Household Cleaners to Restore Your Bass Boat Bilge Area

Eventually all bass boat bilge areas get messy. Between rain water, lake water, tracked dirt, oil and other debris, it can look like a mud puddle down there. Add in pieces of plastic worms and various screws and pieces of terminal tackle that somehow work their way to the back of the boat, and you have various problems beyond just cosmetic issues – you can end up with corroded parts or clogged pumps. One day, that auto bilge you desperately need will be stuck on or stuck off because of something that’s holding it in place. 

If you let it get too far gone, you may need to take drastic measures, carefully employing a pressure washer, steam cleaner and/or wet-dry vac to get things back in shape. The better solution is to avoid letting it get that far. If you have mid-level grime, use Purple Super Clean or some other light degreaser, or one of the dedicated marine bilge cleaners from companies available from places like West Marine and be sure to let it drain away properly. 

The best bet, however, is to prevent that scum from building up, and you don’t necessarily need specialized marine products. In fact, you can do it with several household products – including Simple Green (which I previously recommended for all-around bass boat cleaning duties), Dawn dish washing liquid, or a bar of Lava Soap. Put some in the bilge before you drive to the lake, top it off with water (turning your auto bilge off temporarily), and let the ride there stir it up and get the process going. After that, a ½ bar of Lava Soap now and then will do a lot of the hefty lifting.