Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

I recently bought a 98 Larson 186 SEI as my first boat. The carpet has some stains on it and the interior need a good cleaning. Whats the best way to go about this? I've read you can pressure wash the carpet, but I'm new to boating and I am paranoid about any water getting on the carpet. Let me know what you guys do!

-BJ

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

I woulnd't pressure wash it...thats my 2 cents

(water all inside your boat...might even tear up your carpet if its not in the best condition).... an auto detailer place can steam clean it for you..... for a song... or use your shop vac and a some soapy water spritzed from a spray bottle etc...scrub...suck it up.

mebbe one of your pals or neighbors has a carpet cleaner machine that they own (we got one for instance) it isn't industrial but it gets the job done...cleans up general dirt real nice

good luck!

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

ps Congrat son the new to you Larson and welcome to Iboats!

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

I rented a rug doctor to do my house carpets $25 for 24 hrs I also rented the small hand attachment for another $5. That little sucker worked wonders {hand attachment} Killed 3 birds with one stone House carpets, Pick up truck and boat carpets. Has an injector and extractor. That is an option FYI You are supposed to put the boat in the water- not the water in the boat!!! I think a pressure washer would force water into places you dont really want it and it doesnt extract anything Try the Rug Doc!

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

I pressure wash my boat several times a year but you can't just crank up the pressure washer and go hog wild. Also, my boats have all had good floors that were sealed so that water wasn't going to hurt them or floors that I didn't care about but all were carpeted. I have a gas pressure washer with an adjustable output and several nozzles. I use a fairly wide fan nozzle and I turn the pressure down to where it isn't going to damage anything. About once a year I will put the soap nozzle on and give the carpet a good soap down and then rinse it off with that medium fan nozzle on reduced pressure.

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

Well recommended or not. Eight after I bought my boat I pressure washed the carpets. It got them cleaned up just right. I would not recommend a very powerful pressure washer though. I have one of those household electrical ones. You obviously don't want to get certain things wet in your boat and you obviously don't want to introduce much water to the inside of your boat.

Shop vac, liquid laundry detergent diluted in a spray bottle dampen your carpet then spray the solution on to it and get in and scrub scrub scrub. then suck it all dry with the shop vac.

better do the above only after you scrub hit it with the pressure washer then hit it with the vac.

The carpet cleaner rental is a good idea as well. You can also take your boat to one of those coin operated ones at the car wash.

However I don't plan on making it a habit of pressure washing the carpet on my boat except probably at the beginning of each season. The rest of the time it will be vacuumed real well with the shop vac.

I don't see an issue with occasionally pressure washing the carpet of your boat with a low power pressure washer.

Then again I am a newbie and what do I know.

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

Oh yeah. Obviously boat bow high and plug removed.

Re: Can you pressure wash interior of a boat?

I've pressure washed indoor/outdoor carpeting for more years than I care to remember and in one of the most inhospitable climates to things left outside. (Florida) And any pool or other outdoor furniture that happened to come into my sights. As long as you crank down the pressure some and use a wider angle nozzle it will clean it as fast and as well as anything. Black grunge will come out of the carpet you will be hard pressed to remove any other way. Great for getting out the entrenched grime and mold. There is a turn adjustment sticking up on the pressure pump (clockwise for more pressure) or you can throttle down the engine or both. I would tilt the boat back so the stern drain hole is functional and work from front to back, there's no point in aiming it into electrical stuff, but the reason we pay 10 times more than normal for boat items is because they are presumably able to survive the marine environment. I'm thinking a drenching with soap and fresh water comes under that general category. I would LOVE to have a discussion with a boat manufacturer who doesn't think it's a good idea to get his boat wet. The removable cabin carpet in my sailboat is
nearly 30 years old and it gets a vigorous pressure washing a couple times a year with no ill effects. What really ruins fabric is lots of sunshine. I'm just about over exterior fabric on boats that cant be picked up and thrown away
and replaced with something off the rack.

During a short stint as a carpet cleaner in my formative years, we used all fabric bleach (not chlorine/Clorox like you'd use for whites only) dissolved in hot water with a little soap and a stiff brush for stubborn stains. All disclaimers apply, but it worked very well. It was a powder...maybe
Clorox II, but not entirely sure.

BJ1 said:

I recently bought a 98 Larson 186 SEI as my first boat. The carpet has some stains on it and the interior need a good cleaning. Whats the best way to go about this? I've read you can pressure wash the carpet, but I'm new to boating and I am paranoid about any water getting on the carpet. Let me know what you guys do!

-BJ

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