Any chemists or chemE's out there?

[Santa_sleigh]

Question for any chemists or chemical engineers out there... is it necessary to rinse out the boat with city water after a day of boating in freshwater? Furthermore, could it be be better NOT to rinse the engines with city water, since there is fluoride and chlorine added to city water? I'm curious if the chemicals added to city drinking water may cause incremental harm that freshwater wouldn't. Of course this question is not relevant when boating in saltwater or brackish water. Who has some thoughts?

 

[Babin Farms]

Question for any chemists or chemical engineers out there... is it necessary to rinse out the boat with city water after a day of boating in freshwater? Furthermore, could it be be better NOT to rinse the engines with city water, since there is fluoride and chlorine added to city water? I'm curious if the chemicals added to city drinking water may cause incremental harm that freshwater wouldn't. Of course this question is not relevant when boating in saltwater or brackish water. Who has some thoughts?

I never flushed my engines when I ran in fresh water. Boating now in salt water I flush after every outing and use city water. Not going to drill my own well to flush the boat and I’m sure that most of us that have treated water use it with no issues. Figure if I can drink it that it can’t be bad for the boat. You might be overthinking this

 

[gthh]

I am a Chemical Engineer with over 40 years of industrial process and design experience. I also have over 40 years of practical boating experience and can tell you that I would trust an opinion of someone with experience with boats than some one with a degree.

That said, I have used city water to flush and rinse my boats out with no issues including this boat I have had for over 20 years.

Typical city water has about 1 to 2 parts per million of Chlorine to water. Very dilute- That’s like putting one drop of Chlorine in 10 gallons of water. So you should have no worries about damaging anything you need to rinse on your boat with City water.

An opinion analogous to the original question, that may be beneficial in the future when seeking helpful information for a problem-maybe ask a Plumber for advice on your drain problem instead of a Mechanical or Civil Engineer- the Plumber would most likely give you better advice.

 

[fireflymedic]

I flushed my boat after every outing. Now it's well water but ended every flush with a "salt away " product. It's supposed to leave a coating on every thing. Plus the applicator made shutting off to move to other side easier. I would have done the same with city water.

 

[Mr. Boh]

Save yourself the effort of the flush, and use that motivation to clean seats or floors or glass etc.

Boating in fresh water has a perk - EASIER CLEANUP

 

[drewkaree]

If your city water is eating away your pipes, I would hesitate to wash the boat down with that. If you use collected rainwater to wash your boat, and your area has acid rain, I would hesitate to wash the boat down with that. Beyond those two phenomenon, if people ingest it, there's a high likelihood that it's never going to cause additional problems beyond water spots on your boat. The phrase "straining at gnats" comes to mind regarding city water