De-funk-ifying your cabin cushions

[23 foot Escape]

This is a call to all who have dealt with buying an all too neglected sailboat. My own being a Hunter 23 with much potential, but too much "Funk" down below. I have of course saturated most hard surfaces in the cabin with a bleach mix. The headliner is another question. How the heck do I clean that? Or, do I have to rip it all out? I'm hoping I dont have to as it's still in good shape, just a bit "Funky". As there is NO ventilation on this boat when away I added a vent to the companionway hatch boards, and am in the process of cutting in a solar vent for the forward hatch, and two passive closable Vetus UFO vents ( location to be determined, suggestions anyone? ) on the deck. It's on a trailer in a secured storage facility for the time being, and power is not an option, as it's a glorified parking space, so a dehumidifier / heater isnt going to happen for now. I was also thinking of adding Dorads, but as I understand they leak when raining, and well, the boat is in Seattle (last 48 days aside the rain is coming soon). But, it's more than that. The previous owner let most of the cabin cushions go past mere staining. The foam is infected also, near the surface. Is there a way to nuetralize mold and mildew in foam? Or am I stuck using these as a "Pattern" for a shop that as soon as they hear the word "BOAT" (break out another thousand) will think I'm a rich guy , and charge me a ridiculous price? I pulled a couple of the covers off the cushions the other night and ran them thru the washing machine in the cold only cycle a few times then hung them out to air dry. The shinkage was minimal, and the covers are smelling like soap now instead of mold / mildew. I think they will fit again. But how do I de-"Funk" the actual foam? Any advise that gets me and my family enjoying the cabin again, is much appreciated. Fair Winds and Warm Seas from, The Escape Pod.

 

[dmc]

When I replaced the foam on .............

my Hunter 27, I bought the foam from "The Foam Factory" here in Michigan. I bought an electric carving knife (2 blades side by side) for a quarter at a yard sale and cut them myself. The cushions on the hull side were angle cuts, but with guide lines on both sides of the cushion, they came out good. It's really quite easy. buy a small piece of foam and give cutting a try.
The Foam Factory sells in different levels of firmness and if there is any shrinkage from washing you may be able to adjust the size.

Peace

dmc

 

[Dave602]

Search the archives for Peggy's posts on smells. She has a good book on dealing with all sorts of boat smells. We used K-O on our foam and it works well. Work it into the foam good and set them out in the sunshine they will have a much better smell.

 

[MrBee]

We tried several times to rid the cushions on our boat with many different ways. Finally gave into the need to replace the foam. After all, they were over 30 years old. This was on an Irwin 10/4. We ordered the foam from Sailrite and I did the cutting and glueing myself. The old foam was SO inundated with Odor that when I cut the 4" thick foam the very middle was bad. I'm sure foam can be had for far less than we paid butWe also sleep on them and we were not interested in something that would wear out in a few years.

Brian

 

[stevec22206]

Follow Dave's advise. Remove the covers, saturate the foam with Raritan's KO and let it dry outside on a sunny day. The KO will kill the mold spores in the foam. We also washed the covers but I recall spraying them as well after washing.

 

[Bob J.]

We used K-O on our foam and it works well. Work it into the foam good and set them out in the sunshine they will have a much better smell.

I'm going to give that a try!

I've tried spraying the foam with a bleach solution & a pet odor solution. Leave them out in a pouring rain to drive the solution thru the foam. I'll let them dry outdoors & at first they smell good. Within a few days that old musty smell comes back.

For me, I want to get rid of the mold/musty smell, not mask it.

 

[zeehag]

sadly, latex foam does never stop stinking. doesnt matter what ye do with or to them. i replace mine with non latex foam... pricier, but
a)no allergies.
b)no stinky
c)doesnt fill with water like latex does....
that funky smell is mold.

 

[Dave602]

We bought a small garden sprayer to spray the KO on the foam. Worked it in real good. Took two treatments on some of ours but the smell did go out of it.

 

[topman]

De funking foam

As someone who makes cushions and Canvas for boats , you will never de funk your foam if it is that far gone. Do as one of the other posts says and buy some new foam a 2 lb foam medium density will do just fine. Buy a electric knife and a can of spray silicone to spray the blade to allow it to cut the foam easier. With your covers clean and new foam your boat will smell much better. Also when not on the boat make sure to allow airflow under cushions by lifting them up. Feel free to contact me if you need have any questions once you start.

Cheers
Laine

 

[RichH]

One of the best ways to remove 'funk' from foam cushions, the funk being mostly mildew and other fungals, is to obtain para-formaldehyde crystals, a very large/stout plastic bag, and a shop vac. Put the cushion foam in the bag, put the paraformaldehyde crystals into a perforated bag and put that into the bag then put the nozzle of the shop vac into the bag ... and suck most of the air out of the cushion and seal the bag with a tie-wraps to seal. The cushion will slowly implode into a tiny 'knot', the paraformaldehyde will 'sublime' into a very toxic gas which kills mold, ... let set for a few days or longer, re-pumping the bag with cushion as needed to repeat the 'implosion'. Caution: dont do this in a confined space as para-F is also toxic to human lung tissue.
When finished, remove the remaining paraf-F, pump down the foam a few times and then let set out in the air for a few days. Advantages: no wetting out the cushion which provides moisture for reinfection by other mold species.

The real way to do this is to simply replace the cushion foam. Cushion foam breaks down each successive time you compress it and after 30 years it probably has the 'resilience' of limp lettuce and should be replaced just for that reason.
Every large town in the US has a 'foam shop'; so, just take the old cushions to a foam shop and have them duplicated.

To prevent mold, etc. in the future, cover the foam with latex, etc. sheeting, leaving air spaces on the side margins so the cushion doesnt become a 'whoopie cushion'.

 

[BigEasy]

I read previously that you can use a bleach, water, and detergent solution and bathe/soak the foam only in a kiddie pool. Compress out as much water as possible and allow to air dry outdoors for a few days until completely dry, before replacing the fabric covering. This might be a last ditch effort before replacing the foam.

 

[Cool Beans]

Mine have been soaked a couple different times since I'm forgetful and leave things out in the rain

A couple started getting black spots and smelt funkier than usual. . .I pulled the covers off, flipped them inside out and left both cushions and covers out in the sun for a weekend. Natural UV sterilization worked for me. Mildew smell, as well as sweat and beer farts, are gone Smells like fresh hung laundry, though mine probably aren't near as bad as yours are. . .doing it a couple times a years keeps em fresh as just part of regular maintenance

 

[mark_swart]

If you can remove the covers, hand wash them in Borax. It will take care of any mildew. Then wash them again in the washing machine on gentle. Allow to dry thoroughly.
With the foam, ours was bad and we washed it in a kiddie pool in a Borax solution (covers off.)
You can buy Borax in the laundry aisle at Walmart. Wish I could have replaced the foam but I couldn't really find any, plus our boat has a lot of cushions.
Day/night solar vent will also do wonders!

 

[Bob J.]

The real way to do this is to simply replace the cushion foam.

I think Rich & Zeehag are right

 

[vtsailguy]

Kiddie pool + bleach + borax
Make like grapes
Soak overnight
Dry in sun

= win

 

[Bob J.]

Bleach, borax, kiddie pool, guess I'll give it try.
Seems a little more cost effective than buying new cushions.

 

[finding41]

I tried all kinds of crazy things in terms of washing and drying and airing and just went and got new foam.
Boy did I waist allot of time!
I went to a mattress place and got 3 Queen size 3" mattresses for $220.
I also made new covers. I don't know what a new boat smells like. But I do know what our new cushions don't smell like!
They smell lovely now.

 

[arf145]

We faced the cushion funk problem too and I'm happy with our solution, which was way less expensive than replacement. Part of the smell in ours might have been mold, and other biologicals but it also was diesel, toilet, you name it. What worked for us was to first wash the foam in a bathtub to get the basic dirt out. I used an orange cleaner for this. The washing action was provided by walking all over the foam like I was stomping grapes. Rinsed and squished it out well, and then did it all over again with a solution of Kids N Pets odor eliminator and water. I suspect this is similar to K-O. Drying the foam is the big challenge. After gravity did its thing, I moved things along by walking on the foam with towels on top and botom periodically.

We washed the covers and washed them in odor eliminator as well. The cushions smell 100% better than before. A friend also had good results with this doing them in a kiddie pool, letting his kids be the grape stompers. Fun for the whole family!

No way this was easy but replacement foam is not cheap, and it makes a good winter project.

 

[letterman]

Vinegar works better than bleach. Not only does it kill the mold, it leaves a residue that inhibits future growth. I never tried the Borax, but I will.

 

[Bob J.]

I tried vinegar earlier this summer. The results for me were unsatisfactory.
I'll give the bleach/borax thing a chance in the future but in the long run something tells me I'll end up agreeing with Rich & Zeehag.