Mildew Stain

[dale1]

Greetings. 2002, 265 express.

I'm struggling with the edges of the hard top and other similar edges that are mildewed. any advice for "safe removal the future prevention appreciated"

Dale

 

[Daman858]

Tilex works for me. Get it at any hardware place or grocery store.

 

[Fishtales]

Zep Mold and Mildew Remover in the spray bottle or 1/2 gallon. Low price and works great. I use it in my entire bilge when the deck plates are pulled and the boat is on blocks. Spray on sit for 3 min and hose down. Drains right out the garboard plug.

For Ttop edges, spray on a clean cloth and apply.

 

[DennisG01]

Bleach:water 1:5 No need to go any stronger. Even a little less would be fine. Spray it on with a light mist, walk away, come back in about 5 minutes. For areas that don't seem to get mold-free enough (sometimes vertical areas), saturate a clean, WHITE cloth and let it sit on the area for a few minutes.

 

[dale1]

thanks to all. I'll try those. Dale.

 

[eppem]

Yep, to zep! Works great!

 

[1998sailfish]

We have use "Mold Armor Mold & Mildew Stain Remover" They also produce a "Mold Blocker" available at Home Depot as well as most hardware stores. It's kick a$$ stuff!

Hi Eppe, Will you be at Cedar Island this summer ?

 

[eppem]

Hi Tom,

I love how this site is still part of my daily ritual - even in winter. Had a kick-a$$ time yesterday at the Giants game with family and fishing buds, even a client and her family met us for tailgating.

Anywho, yes, should be at CIM for a month or so again next summer. Just depends on timing and what's happening offshore.

Happy New Year to all!

EPPE

 

[g0tagrip]

Zep. Get it at Home Depot.

 

[gradywhite248]

Just bought some Zep from Home Depot. Only about $2:75.... Sprayed a few spot on the Grady in the rain and boy what a difference... Works great.....

 

[DennisG01]

You guys realize that the main ingredient in ZEP is bleach, right?

 

[gradywhite248]

You guys realize that the main ingredient in ZEP is bleach, right?

Yep, In my case I have to do a complete buff and wax this spring and with all the cushions removed thought I would give it a shot, vinegar was not working to well. Thanks though, Lots of great help on this site.................

 

[dale1]

Dennis.

what are the negative effects of bleach? can it be used, and rinsed thoroughly "water hose spray" afterwards?

iv worked on it for a couple/three hours so far. I'm struggling. I've tried tilex mildew remover so far. Its working, but at what cost to the surrounding surfaces. I purchased some stuff from marine 31 last night. when it comes in i'll try that.

thanks, dale

thanks,
dale

 

[gradywhite248]

Dennis.

what are the negative effects of bleach? can it be used, and rinsed thoroughly "water hose spray" afterwards?

iv worked on it for a couple/three hours so far. I'm struggling. I've tried tilex mildew remover so far. Its working, but at what cost to the surrounding surfaces. I purchased some stuff from marine 31 last night. when it comes in i'll try that.

thanks, dale

thanks,
dale

I'm really not sure. From what I understand it will for sure deteriorate the threads in the cushions an dull the gel coat but not sure someone might key in on that. In my case i bought my Grady from someone that always stored on a lift at the coast with a cover on it and was never cleaned in the past 4-5 years. It was sprayed with fresh water and then covered? Boat was covered in mold.Vinegar did not work so I tried the ZEP. Like mentioned above it is basically water down bleach. Im also going to buff and wax this spring so hopefully ones i complete i can keep the mold under control?

 

[ROBERTH]

I had a bout with Mold throughout the hull in last couple of years. I did a lot of searching and found that Moldstat Plus is the only thing so far that has worked for me.

Sure, the bleach and Zep and all the other stuff works in appearance, but the mold kept returning over time, especially where there was no circulation.

So I purchased the Moldstat Plus and put in my air spray gun and used 130psi pressure to create a fog and sprayed all up inside the hull where I could not get to for cleaning. This was in attempt to kill the mold/mildew bacteria. Once I let is soak for about a 1/2 hour, then I put some fans in the areas to dry it out and left the fans overnight. Seems that worked as it has not returned. Any area that I could reach, I would clean using spray nine which also kills bacteria and is a very powerful cleaner.

I have not had the mold issues since then, so seems this product does work. It is used commercially so figured it would do what it says.

For the hardtop edge, I finally sanded and brushed on some Grady matched color gelcoat with duratec to seal the edge as it was very porous. I also fixed the chipping at the edges where water was penetrating and freezing and causing it to crack off. So far, no more dirty or moldy edges.

If you are interested in the Moldstat products, here is the link to save you from searching for it: http://www.cleanertoday.com/Mold-Cleanup-s/79.htm
Read the part about how mold works and about bleach,etc. on this page: http://www.cleanertoday.com/mold-killer ... stat16.htm

I found this to be very interesting.....

 

[DennisG01]

Dennis.

what are the negative effects of bleach? can it be used, and rinsed thoroughly "water hose spray" afterwards?

iv worked on it for a couple/three hours so far. I'm struggling. I've tried tilex mildew remover so far. Its working, but at what cost to the surrounding surfaces. I purchased some stuff from marine 31 last night. when it comes in i'll try that.

thanks, dale

thanks,
dale

I have never noticed any negative effects of bleach and I've even used it stronger (less dilution). This is coming from my experience in the marine industry for over 25 years, my personal boats and other guys that work at the marina, too. I've used it on both gelcoat and vinyl. I've always heard (but never verified with a thread manufacturing company) that it can be hard on the stitching so I avoid them. If I'm going to be around the stitching, I wet them down first as a precaution. Then, I use the wet rag trick and don't spray near them. Although, there has been at least one time that I've used it sparingly on stitching (that I can remember well enough to speak of), but wetted first and then a good dilution ratio and then rinsed REALLY well. That was years ago, and that boat is still fine. But it's probably best to avoid this.

I can't say I've noticed the bleach to dull the gelcoat, but if it did it was very minimal. Now, removing wax - sure - I would believe it does that. BUT, properly prepared gelcoat doesn't (shouldn't) shine because of the wax. Done right, it shines by itself and then the wax simply protects it from UV degradation.

I have no experience with the special product mentioned above. But a key tip was mentioned by Robert, in regards to keeping it from coming back... air circulation. Another very helpful thing is to keep the area clean. Mold is an organic creature and has an awful tough time growing on a clean surface. If there's dirt (even dirt that you can't see), it makes it much easier. A quick wipe down once in a while should help immensely.

Oh, forgot to mention... on gelcoat there's way less concern about the dilution ratio. Heck, you can use acetone on the gelcoat, if you want (not the vinyl or vinyl trim, though!!!). I also just recently found out that even a major vinyl manufacturer (Morbern) recommends bleach (diluted) for mold/mildew on vinyl. I still don't know (for sure) about the stitching, though.

 

[dale1]

Roberth.

that is interesting. and good reading. I appreciate your post.

I'm going to try this stuff. Ive got about 50' of white plastic/pvc fencing that stays moldy as well. this might do it finally.

thanks again, dale