Cleaning cloth boat interior

[pcedtech]

Recently purchased a 30 year old boat with the orginal cloth coverings. In the process of trying to clean some of the stains off of them I have tried several different things.
Is there any good hints or tips for doing this.

The one thing that seems to work the best for removing stains is a product called bluemagic carpet cleaner. But the lingering smell drives me crazy. I have ended up taking one and washing it on a gentle cycle with woolite in the wash machine, then air drying. But still not as clean as I would have liked. I really don't want to have to buy new upholstery if I can help it.

 

[MikeH]

Dale,
When we got our 10 year old boat the cloth cushion covers had stains, spillls and smells we needed to get rid of too. Rather than trying to spot treat I took them all off, re-zipped them, stain treated the spots and let them soak a bit, then washed them two at a time in our washing machine on cold with a full load of water and good agitation. While they were washing I gave the foam a thorough cleaning with detergent, then wrung them out.

I tumbled the covers for 10 minutes with almost no heat just to get the wrinkles out, and when the foam was 100% dry (the next day) I put the damp covers back on and let them dry fully which kept their shapes from distorting or shrinking. Not much different from what you did, but I didn't use woolite. Ours turned out great.

 

[dancing bear]

My cushions were moldy, and stunk like the POs two (2!, geez!) coffee cans full of moth balls. I was allergic to the mold.
I took them to Service Master and they cleaned/disinfected them for $165; they smell pretty.

 

[Stu Jackson]

And don't forget

to use a water repellent spray on the outside canvas.

 

[pcedtech]

That is good stuff to know. I hadn't washed the foam. should have thought of that. will do on the next ones to do. And another great idea to get the water repellent spray so i won't have to do as often. I was concerned bout putting them back on but when I did it like a pillow and pillow case it worked better then expected..
Thing only thing left is I have buttons on the last two that I am not sure how to get back on since they are those strings connectors. maybe just new string?

 

[Benny]

Consider making some covers to put over the original upholstery. In the past have used blankets, table runners, towels and curtains to cover seats. Find some with a nice marine mottif and walla! Half the time just tucked the new fabric in or laid it on top making it real easy to install and remove for cleaning. After 30 years some stains or decoloration are just impossible to remove.

 

[MikeH]

Stu makes an excellent point about the water proofing. It reminded me that after all the cleaning my wife got some cans of Camp Dry from MC Sports or Gander Mountain or someplace and sprayed the tops of all the cushions to protect against spills! Thanks Stu!

 

[larryw]

Upholstery cleaner

 

[MrBee]

I read some place before that a good thing to do with older cushions is to spray them good with a deoderizer, like Fabreeze or Lysol or what ever you like, then put them in a large bag (Trash bag would work) use a shop vac and suck all the air out there by forcing deoderizer into the Cushion. leave them in the bag overnight, Cushions should smell fresh in the morning.

Even with Stains, the Covers shouldn't have a bad odor after being washed, that would be the Cushion that smells bad.

Bee