Mold on sails

[Mark Matthias]

I store my sails rolled neatly in a sail bag, and keep the sail bag in the cutty cabin of my Oday Daysailer. My Daysailer is kept on a trailer in our yacht club yard with a vinyl custom cover over it. Due to an abnormally long time between outings, about 6 weeks, I noticed some mold on both the main and jib sails. The mold is just noticeable up close.What is the best way to clean the sails of the mold without damaging the sail fabric or stitching.Mark

 

[Don Evans]

If It Was Me...

Mark, I would make up a 3% solution of Chlorox Bleach in a spray bottle. Leave on for 15 minutes then hose off the chlorine. If the sail is soiled make a solution of Oxy Gel in warm water and use a semi stiff deck brush to scrub off any soiling from the mold. My thoughts here are to kill the mold spores with a weak chlorine and clean any stains off with Oxy Gel.Don