Best options for cleaning/replacing upholstery

[sheriandruss]

Hi Everyone,

Our MacGregor 26X was in dry storage for 3 yrs and now we want to clean it up.

We have two issues:

#1: The vinyl covers on the seats have some mold and the zipper HEADS have corroded shut. I'm hoping you can share options such as:

a) How best to clean the mold ourself, with what products/methods?

b) Are there places that exist where we can take the covers (and zipper heads) to have them cleaned professionally? Guesstimate of cost?

c) Would it be way easier and worth it to just buy new covers? Where would we get them?

b) Can the zipper heads be removed and replaced? Where to get them/how?

#2: The rubrail is cracked and needs be replaced. We know we can purchase the rubrail directly from MacGregor, but it comes in only 50' strips....so to put it on our 26 X, we'd have to stretch it two feet while using the special glue, etc.

a) Anyone out there done this on their own who can give us tips to avoid mistakes and pulling our hair out?

Thanks so much for any and all help!

Sheri and Russ
Saratoga, CA

 

[Tim R.]

#1 - if you have mildew on the covers then there is likely mildew on the foam which is a killer. You may need to replace the foam. Take them to a local marine upholsterer for advice. Ask around at the marina about who is reputable and knows their stuff.

#2 - Measure your rubrail as it may be more or less than the 26' length of the boat. Boats are usually measured from furthest point forward(pullpit) to furthest aft(probably your OB). Then you have to account for the curve but I bet you find it is less than 26' per side.

 

[Steve Dion]

No one should ever use anything but vinyl zippers on a boat. Be sure to change them out if/when you do that. If you purchase new cushions, be sure to ask what they plan on using. If they say metal, find someone else that knows what they are doing.

If the cushions rest on fiberglass, be sure that they use vinyl bottoms even if the rest of the cushion is fabric.

Someone that knows what they are doing with boat cushions will already know what to do. It is just your job to find the right people. There are several shops in the bay area that can do a good job for you. Get references before you put down any money.

 

[BobM]

Zippers

I read somewhere that white vinegar works for removing corrosion from zippers, but have no practical experience with it. If you can get the covers off, wash them with some bleach and, if you have to, soak the cushions in dilute bleach as well and them rinse them well. Cushions are damned expensive and I'd try about everything before bitting a big bullet like that.

 

[sheriandruss]

#1 - if you have mildew on the covers then there is likely mildew on the foam which is a killer. You may need to replace the foam. Take them to a local marine upholsterer for advice. Ask around at the marina about who is reputable and knows their stuff.

#2 - Measure your rubrail as it may be more or less than the 26' length of the boat. Boats are usually measured from furthest point forward(pullpit) to furthest aft(probably your OB). Then you have to account for the curve but I bet you find it is less than 26' per side.

Hi Tim,

Thanks for responding! Yeah, there is mildew on the foam too. I just sprayed it with a mold remover and rinsed thoroughly per the instructions...love your suggestion to find a local marine upholsterer! I need to replace the corroded zipper heads too! Didn't know there was such a thing...!

Yeah, the rubrail we order from Mac Gregor will only be 50' long...so we're told we'll have to "warm it and stretch it" before we glue it on with the right glue...but I'll take your advice and measure first to know for sure how long it needs to be...sounds like a really challenging job to me...wish us luck!

Thanks again,
Sheri

 

[spirit of hanalei]

Re: Zippers

The tip about using vinegar on corroded zippers was fantastic! Worked like a charm, I was ready to remove and replace them. I tried everything else and they would not budge. Thanks a million!

 

[sailingdog]

Spray the cushions and covers with KO and leave them out in the sun. Use enough KO to penetrate the foam completely.

 

[Hermit Scott]

I just cleaned my cabin cushions last week. I set up a hot water water hose. Sprayed them and poured detergent all over them, grape stomped and jumped up and down on them until they were completely satutrated with suds. (This took quite some time)
Then hung them up and rinsed and rinsed until they were clean. Drying took 3 or 4 days in my office. Putting them in the sun is way faster. If you work them enough you can remove even diesel smell. Only time will tell if the smell comes back after a while though. My cabin covers had been redone wiht vinyl zippers and were a piece of cake, jsut threw them in the wash. My Vbeerth cusihions had never been replaced. The zippers were corroded shut. I broke them off trying to get them to come loose. After I washed the covers I just sewed them back with some thick polyester thread and a doll needle.
I really need to replace those. My temporary solution is to make a sheet that fits the Vberth cushions and leave it on them.
After all that work, I was walking down the dock and dropped one of my vberth cushions in the water. So I get to start over with that one. My wife actually laughed out loud at me.

 

[BobM]

I am glad it helped!

The tip about using vinegar on corroded zippers was fantastic! Worked like a charm, I was ready to remove and replace them. I tried everything else and they would not budge. Thanks a million!

I am a font of various and sundry knowledge accumulated from too much time on a darned computer!

 

[rardiH36]

Re: I am glad it helped!

Helmut is right about needing a long time for the foam to drying out. When I did mine a couple of summers ago, and the large bolster pieces of foam were still damp even after 4-5 days in the sun during a low humidity California heat wave! Foam holds and incredible amount of water.

My method for getting the mold/mildew out of the foam (nothing was visible, just that musty odor) was to put on some old clothes and go out to my swimming pool along with with a 35 gallon plastic garbage can and a few gallon bottles of swimming pool chlorine -- which is much more concentrated than chlorox. Tap water is expensive in Californa so the swimming pool source seemed reasonable and there was no risk of damaging anything in the house. I dipped the garbage container in the pool to withdraw about 1/4 full of water. Then added 1/4 gallon of the chlorine. Threw in a foam cushion. (The fabric was already removed). Used a 2 x 4 to mash the cushion in the water/chlorine solution for a while. Then removed the cushion. After a few cushions, all the solution garbage in the can has been absorbed, so start the process again for the next sequence of cushions. The chlorine in the cushions remained wet for some time, so it had a chance to kill the mold/mildew. Eventually when dry, there was no remaining smell of chlorine. Doing the same process in a bathtub would work, but there is a risk that the chlorine solution will dribble around and bleach out unintended items in the house.

As for the fabric. It was an open weave synthetic. I put it in the washing machine using cold water.

The project was a lot of work, but along with a good cleaning of the boat's interior surfaces and the bilge, the mildew smell in the cabin is gone.

 

[Hermit Scott]

Helmut....

Hermit. Helmut is a penis head. Unless you meant to call me a penis head, then I am sorry for trying to correct you.

 

[rardiH36]

Hermit:

Had a work collegue by the name of Helmut. Several years of typing that sequence of letters in Emails and it still sort of rolls off the fingertips. Thinking Hermit -- type Helmut. It happens. Sorry the mistake offended. Origins of the name Helmut (from Wikipedia):

========

Helmut is a common given name in the German language. Variants include Hellmut, Helmuth, and Hellmuth.

Its second part "Mut" is clearly German for "courage", "vigour", but there are different theories regarding the origin of the first part, relating it to historical languages' words for "bright", "hell", "helmet", and "sword". In another Indo-European language, Hindi, heemuth means courage, so it is possible the German Helmut and the Hindi heemuth, both meaning courage, have a common proto-Indo-European root.

===========

 

[Hermit Scott]

rardi-I know you didn't mean anything by it. I was just messing with you.
I had a dream last night. I was going around asking people what a rardi was. When I woke up I realized I got the word from you on this site. I had another dream a long time ago that I was sailing with maine sail, I didn't know what he looked like then but I knew it was him. lol In the psycology manual those are signs of SBO addiction.

 

[rardiH36]

Dear Hermit (I got it right this time!):

Thanks your update. I did really understand that you were in pulling my leg. But there was just a wee bit of doubt. So couldn't go unchallenged.

FYI: rardi is an achronym for my actual name that I've been using since the early days of internet. Richard+Jardine. ("Jardine" being a fine Scottish surname. As is yours?)

If I do "Helmut" again in the future, which I'll try not to, just a reminder from you that "Hermit" rather than "Helmut" is preferred.

Just to set your mind at ease that I have not singled you out, for several years a person at my work satellite office who I Emailed almost every day was "Leslie". Now, I'm not working. But the admin manager at my marina is "Lesley". Took me a couple of years before I could send Lesley an Email without mistyping my previous associate's spelling. Both were/are wonderful people, but don't look or act alike. It's just that my keyboard seems to have a mind of its own when I sit down before it. (Also doesn't help that I'm not super young any more.)

regards,
rardi