It's a familiar and oft used phrase, "forget about it". It also happens to be the name of our tested product. In which case we think sounds best if said aloud in a thick, Jersey accent: "Fuget aboud 't!"
Seriously, and especially for liveaboards or long term cruisers, this is an important olfactory subject matter. Because it's about your boat's holding tank. Or more specifically, it's about the smell emanating from your boat's holding tank. Otherwise known by non-boaters as "that boat smell".
Forget About It for Boats, from tankTechsRX, is an all natural probiotic tank treatment that works equally well in RVs and home septic systems (which is where the product was invented in the first place). Instead of the simple enzyme/bacteria used in other treatments, Forget About It for Boats uses a proprietary blend of 14 to 17 health giving probiotic microorganisms to reduce solids and sludge to water while eliminating odor. It is acknowledged by the World Health Organization to give a health benefit to both your boat and the environment.
While odor elimination is the primary selling point of Forget About It for Boats, we found the secondary benefit to be even more impressive. As liveaboards/workaboards with three people onboard full time, we have been pumping out regularly for more than seven and a half years. During the first couple years we would need to motor over to the fuel dock and pump out our 60-gallon holding tank on average every 11-12 days. Since our tank does not have a level indicator of any sort, we would gauge when it was time to pump with our noses. As in, "Pew! It's time to pump out." Of course, we were always slightly embarrassed to have friends or family visit us around that time, because you could just sense they wondered if our boat smelled that way all the time.
Then five years ago Lisa discovered Forget About It for Boats at the Richmond Power and Sail Show. After just one application we swore it made our holding tank bigger! We noticed that the pump out machine ran for an additional minute or so. And after two applications we went from needing to empty the holding tank every 11-12 days to every 14-15 days. Turned out the probiotic microorganisms immediately went to town feasting on quite a bit of built up sludge that had accumulated at the bottom of our holding tank, which had effectively decreased our 60 gallon capacity by perhaps 10 gallons or more. As the previous owners had lived aboard for eight years and had relatives living on the boat for two years prior to us buying her, there was a lot of build up!
We've been using Forget About It for five years now and count it as one of our "must haves" for comfortable livingaboard. And even though it's easiest to discuss the product's ability to get rid of those stinky septic odors, we still think the "added capacity" it has given us is more important. What makes going from pumping out every 11-12 days to every 14-15 days even more impressive is the fact the third member of our liveaboard crew is now 9 years old, and she's certainly creating more effluent than she did when she was a toddler. If you get my drift!
Remember to shake the bottle before each use. For your first application, the recommended dosage (for holding tanks 75 gallons or less) is to flush 2-4 ounces down the toilet. Flush with an extra bit of water if you have just pumped out. After your next pump out and each one thereafter, pour in and flush down 1-2 ounces. It's that simple.
As we pump out on average twice a month, we found that one 33-ounce and one 16-ounce bottle lasts us about a year.
Like us, you'll find that Forget About It will become one of the "must haves" aboard your boat. As full time liveaboards (and workaboards) who want to be comfortable, warm and dry, in addition to the basics of heat and ventilation we must also have Kanberra Gel and H2Out Space Dryers on board. That way we keep mold and mildew at bay, and we have a nice smelling (non-stinky) home!
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There is a common misconception among boaters in North America that because the gas and diesel we buy is essentially the cleanest in the world, we needn't worry about the dreaded "water-in-the-fuel" problem encountered in other countries. And though the fuels we buy in the U.S. and Canada are typically fine, once we have it in our tanks we still need to guard against water contamination and the subsequent problems those can manifest in our engines down the road.
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Darren OBrien
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