How to Keep Marine Toilets Smelling Fresh

We have found that many people ask the following question:

My marine toilet works, but smells, what’s wrong with it and how do I get rid of the odors?

The most common reason for odors is:

Foul marina water being drawn into the toilet bowl from outside. Adding a Raritan K.O.2 Kit to your installation and using Raritan K.O. help keep the odor level down.

Raritan toilets using on board pressurized fresh water have no odors.

Improper discharge hose is being used and the hose material has become contaminated resulting in odor permeation. Replace the hose with thick walled sanitation hose that resists odor permeation such as Raritan SaniFlex #SFH.

Improper routing of discharge hose. Horizontal runs and dips or valleys where raw sewage may stand must be avoided. Even the best sanitation hose will not last long in these cases. Route hoses to gravitate downhill and use sweep ells rather than 90″ fittings to make bends if needed. Loops in the hose must be properly vented.

No water trap in the bottom of the toilet bowl. Adding a vented loop in the discharge hose will allow a stand of water to exist in the section of hose from the toilet to the vented loop. This also ensures that a certain amount of water remains in the bowl after each flush. The height of the loop will determine how much water will remain in the bowl. Sewage odor/gas would have to be pressurized to force it through the water seal created by the addition of the vented loop.

Eel grass, other forms of marine life or vegetation which are drawn into the toilet’s flush water may have become trapped in the rim of the bowl. This can produce a sulfurous malodor (i.e.: rotten egg smell) as this matter decays. If this occurs, the bowl must be flushed out under dock side pressure while using a probe inserted into the bowl rim rinsing holes to free any lodged debris. All seawater flush toilets must have an inline strainer installed in the intake hose to prevent this from happening. Fresh water toilets such as Fresh Head or pressurized water electric toilets do not have odors by avoiding sea water.

For more details on how to keep your marine toilet smelling fresh please visit us at Raritan Engineering; www.RaritanEng.com