Cleaning the Vinyl

[looneytoons]

We keep our boat in the water at the marina from May - October. Each week when we arrived, we were met with mold, mildew and spider crap on all of the seats. Needless to say, we began each weekend with about two hours worth of cleaning. We have sprayed for spiders and keep both the front and rear gates open for circulation. Nothing we tried seemed to work until this year. Right before we leave, we spray all vinyl with a light mist of Lysol, allow to dry before covering. Then, we bought an electronic high pitch sound emitting pest control machine. I can't remember the name right now; but, I can get that for anyone who wants it. It does not completely get rid of the spiders; but, cuts down the problem by about 90%.

[STEVEBRENDA]

Do you cover the boat? We use a UV sealer that seems to help with the mold. We put it on heavy right before we cover the boat for th ewinter.

[jimrs]

I found some charcoal in a bucket sitting on the floor helps to keep the mold down on a covered boat.

[BobG]

I found some charcoal in a bucket sitting on the floor helps to keep the mold down on a covered boat.

That's a very cool idea!

[playcat]

Welcome Dave and Alma! Great ideas for the spiders, since the wife is positive even the tiniest of spiders have 6 inch fangs!

[krusskruss]

We have the same problem. Now we take the time to cover the boat before leaving it to sit for a week. That takes us much less time than cleaning up after birds and spiders.

I was going to try fabric softener sheets. but the cover seems to be working well enough. leaving fabric softener sheets lying around is an old hunting trick to keep the bugs out of the hunting cabin. It seems to work well.

I always thought that the sonic bug repellent things were snake oil. It's good to know that they actually work.

[gramps]

Dave, Do you put 303 Protectant on your seats? I put it on 2 or 3 times a year and it really helps when I have to clean the Vinyl.

[dockholiday]

Not saying it is the best and safest for seats but got some mold armor at home depot and it removed the mold the best of anything I have tried. It can be diluted so I would start out weak and strengthen as needed. Once clean the 303 protectant is king. All the item listed will help cut down on the moisture. I picked up some damp rid but never really needed it so not sure how well it works. Where ya'll been??? Come back and stay a while

doc

[bassn386]

We used to use DampRid on our open bow, with mixed results. It seems to work well in small, enclosed spaces, but it doesn't do as good a job where there are openings.
I always put charcoal in both boats over the winter. It seems to do a good job as evidenced by the coating of green on top of the charcoal in spring. I use cheap plastic tubs from Wally World and then dump the old stuff in the burn pit in the spring.
I've had some luck getting spider crap off vinyl with stuff called Serious Marine Cleaner from Shurhold Products. It's a good all-around cleaner but it's not cheap. Next year I'm going to buy a gallon of the concentrate and mix my own.

[looneytoons]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. We tried charcoal, dryer sheets and, actually, 303 made the mold and mildew worse. Such problems we had. Now they seem to be more under control. As far as cleaning, we still use Totally Awesome from the dollar store. Been working well so far. Once in a great while I will need to pull out the Magic Eraser. I know it's not good for the vinyl but hasn't seemed to hurt anything so far. Now for the moss problem. We have moss growing on the tiny carpet strips on the outside of the fencing. Also, the swim deck. I have researched the internet and they say spraying with white vinegar, letting it sit for 15 minutes and rinsing it off kills the moss. That is my weekend project this weekend. Getting the boat all cleaned up for vacation beginning the next weekend. Probably should save all these cleaning chores until after vaca. hehe

[badmoonrising]

303 made the mold and mildew worse.

303 is a UV blocker. UV kills mold. Any existing mold would be protected by 303.

[dockholiday]

303 made the mold and mildew worse.

303 is a UV blocker. UV kills mold. Any existing mold would be protected by 303.

yep that is what i was thinking.....sort of like putting an umbrella over it if there is any residual left.

[looneytoons]

That would make sense. We thought we had all the mildew off. We scrubbed it well before we put the 303 on; but must not have gotten it all off.