Dirty boat cover

[pokesgrad02]

Any tricks of the trade for cleaning up a boat cover? Looks to be a type of sunbrella material. Has some small spots of mold. Would like to avoid replacing it if I can clean it up. In good shape just looks like P/O stored folded up while damp

[beach]

http://www.sunbrella.com/en_us/how/c...ops-covers.php

I followed their directions and it worked great. I removed the cover from my boat and laid it on the driveway, then used dawn and a soft brush to clean it. Make sure to not spray it too hard with the hose, especially near the stitching. I then let it air dry, and applied two light layers of 303 once it was dry. I bought a gallon of 303 and a cheap pump sprayer off of amazon, which make it easier to apply an even coat. Plus I didn't have to pull the trigger of a spray bottle 1000x.

You might have to use the recommendation for heavy stains on the mold spots.

[NautiqueJeff]

Make sure you use the 303 Fabric Guard, not the Aerospace Protectant. The Fabric Guard is what you need to restore the water repelling qualities.

[markj]

Before I sold my 2005 Sunbrella covered boat, I used to lay the cover down on the driveway, lightly hit it with my pressure washer, scrub it with a broom, pressure wash rinse it and and hang it to dry most of the way and then put it back on the boat to dry all the way. The next day, I would remove it and wipe off any water spots left by the drip drying of the cover. It always turned out looking like new again. I always kept my boat inside so no need to waterproof it for me.

[pokesgrad02]

Was wondering if that's what worked best. Didn't want to put a bunch of effort into something and find out after the fact there was something that worked better in half the time. Thank you gentlemen!

[Paxdad]

Drape it over a large SUV or truck after you clean it and it will dry out very quickly if the sun is out! I actually drape mine over my Yukon XL to scrub it and dry it.

[scott resick]

I am having a new cover made and was going to use this product. Anyone have any experience with it?

[Dave Rittiman]

Put it in the washer. Did it to mine and worked great after washing let it air dry outside.

[beach]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZrjXSsfxMQ

I am having a new cover made and was going to use this product. Anyone have any experience with it?

The reason that 303 fabric guard is recommended over cheaper scotch guard is that it lets water vapor get out of the covered boat, while still preventing water from entering the cover. I'd be worried that never wet would not allow water vapor to leave get of the covered boat. Excessive water vapor inside a boat is how you end up with mold/mildew problems. This is why our covers are made of a breathable fabric vs a completely waterproof tarp or rubber like material.

[hondaprlud]

I've found the 303 to be a temporary fix. IMHO it's lasts about a year, if storing the boat outside, and you need to protect again. It's worth doing, just know it's not forever.

[NautiqueJeff]

I have a cover that came with my '98 Ski Nautique when I bought it earlier this year. I am almost positive that it is as old as the boat. It had absolutely zero ability to keep water out, but I used it anyway to at least keep leaves/dirt out of the boat when it was outside.

This reminded me about 303 Fabric Guard, and how it can restore the water-repelling qualities of our covers. I happened to have about 1/3 of a gallon left over from years ago, so I took it down and put it on my old cover yesterday afternoon. This was a quick and dirty application because rain was in the forecast for later in the day and all day today.

I went back down to the dock this morning to see if it did any good, and I am very happy with the results! I had planned on getting rid of this cover and getting a new one, but now I think I will just buy some proper support poles, adjust the snaps in the cover for a tighter fit, fix the few small holes and keep this one!