Canvas cleaning

[Benny67]

Hey guys,

Packing up my boat for the winter and noticed a film of mildew on the inside of my canvas top.

What's the best way to clean it off without bleach?

Sounds like a stupid question but I just want to make sure whatever I use does not damage the material. The top is only 4 seasons old and cost $3K to have custom made. I want to be sure what I do doesn?t screw it up.

 

[jetboater]

CLR makes a mold and mildew remover without bleach in it. The label says it’s safe on fabrics and carpets. I just used some on the carpet surrounding my bilge area and it worked well. I sprayed it on and let it set for a few minutes then went over it with a scrub brush then rinsed it with a garden hose.

I got it at Home Depot but you might find it other places as well.

It was about $7 for the spray bottle—?about double the price of the Dow one with bleach in it but it was worth it to me—I didnt want to use anything with bleach either

 

[JASinIL2006]

Is the top canvas or some other fabric (e.g., Sunbrella)? I'd find out what the top is made of, then go to the manufacturer's website. What works for a natural fabric may not be good for a synthetic and vice versa.

 

[Thalasso]

Hey guys,

Packing up my boat for the winter and noticed a film of mildew on the inside of my canvas top.

What's the best way to clean it off without bleach?

Sounds like a stupid question but I just want to make sure whatever I use does not damage the material. The top is only 4 seasons old and cost $3K to have custom made. I want to be sure what I do doesn?t screw it up.

Is it Sunbrella? If it's Sunbrella you can use a bleach mixture. Go to there website

 

[crazy charlie]

You can use a water bleach mixture.Important that you lay flat and fully saturate the canvas and threads with water first.I lay out a plastic dropcloth on my patio and just let the garden hose run on it for a while.Lift it and drain any puddling water and using a pump sprayer for insecticide or a spray bottle (depending on how much canvas you have to cover) spray the bleach water mixture starting with the worse area and leave on for approx 60-90 seconds and rinse thoroughly with garden hose.Dont use a nozle,just let the water run all over it for a while.....at lease 5 minutes paying special attention to the threads.you may need to repeat to entirely remove.you may as well turn the canvas over and use a soft brush and some sail shampoo and clean the whole thing.Air dry only,no heat.Then you will have to apply waterproofing.I have become an expert at this because my canvas top is huge and gets the same mildew every season.I found that waterproofing the inside after doing the outside greatly reduces the mildew.I get it the same time every year.approx 30 days prior to taking her home for the season.seems when the cooler weather sets in so does the mildew growth.Charlie

 

[Old Ironmaker]

The type of material will dictate what should and should not be used. I use Spray 9 cleaner on just about anything including canvas, Top Gun and Sunbrella. If Spray 9 doesn't get it clean a much harsher chemical will be needed. I take large items like my mooring cover to the car wash, clean the concrete first then lay it out and give it a good wash, put the spray 9 in a chemical sprayer, spray it on, scrub with my deck brush and then Hi Pressure rinse. It costs a few bucks but saves me the price of buying a new powerwasher that died a few years ago and it seemed I was always fighting the thing to start it. The truck gets loaded up with all sorts of stuff when I want a good washing like patio furniture as well as the boat.