Editing Bilge (section)

==Bilge maintenance==
[[File:Sentina.PNG|thumb|''Sentina'' is Spanish for bilge]]
Methods of removing water from bilges have included [[bucket]]s and [[pump]]s. Modern vessels usually use electric [[bilge pump]]s controlled by automated bilge switches. Bilge coatings are applied to protect the bilge surfaces. The water that collects is often noxious, and "bilge water" or just "bilge" has thus become a derogatory colloquial term used to refer to something bad, fouled, or otherwise offensive.

Bilges may contain partitions to damp the rush of water from side to side and fore and aft to avoid destabilizing the ship due to the [[free surface effect]]. Partitions may contain [[limber hole]]s to allow water to flow at a controlled rate into lower compartments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/0101bilge.htm |title=Battle of the Bilge – Boat Maintenance – Nautical Know How |work=boatsafe.com |year=2003 |access-date=19 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728170021/http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/0101bilge.htm |archive-date=28 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Cleaning the bilge and bilge water is also possible using "passive" methods such as [[bioremediation]], which uses bacteria or [[archaea]] to break down the [[hydrocarbons]] in the bilge water into harmless byproducts.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Archaea Effectiveness, Benefits – Akaya|url = http://www.akayaenvironmental.com/how-it-works.html|website = Akaya|access-date = 2015-09-14|archive-date = 2015-10-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151007005250/http://www.akayaenvironmental.com/how-it-works.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> Of the two general schools of thought on bioremediation, the one that uses beneficial microbes local to the bilge is regarded as being more "green" because it does not introduce foreign bacteria to the waters that the vessel sits in or travels through. But archaea that are non-indigenous also can be used and discharged, since the archaea will die off anyway, leaving only local indigenous microbes remaining.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Akaya FAQs|url = http://www.akayaenvironmental.com/faqs.html|website = Akaya|access-date = 2015-09-14|archive-date = 2015-10-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151007014125/http://www.akayaenvironmental.com/faqs.html|url-status = dead}}</ref>