How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Starcraft1709owner · Nov 3, 2012

Hi Everyone - Glad to be a member of iBoats. I have owned at least a dozen boats back to when I was 10 years old, 27 years ago, ranging from tiller-steered aluminum boats to a 70+ mph speedboat powered by a 455 Oldsmobile with a Berkeley Jet. After being out of boating for one year, I picked up a 1997 Starcraft 1709 runabout with a 120 hp Force outboard. This boat was owned by a good friend of mine who left it outside for three years, half the time uncovered. The carpeting is a soaked, dirty mess. I hope it is salvageable.

Is there a good way to dry out the carpeting before assessing it? The boat is uncovered in my garage right now. Should I just let it air-dry?

The boat is solid, but messy, from begin neglected for a few years. It is mostly cosmetic...or, at least it appears. Anything I should look for (floors are solid - not sure if they are wood or some sort of synthetic material or fiberglass; gauges appear to work, as with the lights. I have to get a battery for it to try everything else out)? I have a thread on the Force motor already elsewhere, so I am mostly thinking of the boat and trailer. I did tow it 25 miles home yesterday at 50-60 mph - the tires still had good pressure in them! - and the bearings were not hot (had buddies on them).

Also, any thoughts on cleaning mildew and mold spots on the interior? Everything just is wet and has been exposed for a couple of years.

Thank you!

Another retired guy · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Hi. I would clean up as much of the water as you can with towels etc. and then put a couple of fans in there to help dry it out. I wouldn't use heaters, as they will encourage mold growth. Good luck.

jsimms724 · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Unless some one has put in a new floor, its 3/4 inch marine plywood under the carpet ( I have the same boat) good luck with the new toy

jigngrub · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

If you have unsealed plywood decking under the carpet it will more than likely be soaked too. Drying out the decking with carpet on top of it isn't going to happen.

Depending on what has been done to your boat by previous owners you may have floatation foam directly beneath and in contact with your decking, if this is what's there... you probably have waterlogged floatation foam below the deck too.

You'll probably never get that old nappy carpeting to look satisfactory, so I'd go ahead and take it up and have a look at the decking and below the deck too... now is the time to do it.

If your decking is saturated it will rot soon, if your floatation foam is saturated... the decking will rot sooner. If someone has removed the floatation foam in your boat because it was saturated and didn't replace it, it needs to be replaced.

This is something that needs to be done when buying an older used boat, unfortunately a lot of people don't do it.

At the very least, you'll have to replace the carpet... but you'll probably need to do more than that.

rivermouse · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

I would get a small key hole saw and remove a "core sample" several inches down. Then replace anything that is wet...The core sample will tell you what you got to know at this point.

Tail_Gunner · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Wet vac and a fan or two..Give three day's and see what's going on. Or a trip to the desert even there three day's. Good luck

Silvertip · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Move it outside into the sun. Let mother nature do the work. Put it back inside early evening to prevent fog/dew from settling again.

NYBo · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Welcome to iboats!

I would pressure wash the carpet with some detergent in the washer, if possible, then use a shop vac to get out as much of the water as possible. The caveats above about saturated wood and flotation foam should be heeded, though.

EddiePetty · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

NYBo said:
Welcome to iboats!

I would pressure wash the carpet with some detergent in the washer, if possible, then use a shop vac to get out as much of the water as possible. The caveats above about saturated wood and flotation foam should be heeded, though.

In addition to the above (and the sunshine notion).....wherever you park the boat, elevate the bow as high as possible to allow gravity to do its thing. Keep the ole wet and dry handy to remove the bulk of the water as it runs down hill.

jigngrub · Nov 3, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Silvertip said:
Move it outside into the sun. Let mother nature do the work. Put it back inside early evening to prevent fog/dew from settling again.

You can do this and feel the carpet with your hand at the end of the day to see if it feels dry. When it feels dry at the end of the day, feel it again in the morning after a night in the garage, if it's wet again your decking is saturated (and probably the foam underneath it).

I personally would remove the carpeting and decking just to see what kind of sins previous owners have commited below deck... if anyone has dared to venture that far, and they usually do.

jsimms724 said:
Unless some one has put in a new floor, its 3/4 inch marine plywood under the carpet ( I have the same boat) good luck with the new toy

That would be the first factory "Star" I've ever seen with 3/4" decking, all I've ever seen is 1/2" decking supported by expanding urethane foam.

jsimms724 · Nov 4, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

My 1709 and my neighbors 1710 both have 3/4 ply 1998 and 2000 respectively

UncleWillie · Nov 4, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

The Little Green Clean Machine works well for Disasters and Routine cleaning of the boat.
It is also great for the Car and around the house.

bonz_d · Nov 5, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

I too would have to go along with the "outside sunshine with the bow raised". If there is a bit of a breeze then even better.

When I bought my Lund it too was negelcted and left out uncovered. Had a soft spot in the decking about 2 feet square. When I pulled it all up I found all the floatation foam under it to still be dry and solid so I suppose I' am the exception to the case of rotten wood = soaked foam.

Home Cookin' · Nov 5, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

pull it out and replace with vinyl or other non-carpet. It's not worth the effort to save and it's not worth having in the first place.

Starcraft1709owner · Nov 7, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Update - I discovered that the carpeting is more moldy and covered in mildew covered than soaking wet. Therefore, after using this great resource we have at our disposal known as the internet, I tried a few things I read about. First, I sprayed a 3:1 mix of vinegar and water on the moldy surface of the carpet. I found that it removed a lot of the mold/mildew, but left the carpet mostly stained green. Second, tonight, I tried using Greased Lightning spray cleaner, which claims to remove mildew stains. With the mold/mildew gone, I now just want to get rid of the dark green stain (the carpet is a sand-brown color). Using Greased Lightning, a scrub bristle brush, then rinsing with water (and sucking up the water with a shop vac), I have had moderate success. The green stain is mostly gone, but still is not quite the right color, particularly the parts of the carpeting that had the worst mold. The areas of carpet with lighter stain actually came back pretty darn close to the actual color.

So...my next Q is...any ideas on getting mold stains off carpeting??? My last resort is a steam cleaner or carpet shampoo machine. How about detergent and water, then rinsing?

BTW, I have a fan on the carpeting I worked on tonight, doing the work of drying the carpet out.

jigngrub · Nov 7, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Resolve carpet stain remover works good in my house, and Blue Coral makes a good spray foam automotive carpet cleaner (available in the automotive dept at Wal-mart).

Chris1956 · Nov 8, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Marine-grade carpet is mostly indestructable. It is usually polypropolene. Use some detergent and diluted bleach to kill mold and mildew, and rinse well. Let air dry. Superclean is good as well. A '97 boat should have a sealed deck. It should be mostly intact. Worse comes to worse, rip out the carpet, go to lowes or Home Despot and pick out some new indoor/outdoor carpet and glue it in. I find folks really get concerned about wet boat carpets. Boat carpets are made to get wet, sandy and have drinks spilled on them... I have had gallons of 50::1 fuel spilled on my carpet. A little Superclean cleans it right up.

cyclops2 · Nov 9, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

There is a world of difference between spills & 3 years of deliberate abuse.

I would avoid the high pressure in case there is NO or shot or gaps in the plywood flooring under the carpeting. Happens often enough on old boats.

If the boat is great except for the carpet ? Consider new carpeting...........Bleaches & other cleaners can do a bad staining of Aluminum finishes..........

Ask the other posters what amount of work is required to remove the carpet & maybe even the plywood floor if you gouge it removing the carpet.
Do the job right & only do it one time.

cyclops2 · Nov 9, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

Chris

You use a proven mold repeller............50 : 1 gasoline.

Starcraft1709owner · Nov 9, 2012

Re: How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

50:1...I am sure I will be asking how to clean that off sooner or later!

To the poster who noted aluminum finish damage from bleach and cleaners - this Starcraft is a fiberglass model.

Still not to the point of tearing out the old carpet, as I think it is salvageable. Gonna try some Resolve tomorrow as well as some Mean Green and see where that gets me.

Once I get the carpet cleaned, the rest of the interior will be a piece of cake. I should have a brand new looking boat soon!

How to dry soaked carpet properly...?

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