keeping mold away!

[NikM820]

So, recently covered my Marlin and have noticed that black mold that is on the helm chair arm rests showing up with a vengeance on the bolsters. Anyway to stop this? And what products work best to prevent and clean up once it starts. It seem like sunlight does the best but I really don't like leaving her out in the sun. The helm chair I have tried every product I can think of on and that black moldy stuff is holding tight. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Nick.

 

[Fishtales]

I would try a couple of things:

Prevention
4 tubs of damp rid (2 cabin, 2 cockpit) if boat is covered tight. My marina also uses some other products in the cabin, head and refrigerator areas. One is a mold preventor that looks like one of those old Shell No Pest Strip boxes and the other is a deodorizer that comes in a container that looks like 3 stacked hockey pucks. Smells like a locker room deodorant, but works well.

Some tins with absorbing kitty litter I'm told works well in the cabin, but it can get messy if it spills.

Removal
I found the Zep mildew and stain remover (blue jugs in spray bottles and gallon containers) works very well. Safe for fiberglass but I wash it off quickly and don't let it sit on metal, wires and other material too long (read label). I've also used it on the gunnel top non-slip areas with nice success. It is a PIA if the mold gets in these areas. It works great in the Bilge areas as well, and if the boat is elevated (bow up) a bit to allow water to drain out the garboard drain (leave the plug out all winter) when stored you can hose it right out. The bilge areas look super. I use it on the inside of the hard top and spot use on the cushon material by spraying on a rag, wipe off and then rinse well when needed, the add a protectant like 3M 303.

I know bleach based cleaners are rough on things, but that mold is hard to remove.

 

[gwwannabe]

This year has been really bad as far as mold and mildew goes. I just washed and waxed my boat and the mold stains were everywhere - in the cockpit, under the hardtop, the seats, just about everywhere you looked. Nothing I tried worked until I finally mixed chlorine bleach 50/50 with water, sprayed it on and let it sit. Within minutes, the stains were gone. The boat hasn't looked this good in years.

Gary 93 Gulfstream

 

[seasick]

I have had good luck with the ZEP also. The plastic of the helm chairs holds the mold and it is tough to get out but either ZEP for moderate mold or bleach for the tougher spots works. The bleach is not recommended for gel coat so be careful.
The bolsters are another story. If the mold is on the surface only it will clean up easily but often the mold is inside (foam fabric and vinyl) and grows through the vinyl from the inside out. In that case it is virtually impossible to stop the mold once it starts.
You can try acetone to clean the vinyl, followed by a fresh water rinse. That might help but if the foam has mold, there is nothing you can do except move to Arizona.

 

[jackalis]

Mold Armor @ Home Depot

 

[g0tagrip]

I use vinegar to wipe down all the inside of the cabin, bathroom, refer, hardtop, basically everywhere mold will grow. Works great, and was recommended by the Grady White tech. Straight vinegar on a towel cloth. Just finished doing my boat today.

 

[NikM820]

The bolster mold responded best to the 50/50 water bleach. Still have not found a product that works on those black spots on the helm chairs though.
thanks
Nick

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Vinegar works great especially on mildew. I have one tiny question though. You live in Daytona Beach and until 6 years ago I lived in Orange City. I am curious as to why are you putting your boat away for the winter? Am I missing something here. We would boat 12 months out of the year, now I am lucky to boat 5 or 6 months out of the year. It is one of the few things I miss about living there...year round boating. Good luck on the mildew. I also use from time to time Amazons Mold and Mildew and Simple Green too.

 

[NikM820]

Nope, not putting her away for the winter. In fact the winter is my favorite time to fish because less people to deal with offshore. Its after I started using my sunbrella cover while the boats on the lift the mold has gone crazy.
Nick.

 

[jgrills2]

While we are talking about mold, what do you use to clean mold spots off of the carpet liner inside the cabin of an Overnighter. It's original and looks good but starting to get black mold spots.

 

[seasick]

I think you should start a new post with your question. This thread is 10 years old! Also I have a different opinion on what works best

 

[nuclear]

While we are talking about mold, what do you use to clean mold spots off of the carpet liner inside the cabin of an Overnighter. It's original and looks good but starting to get black mold spots.

Diluted bleach seems to work well.

 

[Fishtales]

Get a new boat every year. Problem solved.

 

[Automated14]

Nautical 1 Extreme Mold and Mildew remover works great for existing mold. Proper air circulation under the cover is key too. My friend has his whaler shrinkwrapped and it's moldy every spring. I had a differenct crew shrink wrap my grady and they used a lot of those vents. not a spec of mold. I also used those bags you hang that collect water in them, forget what they are called.

 

[jgrills2]

I don't want to ruin the carpet with any bleach. Is there a saver way to clean the carpet and eliminate black spots?

 

[g0tagrip]

Try vinegar.

 

[nuclear]

I don't want to ruin the carpet with any bleach. Is there a saver way to clean the carpet and eliminate black spots?

You won't if it's diluted. My detailer does the same on his Parker.

 

[seasick]

I have had pretty good results using containers of Damp Rid. It probably will take more than one for the winter depending on the humidity. You also need to check and drain as needed in addition to replacing so access is needed. For shrink wrap that means a zipper door. ( while we are talking about shrink wrap, have your wrapper install several vents, 4 at a minimum and more depending on the boat size. They are cheap.
Two things I have learned; The lavender fragrance is awful The fresh scent ( whatever it is called) is better.)
If you have a stainless sink, the liquid captured by the Damprid container will stain the sink, so don't pour it down the drain unless you have a way to rinse the sink out.

 

[nuclear]

I have had pretty good results using containers of Damp Rid. It probably will take more than one for the winter depending on the humidity. You also need to check and drain as needed in addition to replacing so access is needed. For shrink wrap that means a zipper door. ( while we are talking about shrink wrap, have your wrapper install several vents, 4 at a minimum and more depending on the boat size. They are cheap.
Two things I have learned; The lavender fragrance is awful The fresh scent ( whatever it is called) is better.)
If you have a stainless sink, the liquid captured by the Damprid container will stain the sink, so don't pour it down the drain unless you have a way to rinse the sink out.

I use DampRid over the winter but it's not going to do you any good the rest of the time.

 

[ROBERTH]

I have dealt with bad mold issues for years. It is down inside the hull as well. I have a pretty good handle on it now. I had purchased some commercial mold remediator and put in a spray gun and with over 100psi tried to fog up inside the hull and areas I can not see or get to to help kill it. Then I sprayed some 50/50 bleach to remove the stains and used fans to dry out quickly. That did a good job. Then after a while it would start to show back up even using the EvaDry units and Damp rid.
I use a heater in the winter and have a fan always blowing now in the non heater months to keep air moving. That has done a great job. Better than the EvaDry and Damp Rid.
I finally broke down and purchased an Ionizer unit and since then, no more mold! Even smells better. Used in also on my old truck that does not get driven but once a month or as needed that was always developing a fuzzy layer of mildew. Used the ionizer and no more mildew or smell since! Those things really do work so might give it a try.
Nothing will work unless you can "KILL" the mold spores and Bleach does not kill the root, it just makes it look like it did by bleaching it.

Vinegar does some work on the mold, but the smell is a killer for me! Also be careful as it is very strong acidic so keep off metals and your hands if full strength. Treat it the same as bleach....