I have to bleach the surface of my nonskid a couple times a year with a very heavy concentration of bleach to get rid of the mold that works its way too deep into the nonskid to scrub out. I generally mop up and rinse it off pretty well after letting it sit for a while but am starting to wonder if the heavy alkalinity of the bleach might be ruining / breaking down the lignin in my teak toe rails. Has anyone ever heard of this happening? My teak is raw with no finish so soaks up any water and bleach solution when i hose off the decks.
Alkalinity of bleach and problem with teak?
- Thread starter BAD ORCA
- Start date
It could be. The 2 part teak cleaners consist of an alkali and and acid. The combination along with scrubbing is brutal to the soft fibers between the grain. This is a cause for ridges often seen in teak rails and handrails.
Are you using an oil on the teak? Oils sometimes form black spots on the teak which look like mold.
Thanks Dave. I'm not actually using it on the teak, just the nonskid of the deck, but as i wash it off, the water and bleach runs down and soaks into the toe rails. I'm not sure how much but since the teak is raw, probably a fair amount.
No not using anything on the teak at the moment. I plan to varnish it all this spring just have to finish scraping Cetol off some of the hand holds, washboards and cockpit coamings.
May be a couple more years before i can do the nonskid so might have to continue bleaching it every once in a while. Was watching the latest Sampson Boat Co video and he talks a bit about alkalies and wooden boats so got me a bit concerned. Was not aware they can destroy wood.
No not using anything on the teak at the moment. I plan to varnish it all this spring just have to finish scraping Cetol off some of the hand holds, washboards and cockpit coamings.
May be a couple more years before i can do the nonskid so might have to continue bleaching it every once in a while. Was watching the latest Sampson Boat Co video and he talks a bit about alkalies and wooden boats so got me a bit concerned. Was not aware they can destroy wood.
Are your decks teak?
One solution might be "Formula B" a borax and washing soda solution that will kill mildew. You can find the formula on @thinwater's blog.
sail-delmarva.blogspot.com
One solution might be "Formula B" a borax and washing soda solution that will kill mildew. You can find the formula on @thinwater's blog.
Sail Delmarva
Sailing Chesapeake Bay books racing instructional Catamaran Delmarva Kayak Fishing DIY cheap maintenance repair boat cruising anchoring singlehanding
sail-delmarva.blogspot.com
I don’t like to use bleach on the deck because I don’t want stainless, & aluminum fittings as well as sheaves, bearings, & polyester lines exposed to chlorine bleach. If scrubbing isn’t satisfactory, I resort to pressure washing (water only). Stay away from deck seams, seals, joints, hatch seals, port light seals and you’ll be OK. Best thing is that it cleans all mildew from nonskid & it‘s easy; done in an hour. And, against all recommendations, I use it on teak also…..just keep the pressure nozzle approximately 18” away from teak surface & go lightly. Just removing dirt & mildew, not wood. Only bad thing about it is loading & unloading the washer.
Perhaps you may be able to back up a step and find something less aggressive to use on the non-slip rather than bleach.
Recently, I have been finding bloody awful layers of algae, mold, and God knows what all covering the non-slip of the boat once the cover comes off. Something I discovered years ago, which really has the ability to get into the crevices and remove everything is a cleaning product called VIM :
Mind you, "100% naturally derived cleaning agents" is pretty questionable when it comes to cleaning products. Probably not much worse than most others but it does smell nice.
I've found that if you lightly scrub it in and then wait a few minutes, and then scrub again, it will remove anything organic.
It may be less harmful to your teak, maybe not. Only time will tell.
Recently, I have been finding bloody awful layers of algae, mold, and God knows what all covering the non-slip of the boat once the cover comes off. Something I discovered years ago, which really has the ability to get into the crevices and remove everything is a cleaning product called VIM :
Mind you, "100% naturally derived cleaning agents" is pretty questionable when it comes to cleaning products. Probably not much worse than most others but it does smell nice.
I've found that if you lightly scrub it in and then wait a few minutes, and then scrub again, it will remove anything organic.
It may be less harmful to your teak, maybe not. Only time will tell.
I use Bar Keepers Friend scouring powder on my deck. There is some oxallic acid in the powder, and that plus the abrasive nature of the powder really cleans and brightens non-skid. I won’t use it on the flat fiberglass because it will dull the finish, but for non-skid it is hard to beat. My deck is old and not in the best cosmetic condition, so I use the Bar Keepers powder once in the spring, and usually 1 more time in the summer.
I have an aluminum toe rail, so I can’t speak to how it affects teak.
Greg
I have an aluminum toe rail, so I can’t speak to how it affects teak.
Greg
Depending on the non-skid pattern, a rotary scrubber can be very effective. Use with a cleaner, not bleach. Cordless drill.
Drill Brush
Bleach an remove stains, but you need to get the dirt off first. Given the damamge bleach can do, it is not for routine use. Yes, wetting the teak first reduces absorption.
For heavy algae, Wet-and-Forget used according to directions is very effective. It kills it so that it releases easy during the next wash.
Drill Brush
Bleach an remove stains, but you need to get the dirt off first. Given the damamge bleach can do, it is not for routine use. Yes, wetting the teak first reduces absorption.
For heavy algae, Wet-and-Forget used according to directions is very effective. It kills it so that it releases easy during the next wash.
Thanks, I will look into that. No just the toe rails, cockpit coamings, eyebrows, handrails.Are your decks teak?
One solution might be "Formula B" a borax and washing soda solution that will kill mildew. You can find the formula on @thinwater's blog.
Sail Delmarva
Sailing Chesapeake Bay books racing instructional Catamaran Delmarva Kayak Fishing DIY cheap maintenance repair boat cruising anchoring singlehanding
I have been nervous about using a pressure washer. The last last time the non-skid was done by previous owner, i dont think the prep was done terribly well. Large pieces of the non-skid are starting to flake off. I'm afraid a pressure wash might really start tearing it off. I really dont want to have to tackle re-painting the topsides right now. I will save this as a last resort if some of the methods/cleaners suggested dont work. I think i'm not going to use bleach again though.
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Interesting, thanks. Maybe i can find out what the general ingredients are. Sounds maybe like a citrus based product?
Thanks for suggestion. got some products to test. hopefully one of them works half way decent.
I have tried these. I have several different grades of stiffness brushes. They only get about 80% out of the nonskid. My nonskid is extremely fine silica, finer than beach sand, so the mold gets down so deep the bristles cant reach it. Maybe using them with some of the cleaners suggested will make a difference though.
It might be time to consider sanding/painting project when it never looks good and the maintenance becomes as much of a chore as refinishing. Old boats tend to die a "death by a thousand cuts". It's not one or 2 things, it's many little things that become overwhelming.
From what I've read Wet & Forget (and similarly formulated cleaning products) is pretty toxic to aquatic life.
This is from one of their own blogs:
"Before using either product on your boat’s exterior, make sure you’re at least 100 feet away from any body of water"
So if you use it please do use according to directions.
When I read, "Large pieces of the non-skid are starting to flake off", I thought this same thing.
Redoing a non-skid surface is a pretty reasonable DIY job. If you are dealing with this, with some difficulty, twice a year, and the existing surface is flaking off anyway, I would strongly consider just biting the bullet and repainting.
You can do this as a few smaller projects, without having to do everything all at once, and each project should be a pretty comfortable weekend project.
This is in my near future, as well.