I had my deck cleaned nice and white last fall, but today it seems to be covered with fungus/mold/algae of some sort from sitting under trees for the winter. Neither Simple Green nor Starbrite Deck Cleaner will get the staining out of the flat white paint. The non-skid areas seem to respond to the Starbrite and too much scrubbing. Surely there's an easier way...no one would own a sailboat if it took this much work every Spring. Anyone have a fix for this short of a flame thrower?
Deck Cleaning
- Thread starter jfrench
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Try a strong solution of TSP in Hot water with your long handled scrub brush, or Roll OFF. Those are our 2 go-to products when most everything else fails. The tsp works pretty well on wood with fungus, but the Roll Off seems to work on everything. Spray it on full strength, let it sit a bit and scrub.
Jtoben- You might have given me a good lead. See this clip from Wikipedia:
TSP may be used with household chlorine bleach in the same solution without hazardous reactions.[4] This mixture is particularly good for removing mildew.
TSP may be used with household chlorine bleach in the same solution without hazardous reactions.[4] This mixture is particularly good for removing mildew.
That worked. I used one cup of TSP and one cup of Clorox bleach in a bucket of water and the deck is perfectly clean. I am assuming that my deck is flat (non-reflective) white by design, rather than just as the result of too much sun exposure. Is there a sealant to help the paint repel future dirt adhesion? Is there any reason not to paint it gloss white?
Fantastic has a version with bleach that will take the algae/mold off. Use old clothes and rubber gloves - it's wicked stuff. Probably the same as TSP and bleach.
Chris
Chris
We just bought a 1975 Catalina 22', so I am looking forward to getting it all cleaned up for this season. On the hull we used "On Off" with a orbital buffer and then waxed with Collinite wax and it sparkles like the day it came from the factory. And, that isn't just me saying so either, lots of folks at the Sailing School came by and remarked at how well it turned out. So, you might want to try that.
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