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Mold on your interior vinyl

MrG

MrG

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Lake Tulloch Ca
 In my 20+ years of boating I've never fortunately had to deal with mold .  I've always stored my boat indoors and on the occasion when they've gotten wet I dried them out really well and mold has never showed its ugly head.  However I brought my boat in for some service and the dealer had no room indoors.   The boat ended up staying longer than anticipated and we've been having huge amounts of rain here in California. And my boat had become saturated. ( even with the cover on and the poles up)  the center toon mush have had 15 gallons of water in it as well as the Bildge. With all this water I think a Greenhouse was in effect. All of my interior has a slight haze of mold as well as some large patches in spots. I did a quick wipe down of the entire interior (2 hrs of work) but it still needs more. I covered the back up, and put 2 large fans inside and set them to Hi  to move some air throughout the interior . 


Does anyone have any suggestions as far as a product  or technique that I should use to kill mold.  I am a complete rookie in this department. I have heard rumors of a steamer that works for killing hidden mold spores. 


Please don't recommend me bringing it back to the dealer and having them fix it because that is not an option,  these guys are obviously knuckleheads and once again, A dealer has proven my point that when you bring your boat in for service to get one thing fixed you pick it up having to only fix more things that the dealer caused
 
Try a site like Wholesale Marine, many good products on the market. There are many recipes for mixing bleach and water, but I am hesitant to use on vinyl. Starbrite is a reliable brand, Contact Bennington and ask. They are very helpful. Good luck.
 
BIGGEST cause of mold is lack of air movement and excess moisture. You can clean it, but you MUST get the moisture out of carpet, seat bases, ANYWHERE there's water or moisture. Get a couple solar powered fans, put one in front, one in rear and get air moving through. You can clean it all you want, but until he moistures under control, it'll definitely come back. Stagnant humid air is your enemy .......
 
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10% bleach water solution has been a standard for killing mold, test in an inconspicuous spot beforehand.
 
If the boat is normally stored indoors, why don't you leave the boat uncovered to dry out? Mold and mildew like dark damp areas to grow .Another suggestion is to put a cocrobium mold control fogger in the closed up boat. We use these foggers in houses that had sever mold problems. they emit a very fine fog of a microban solution. They can be rented at Home Depot.Not sure if the fog has any effect to the vinyl seats. Good luck!
 
I used Marine 31 mildew remover and then applied Marine 31 mildew guard.  I had tried many products and nothing was working.


The stuff is /gallery/album_299/gallery_1221_299_120297.jpg/gallery/album_299/gallery_1221_299_645462.jpgg.  
 
I use the Marine 31 Mold Guard on all the boats.  Our Cumberland boat would get mold even covered on land or in the slip.  After using the products 2 years ago and reapplying last year , we have had no mold when uncovering the boat. 
 
Good thread!  I noticed some mildew starting on the tops of my seats when I put my boat away for the winter and have some of the mold cleaner and mold guard on order.  It's sold on Amazon and is also sold from the company website for about the same price but the company website has a kit with both the cleaner and the mold guard plus an applicator pad, brush, and microfiber cloth with theirs and it is about the same price as for the liquid alone on Amazon and both ship free.


Jack
 
I use damp rid containers when we store our boat with the cover on. It's in Florida and it absorbs a lot of moisture. Haven't had any issues yet moth mold or mildew odor. I leave it in the hot sun on a lift months at a time.
 
Just received marine 31 yesterday,and tried it on my shrink wrapped 2009 2575rli.it had some heavy spots that i couldn't get out with other products.Bought the boat used in Fla. back in 2015,The price was right so I figured I'd live with the spots.I almost gave up till I read this post,and figured $18 bucks,what the hell. Wasn't very optimistic,but was I wrong. It did a great job on all but the really heavy stains,but lightened them so much you can hardly notice.I'll give another treatment in the spring and see what happens.Just follow the instructions. I live in so.md.where it gets pretty moist in the winter months,and have had many boats which I have always kept lights,and a fan on timers,and that has always worked for me.Trying a davis 1,000 air dryer this year,and am not sold on that because of the amount of air coming in around the shrink wrap on the toon. Works better on a cabin cruiser type boat.Hope this helps!!
 
I have called Marine 31 about using the Mildew Guard with the 303 protector.  They said it would not be a problem.  After using the remover, I used the 303 and then the next day I applied the Mildew Guard.  I love the products.  


Glad it worked for you. 
 
So,you used the remover,then 303 protectant,then the mildew guard.I thought the 303 itself would protect against mildew.    Interesting,the more protection the better,and Marine 31 people said this is a good application?
 
303 has never claimed to protect against mold.  It protects against  sun damage.  The combine hast has worked for us.
 
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Great info,will order some mildew guard  luv this forum,so much great info      thanks
 
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