How remove mildew from vinyl boat trim?

[Cheryl Donner]

Can anyone recommend a good product for removing stubborn mildew
stains from the white vinyl trim on boats? I tried a strong bleach
solution and bristle-brush, but it barely had any effect. :(

[Wes Gardner]

How about X-14 Mildew remover. It seems to be one of the few that really
still has some "kill" power

Wes

[qshick]

try plane houshold bleach works very well
Wes Gardner wrote in message <3625EC7D...@toad.net>...

[Dave Carnell]

X-14, Tilex, etc. are nothing but diluted chlorine bleach, with perhaps some
detergent. At typical $2/pint they are equivalent to buying chlorine bleach
at $80/gal. I can get good drinking liquor for less. The decades-old USDA
recipe for cleaning mildew from paint of 1 part bleach with 3 parts water is
still the best recipe. Toss in a little detergent to help.

Dave Carnell <http://home.att.net/~DaveCarnell>

[Keith Beckmann]

Are you sure it's just mildew?

I have used Tilex and X-14 to remove mildew, which are just bleach based
products.

Maybe it's mildew and dirt. Try some bleach based Soft Scrub.

Cheryl Donner wrote in message <36296eac....@news.nr.infi.net>...

[Peggie Hall/Peal Products]

Once mildew has firmly set into fibers enough to stain to the extent
that bleach won't remove the stain, the only thing that will remove it
will also bleach the fabric (vinyl, whatever)...and you run the risk of
deteriorating the fabric enough to damage it. IOW, if you can't get it
out with bleach, you're stuck with it.

That's why it's VERY important to vent boat covers so that humidity
dries instead of becoming a breeding ground for mildew...to take the
cover off and let the boat air out as often as possible...never put the
boat away wet...and wash the boat often, even if you haven't used it to
wash away the spores before they can stain the upholstery. Air is
mildew's enemy...moisture is yours...so do whatever you can this winter
to keep your boat aired out and dry. Even if there's 2' of snow on the
ground, if there's a bright sunny day, take the cover off for a few
hours...sunlight kills mildew and the crisp dry air will dry out your
boat.

Prevention is always better than trying to find a cure...

Peggie

[Ydissacm]

>Can anyone recommend a good product for removing stubborn mildew
>stains from the white vinyl trim on boats? I tried a strong bleach
>solution and bristle-brush, but it barely had any effect.

I used bleach for many years to clean mildew and algae (green mildew) from
houses and decks while preping them for paint in my home improvement business.
I knew of the existence of other products for the purpose but thought they must
be something like the "$80 per gallon bleach" mentioned earlier in this
thread.

Then a guy hired me to paint his house and stain his decks and part of the deal
was that I use the Behr brand #62 (or #63?) deckwash he already had on hand to
clean everything before painting and staining. I kind of thought he had been
suckered in to buying some of that "expensive" bleach which I had been too
smart to buy. I dutifully loaded up my trusty pump-up garden sprayer and went
to work.

The stuff is absolutely amazing and I'll never use bleach again!!! I now use
it to clean mildew from my boats. It totally and quickly removes most organic
stains. I am also careful to rinse it off as soon as it has done the job
because it is a strong oxidant and might (??) cause damage. I have never known
this to happen. Anybody know about this chemistry?

The deckwash costs about $3.50 per gallon at Home Depot.

Mike Cassidy ydis...@aol.com
North Carolina, USA

[Zebra Productions]

This is a bit strong. but..I've found that MEK or Touelene works very
fast. be sure to mix 50/50
with Dawn dishsoap.