Spring cleaning

[Roger Long]

Peggie,

I'm looking for your book that I've misplaced but it's a timely question and maybe you have some new ideas since publication.

The one drawback to my boat shed has been very high humidity and condensation all winter. Now that it's warming up, I'm starting to see feathers of mildew in out of the way places. The boat is fairly clean except for tracked in dirt from working on it all winter.

I want to go over all varnished and fiberglass surfaces with something that will freshen it up and knock the mildew spores back a bit until we get some sun to dry things out (which could be August the way things go in Maine).

What would you recommend?

 

[sailingdog]

Vinegar will work to do that, and use lemon oil for the varnished surfaces. So will a bleach solution, but its probably the most likely to damage stuff.. 3M IIRC also recently released a new spray that is for mold/mildew prevention on boats.

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

On hard surfaces, Tilex

Just be very careful not to get any on soft goods.

Remove any stains from soft goods with a gentle cleaner, then spray with Raritan K.O.

Put cushions and everything else you can get off the boat out in the sun for a day...fresh air and sunlight and mold's enemies. If no sun, put some incandescent lights and fans in the cabin and leave 'em on 24/7.

When away from the boat, or during winter storage, leave all lockers and hatches open, drawers pulled out a couple of inches so fresh air can circulate in 'em and behind 'em. If you can leave a couple of 60w lights on the cabin and a fan running all winter without risk of a fire, it'll prevent mildew.

 

[Roger Long]

Just be very careful not to get any on soft goods.

Everything soft has been off the boat all winter (except my head which is only there a few hours a day.)

Would you recommend the vinegar or the 3M product for the fiberglass?

Lemon oil for the varnish or would the 3m be OK?

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Either is ok for prevention...

But neither is as effective as Tilex for getting rid of any mold and mildew you already have.

Preventive products create an environment that discourages the growth of molds and mildew...they aren't very effective when it comes to getting rid the mold and mildew you neglected to prevent. Once you've gotten rid it, then use lemon oil on the wood and vinegar--or the 3M product--on the fiberglass to discourage it's return. Note that I said "discourage"...I didn't say "prevent." To make sure it doesn't return, you still need light, plenty of air circulation and frequent attention to the wood and fiberglass.

The boat salesmen who tell buyers that maintaining a fiberglass boat doesn't require any more maintenance than your car tell lies...keeping a boat in bristol condition is a LOT of work that NEVER ends!

 

[sailingdog]

Peggie's right about the Tilex, it is far more potent at killing any existing mold... but more likely to damage surfaces for the same reason.

 

[Alchemist]

As a point of interest, Tilex is essentially fragranced Clorox with a surfactant added to improve the wetting ability of the mixture. You are probably better off buying Tilex instead of making your own from bleach and dish washing detergent because you are apt to kill yourself unless you understand the chemistry.

Make sure that you don't use vinegar, an acidic toilet bowl cleaner or (worst of all) ammonia with the Tilex as the first two will react to release chlorine gas and a whole bunch of heat while the ammonia reacts with the bleach in Tilex to produce NCl3 which is both toxic and explosive.

Steve
Alchemist C-380