23/2008 : 12:24:49

As cruisers, we try to avoid soaps altogether on the boat.
We use disposable plates & dishes, normally into the recycling trash at marinas.
Most of our 'cooking' is either boil in the bag or non-stick.
We wipe down the non-stick with paper towel (recycle) and then rinse with boiling water.
That leaves cups and 'glasses' (plastic wine glasses mostly) they get rinsed in boiling water.
Coffee grinds are banged out onto a paper towel, pot and bits rinsed with boiling water.

So that leaves the topsides. We use the west marine boat soap, very very sparingly if at all when on the water.

BTW, we try to take the minimum of trash. All packaging that is not a necessity is ditched prior to launch or departing a marina.

Only wish more marinas would provide separate trash and recycling bins. Sadly down here in the Miami area, the amount of glass (beer bottles) in the trash is amazing!

Paul

Edited by - on

redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Response Posted - 08/23/2008 : 14:05:24

We sometimes use paper plates, but only 'cuz we are too lazy to do dishes or it's just a wrap or a sandwich. Other than that, I have always believed in "yachting." Yep, that insane pursuit of pleasure aboard which is as good as life on land. Real plates, real knives and forks, real cloth napkins, real pots and pans - yes we did on a C25!

Funny how noone wonders how their wastewater treatment plant is dealing with the toilet bowl cleaners they use on land!

One of yachtings greater sins is trash disposal. As a full time cruiser and as an environmentalist I am often frustrated by the lack of recycling facilities available to transients. Needless to say, I am now guilty of a few crimes including the disposal of cans and bottles in regular trash. (What we really need worldwide is MRF's - Material Recovery Facilities that sort trash and collect recyclables without sending out another truck).

As far as grey water discharge goes, if you use regular dishsoap you are actually saving water and discharging less. Let me explain my fellow dolphin and tree hugging wacko's

. If you use the aforementioned REI soaps - which are excellent and I have used in deep woods excursions in Maine - you are going to scrub longer and in our experience use more water. On Zephyr, our dishwashing routine was to use a collapsible bucket and pull seawater aboard, add soap and scrub, and then haul up a clean bucket for rinsing. I found that to clean the bacon grease out of the frying pan, we would have to use a lot of the organic stuff which still left suds in the water when we poured it overboard. The I went back to regular dishwashing detergent. Two drops or so cuts grease great and if you don't add too much the end result is really barely soapy when going overboard. Use too much soap and you'll use a lot of water rinsing anyway.

Same program on Lysistrata. We heat up a pot of water, dribble soap and do dishes in the sink moving the now clean and somewhat soapy items from the pot as we scrub to the counter. When all is done we simply dump the warm soapy water, replace the pot and commence with the rinse cycle. The water that rinses into the pot is used to pre-rinse glasses, etc., thereby saving more water, and ultimately the rinse water becomes the next days dishwater - saving even more water. The effects of a few drops of dishsoap on zillions of gallons of seawater are in my opinion minimal.

Coffee grounds? Over the side

The spoiling asparagus? Ditto

The lobster shell et al after a great dinner of lobster taco's? Over the side. Offshore 25 plus, I have been known to punch the bottom out of a wine bottle and toss it, or take beer bottles and break them wile holding the neck. Perfectly legal and in my opinion better than in a landfill. (OK, they should be ground to one inch or less! Geez!) Again, 25 miles out! Plastics are and always will be a no no regardless...

Simple Green works, but not as well as Fantastic. At the end of the day, use the least toxic cleaning solution possible, AND use less of it!

Sten

DPO Zephyr - '82 C25, FK, SR
SV Lysistrata - C&C 39 - Newport, RI - In the Anchorage 24/7

Edited by - redviking on 08/23/2008 14:12:35

Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 08/28/2008 : 23:27:01

Just used WM's Crystal boat soap yesterday - carries the new EPA Green endorsement. Worked as well as any phosphate/sulfate/oxygen depleting soap I've used. Very impressive.
I'm going to try another "greenie" on bird poop stains this weekend before slapping on the FSR - hoping for, but not expecting, the best.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2008 : 20:32:23

I needed to clean up the bottom of our Avon after sitting in the water for several months before I could put it up into the racks for winter storage. I decided to give some of Dr. Bronner's soap a try to see what happened. It was quite dramatic, the top portion you see here was about 5 minutes of scrubbing with the soap, the bottom, several minutes of spraying with a hose & scrubbing w/o the soap:

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2008 : 20:57:32

Interestingly all of the marinas we visit in the San Juans have full recycling facilities dockside. Must be a PNW thing.

We use a bio-degradable dish soap and use real plates and utensils. Considering that most sailors paint their bottoms with poison and/or copper I'm not too worried about boat soap.

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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts

Response Posted - 11/16/2008 : 21:38:18

Since this thread came back to life, it reminded me that I didn't follow up with my bird poop efforts: started with WM Crystal full strength and then 50/50. I progressed through two more progressively stronger green products (stain and black streak removers) with slightly better results. Next came bleach and then FSR , and they were no better than the greenie stain products. Eventually, I resorted to a little soft scrub and and an abrasive sponge to finally say goodbye to the stains.

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David Scott
1st Mate

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USA
74 Posts

Response Posted - 11/17/2008 : 23:53:57

Its important to use a non-abrasive cleaner on fiberglass and we have found BonAmi cleanser to do a great job on those tough stains or overall cleaning of boats hull,topsides,and cockpit. Another product that works well on stainless is "Barkeeper". It one of best choices for rust removal.

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