mold removal

[seapuppy]

this fall/winter has been damp..but not overly incredibly wet as in last yr....so...the mold wasn't bad on the inside of the canvas....up until this last week....went to the boat to do my normal checks and low and behold the mold in the canvas had easily grown to epic proportions....so..brought a bag of oxyclean detergent and went to work on the mold.....

since my top is black...I didn't want to use any bleaching chemicals...on my other boat it was easy with the tan top.....little bleach and a soapy mix in a spray bottle and a brush....

so...the oxyclean worked extremely well.....even got one of the gunwhales on the side of the boat all cleaned off extremely easily......brush on.....let sit for about 30 seconds and brush off..rinse.....must say...I'm surprised...I thought I was gonna have to get a whip and chair to go into the cockpit...that stuff was snapping and barking when I got to the boat.....I'm amazed at how fast it grew this past week.....

SP

[shrew]

Here is a link to Sunbrella's 'official cleaning recommendations:

http://www.sunbrella.com/cleaning/ma...ops-covers.php

I agree, I always shudder at their recommendation to use diluted bleach for heavy mold, however, I think the key to sunbrella is they manufacturer the fibers used in the woven cloth and the color is part of the fiber, not a dyed fiber. I think that dyed fibers is where bleach causes so many problems. STILL, habit and superstition trump my common sense and I still refuse to use bleach.

I have used Woolite with limited results. I've also had very good luck with the 303 Fabric cleaner:

http://www.303products.com/shop303/i...ic-cleaner.cfm

As well as the 303 waterproofer/Protector:

http://www.303products.com/shop303/i...bric-guard.cfm


I'm glad the oxyclean worked, I'm going to give that a try.

[seapuppy]

thanks for the link...the top on our new boat is black...I sure didn't want a top to look like a gernsey cow or something equally wierd.....that's why I didn't use bleach.....maybe next time I'll give it a try....I know one time I had a sweat shirt on that was ruined from the bleach..so...now I just wear a tee shirt when I sprayed it on the old boat with bleach.....

thanks for the links....although they recommended woolite....oxyclean detergent did a great job......so...that's something to think about if you have a mold problem in the cockpit...


SP

[ed & inge]

gernsey cow is in this year........

greatz, ed

[rgreenwell8962]

Do you use any water repellent on the canvas after cleaning?

[seapuppy]

nope...sunbrella canvas is pretty good and just doesn't need to be retreated...however you can use that 303 repellant if you like...




SP