mildew on the bottom of the rear seets

[Fwat220]

We recently have gotten a ton of rain here in AZ and when I was last out cleaning the boat I noticed that on the underside of the two rear seats had some mold - mildew on them. What should I use to remove it?

[jpduster]

Do a search, there has been a lot of discussions re same.

I would use a sponge with some "cleaning" vinegar, then plenty of sunlight.

Good luck.

[louismblais]

Whatever you do, do it quick and thouroghly. I've had a boat wild old mildew stains and they would never come out. If you kill it quick though it doesn't get deep in the material where you can't get it out.

[hrwboarder]

I called White Lake with this question a while back and David said 50/50 water and bleach and scrub it in the sunlight. And like louismblais said, get it out as quick as possible.

[Fwat220]

thanks for the help! It is going to be sunny this weekend so I will get out there and get cleaning early.

[DanielC]

Be careful about getting the bleach in the vinyl upholstery. I would suggest if you have mildew on the vinyl, you use a very diluted solution of Dawn dishwashing detergent in a spray bottle, and a soft bristle brush.
Your best defense against mildew and mold is to get the boat dry. Then get it clean. The mold and mildew feeds on food particles, skin that flakes off every body, pollen, and any other organic matter that ends up in the boat.
Lift the seats up, and prop them open when you are not using the boat, so it can dry out.

I am from Oregon, we want our rain back.

[jpduster]

I agree with Daniel, be very careful with bleach.It continues to do what bleach does long after it has been applied (ie "bleach").

I read/heard somewhere, don't know how true it is, that bleach doesn't kill all the mould spores it just "bleaches" the stain leading you to believe the mildew has gone.

[Chexi]

I have not tried it yet, but I have read on other forums that Starbrite mildew remover works very well. It is widely available, including at West Marine.

[MichaelD]

Z-Care

I spoke with David at White Lake last week about Mildew on my boat, and he suggested Z-Care. Applied it today with a soft bristle brush & it took most of the mildew stains off the boat. It was about the only thing that I've tried that took the mildew stains off (keep in mind, that I've been quite restrictive about what I will clean my boat with).
Once clean & dried, I put the 303 Aerospace protection on it.

Here are 3 places you can get it online:

http://nautiqueparts.com/zcarevinylcleaner.aspx (White Lake's online store. PlanetNautique.com PromoCode PND)
http://veada.com/product/11-Marine-V...l-Cleaner.html
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/onlin...ment/Ns/P_Sort

BTW, it was formulated for G&T Industries, Correct Craft's vinyl supplier (and the vinyl supplier of quite a few other boat companies)