Home Made Deck Cleaners

[Ducati]

There is no shortage of cleaners on the market for cleaning fiberglass boats. I also don't like it when this stuff runs of into the water and fouls our waters.

Are there any cleaners that we can make at home that do the job just as well?

Thanks

 

[Tim R.]

I keep my deck fairly clean. I wash it often and use no detergents. Just a deck brush and water usually do the trick. If I have not done it in a while I will dilute Simple Green into the water. Magic Erasers for the stubborn spots.

 

[kendall]

Agree, with regular cleaning plain water and a good brush does wonders.
Generally for 'normal' conditions, the only time that chemicals are needed is if you stretch out time between cleanings.

There are plenty of green hand cleaners available that will handle greasy/oily grime with ease.

Ken.

 

[zeehag]

i use sea water--works great--if i find any kind of grease on decks, i use laundry soap or joy--both work well, and i have found neither fouls the waters....

 

[Peggie Hall HeadMistress]

Not much to be gained by "formulating" your own cleaners...

'Cuz most marine cleaning products are environmentally friendly...many household cleaning products that you're likely to use to create your own are not.

Don't be fooled by a "biodegradable" label...it does NOT mean the same thing as "environmentally friendly! "Biodegradable" simply means that the ingredients will eventually break down...it doesn't mean that it won't kill you meanwhile. Formaldehyde is just one example of a lethal biodegradable ingredient. What's worse, only 70% of the ingredients in any product labeled "biodegradable" have to be capable of biodegrading at all...the remaining 30% can be toxic.

If you want to know whether any product is environmentally friendly or not, read the first aid warnings. If they say something like "harmful or fatal if swallowed, may cause blindness, if ingested call poison control immediately," that product isn't friendly to people, pets OR the environment. But if they only say something like like, "keep out of the reach of children, flush eyes with clean water, wash hands after handling, call physician if symptoms develop," it's not likely to do much harm to anything.

 

[Patrick17430]

I do my part to avoid poisoning the planet and was always under the impression that it was illegal to clean your boat on the water with anything that was not environmentally friendly. Ive even heard its illegal to wash your car in the street with detergent and have it flow into a storm drain. Is that not true?

 

[RECESS]

Ive even heard its illegal to wash your car in the street with detergent and have it flow into a storm drain. Is that not true?

In the Republic of California.... yes. Not so much in other places.

 

[Steve Dion]

Island Girl, Simple Green, the Enviro stuff at WM and most everything else is environmentaly friendly these days. As long as there are no phosphates in the cleaners you are going to be fine.

 

[Shell]

There is no standard for "Environmentally Friendly Products" or "Bio- Degradable" in our country. Both for marina or the household. Same goes for "Natural Food". Means nothing. You believe it is so because the manufacture said so. I also have a bridge to sell. we should all be very concerned about the environment, especially as sailors and not put waste, grey water or any thing into the water. By the way we sail in NY Harbor, not the cleanest of waters.

 

[larryw]

I use car-wash soap on the boat, car and motorcycle. Simple Green is a great degreaser and will strip wax.

 

[Blue Nose]

What about using ecofriendly bleach cut with water. Chlorine dilutes in water. I see boater using it all the time.

 

[Shell]

Chlorine is a poison. There is no such thing as eco friendly bleach.

 

[Prime Time]

Not to toxic for rust stains?

What friendlier cleaner for rust stains on non-skid gelcoat would you use?

 

[sailingdog]

MaryKate On-and-Off Gel works quite well for this.

What friendlier cleaner for rust stains on non-skid gelcoat would you use?

 

[Steve Dion]

Oxalic acid!

 

[Brian D]

I get attacked with bird droppings. I've found that diluted vinegar does wonders. But I do not know what the impact, if any, diluted vinegar has on sea water.

 

[Chuckbear]

What friendlier cleaner for rust stains on non-skid gelcoat would you use?

We use a product from Home Depot called Rustaid that has not been harmful to our Awlgrip, gelcoat, fabrics or anything else and it works on many other stains besides rust.