need help cleaning up a real mess!

[attinman]

Hi,
my first post. A friend gave me his sailboat because he is no longer physically able to sail. It is a 21' Santana and overazll in fair condition considering it sat under a shed roof for 8 years in New York state. There are 8 years of mice and racoon 'droppings' inside and I have discovered bleach, orange degreaser, and fabreeze are my new best friends. Q. - Has anyone here on the forum had the 'pleasure' of cleaning up this kind of mess and do you have any tips that do not involve gasoline and matches? I have cleaned up most of the mess but there are little crooks and crannys between the decking and the hull that need to be cleaned. There is a pressure washer available tomorrow and I will probably try that but need a good way to remove the waste water. Already burned up a small drill pump. A siphon is being considered.
suggestions?

[CharlieCobra]

Just use a shopvac to get the water out of the boat, I do. I've even used mine to get oil out of the bilge when Oh Joy dumped a load in there. If you're budget minded you can probably buy one from a local pawnshop for $10 like I did.

[sailingdog]

I'd second using the shop vac... they're worth their weight in gold.

[SEMIJim]

If there's no chunks of anything in the waste water, at Home Depot or Lowe's you can get an inexpensive emergency sump pump that you hook up to a garden hose. No switch. You plug it in: It starts pumping. You unplug it when it runs dry. We use one every spring to empty the reservoir of one of our garden water features so we can re-fill it with clean water.

The problem with the shop vac idea is in emptying the vac

Jim

[KeelHaulin]

Just a word of warning; Hantavirus is spread via mouse feces. Be careful in your cleaning work not to inhale any dust or water vapor while you are cleaning; I would use a NIOSH respirator with HEPA filtration if it is as bad as you describe. A neighbor of ours was almost killed by Hantavirus while cleaning mouse droppings (I think with a vacuum cleaner which can spread the virus into the air very effectively). Wikipedia has a good page on hantavirus if you want to research it.

I'm not sure how you would "sterilize" the boat after you clean it maybe a good wash down with lysol or bleach everywhere you can get to. I don't think bug bombs will kill bacteria or virus strains but a good fogging of lysol might be the best approach.

[philsboat]

A siphon is the cheapest method,but fill the hose with water first then drop one end in the bilge and the other on the ground simultaneously and let gravity do the work.I'd spray a mixture of water and bleach(or vinegar) inside the boat and let it sit before cleaning up.
Good luck ...Phil

[JimsCAL]

One of those submersible pumps available in home centers for pumping out basements would be a good choice if you have to remove any quantity of water. Just drop it into the bilge, connect a garden hose to the discharge and away you go. ShopVacs are great for small quantites of water but a pain for larger ones.

[sailingdog]

KH-

He's been using bleach liberally, so I doubt Hanta virus would survive that. Good thing to keep in mind though.

Originally Posted by KeelHaulin

Just a word of warning; Hantavirus is spread via mouse feces. Be careful in your cleaning work not to inhale any dust or water vapor while you are cleaning; I would use a NIOSH respirator with HEPA filtration if it is as bad as you describe. A neighbor of ours was almost killed by Hantavirus while cleaning mouse droppings (I think with a vacuum cleaner which can spread the virus into the air very effectively). Wikipedia has a good page on hantavirus if you want to research it.

I'm not sure how you would "sterilize" the boat after you clean it maybe a good wash down with lysol or bleach everywhere you can get to. I don't think bug bombs will kill bacteria or virus strains but a good fogging of lysol might be the best approach.

[Karletto]

Originally Posted by attinman

suggestions?

sandpaper machine


the best way to disinfect is disinfecting powder that is mixed with water and sprayed/ rubbed on the surface. buy it in a vet clinic. i heard that the biggest problem is not poo but pee (you can smell it of course too)

[jjablonowski]

Wranglers have built-in floor drains, and the owner's manual recommends that for mud, etc., you remove the carpets, take out the rubber plugs in the floorpan, and use a hose.

Does the Santana have any through-hull fittings that can be temporarily removed while it's on the trailer?