Cruising in the Sea of Cortez, I met Marilyn Oliveira and her husband Rick on Tortuga over ten years ago. She does lots of fun beading and I was so happy to get a chance to see her again at LoretoFest 2013 when we went down.
This past week, Marilyn wrote me about what a pain it is to clean around the base of the toilet on most boats. Cuts and scrapes are bad anywhere, but even more prone to infection when you get them in the toilet area. And yet you can’t just not clean!
Said Marilyn:
I get so tired of injuring my hands while cleaning around the head base and hoses and hose clamps (you can buy rubber pieces that fit over the ends of hose clamps and that helps) and cleaning in all the nooks and crannies…I made a cover for it all.
Here are pictures of my design and how it fits [photo at top shows the cover in use]. I would do better next time but this was my first attempt. I closed the openings with big hooks and eyes and made two so I have one to use and one to wash.
Marilyn credits Laine on Cheerios (who I also know from our days of cruising the Sea of Cortez) for the original idea.
Using a patterned material like Marilyn did will show any dirt far less than a solid color.
P.S. Defender sells those rubber pieces to go on the tails of hose clamps. See/buy them here.
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Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.
Grace May says
Confused…At first I thought these are hand protection covers but then your last par threw me…are these permanent covers?
The Boat Galley says
No the cover goes at the base of the toilet and you remove it and throw it in the wash.
Andrea Dollins says
This is the best idea I have ever seen. Never cut myself, but cleaning that area is the worst!
Angie says
What a cleaver idea!
BJ says
Another “fix” for clamp ends is brush on electrical tape. A couple of coats and it won’t slip off.
Phyllis Pardee says
Great idea and I am gonna drag out the sewing machine today!!!
Jackie says
Now you tell me!! We’re seriously considering parting with the boat! This would’ve been implemented in a flash!!
Dan Thomas says
Go with a C-Head and you’ll never have this problem.
Kay Schmitke Sandvik says
You guys are crazy! Wish I had this problem…but Jackie…won’t help you with this! I would cook for you instead!
Ellen says
What is a C-Head? Went to West Marine and couldn’t find one… I hate that job so much I would change heads just to solve the problem!!!
Ellen says
OK, so I feel stupid–a composting toilet! DUH!!
Robert Snelling says
Such an appropriately-timed posting. A friend of mine gave herself a small cut off the hose clamp on her black-water system. She has ended-up being treated with IV antibiotics and a wound-packing for a nasty case of cellulitis; despite washing the wound, this transgressed only 2 1/2 days post-injury. I would attach a picture, but that doesn’t seem to work
Carolyn Shearlock says
Thanks! The photo that you posted on Facebook imported here — nasty injury!
Robert Snelling says
My friend gave her hand a little cut while cleaning around the head this past Thursday (caught it on the edge of a hose clamp under the toilette). This pic was taken 24-hours post-injury; a festering wound and cellulitis radiating up her arm. She did wash the wound after her initial injury. Now it’s IV antibiotics every 12 hours and a wound cleansing/packing change at the same time
The Boat Galley says
Ouch! That’s a real problem with cuts around the toilet . . . there are a LOT of germs there!
Allan Smith says
Ellie Ibel Smith, something else we have to be mindful about I guess.
Kim says
Is this just fabric, or is it plastic? Thinking fabric would get wet and just amke one more thing to clean?
Carolyn Shearlock says
Fabric . . . put it in the wash with your other laundry.