This is an article I submitted for the Schooner Cove Yacht Club’s news letter.

PRODUCT REVIEW – MICRO-50 Eco Friendly Cleaner & Degreaser

I must confess that when it comes to the bilge on our trawler I suffer from OCD – it can never be clean enough for me. It’s got to be dry and smelling April fresh.

November’s Issue of Canadian Yachting piqued my interest with their article by Andy Adams, “Small Efforts – Get Big Engine Room Cleaning Results” (pg. 49) specifically, their review on MICRO-50 degreaser.

I was intrigued and immediately contacted the supplier to get more info. Here is their website with some good video demos. www.micro50.ca

I quickly received their product and immediately put it to work. Since I installed a dripless shaft seal, my bilge is dry. However, during my winterizing oil change I did spill some oil into the bilge. While it was not a great amount, using absorbent towels got most of it. There was still some residue remaining particularly in the rough areas around the ballast. I mixed a 20 % of solution MICRO-50 and water and let it sit overnight. By the next morning, there was no trace of the oil.

The next challenge was to try it on heavier deposits around the generator but it had little effect. I don’t think the product is designed to this but it was worth a try. I then scraped the majority of the greasy deposit off and then used a 50 / 50 solution, this broke down the deposit – making cleanup very easy.

- **Micro 50 Comment – “You’re right Bob, Micro 50′s not designed to eat away at heavy deposits like the one you described overnight. Its surfactant and enzymes will lift and break down deposits and then its microbes digest the hydrocarbon molecules. Left over a period of time, eventually it will break it down and “eat” it, but certainly not on an immediate-type timescale. You did the right thing by scraping the grease off, disposing of it correctly and then using Micro 50 to clean the left-over residue. However, we would recommend starting with a 9 parts water to 1 part Micro 50 ratio for an application such as this (the leftover residue) and then work your way to higher Micro 50 concentration levels depending on how effective various ratios are at cleaning the contaminant. This will increase your efficiency dramatically.”**

I didn’t take any pictures as the problem area is under the diesel engine and very difficult to see.

From this experience, I would certainly buy it again. Unfortunately it’s a little expensive, $50.39 for a 909ml bottle but it definitely does clean an oily bilge.

- **Micro 50 Comment – “I’m glad you would use it again, Bob. The manufacturer’s suggested list price on the 909ml Micro 50 is actually $29.99, but unfortunately we have to add postage costs to it when bought online which is around $20. At the suggested list price, and diluted at the recommended dilution of 9:1 for most cleaning applications, it will effectively cost $3.29 per litre. This can be reduced to as low as $1.63 per litre by purchasing larger package sizes (4L jug and 20L pail are also available). This is much less than most products you will find at any big box store, and for a much more unique, effective and environmentally friendly product too. We are working hard to develop a distributor network across the country so that it’s readily available in marinas and other locations,  and have had great interest resulting from the article that you read in Canadian Yachting. We need your help to achieve this, however. If you think that Micro 50 is something that the Schooner Cove Yacht Club would be interested in carrying (helping it to make some money and keeping its property and boats clean), then please contact us at The Sarjeant Company on 1-800-461-8475 or dbrown@sarjeants.com."**

 

Bob Reynolds MV-BOLINDA