How to remove mildew from an entire cover

keithkz

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,058
Reaction score
182
Location
Michigan Center, MI
We are putting our ski boat in the water for the first time since 2011.  It has been stored in our pole barn the entire time with the cover on it.  The cover is in excellent condition...not faded or anything because the boat was on a covered boat hoist when it was being used.  However, it is very filthy just from the past few years of dust, etc. and there is also a lot of dark mildew spots all on the inside of the cover (the inside color of the cover is white).  Far too many to take a bottle of mildew remover to every single area.  Should I lay this thing out flat on the driveway and mix some kind on chemical with water and take a large broom-brush to it or should I put the entire thing in a huge commercial washing machine (there is one 1/4 down the road from us) and again use some kind of chemical to get it clean? 
 
I placed my boat cover flat on ground, put some soap and water on it, then used my pressure washer.  Cleaned it great.
 
Commercial washing machines work wonders but in my experience, pretreating the inside of the cover with a mildew killer makes all the difference in the world.
 
If you can lay it in the sun when you're done cleaning it that would be perfect.
 
I lay our cover out on the cement driveway, wet it down and spray it with Awesome or Purple Power.  Let it set for a few minutes and then brush the heck out of it with a push broom. Hose it off and good as new.  Our cover has developed a few of those mildew spots over the years also.  I've tried many cleaners with little effectiveness, but I'm sure there must be something that'll get rid of those spots........or at least diminish them somewhat.  I've always worried about trying bleach, but I'll give it a shot this year.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top