Seat cushion cleaning

[sagmanaur]

Does anyone have a good cleaner that they use to remove mold spots from their seat cushions? My 20V is in hibernation up here in the Northwest, and a couple weeks ago I pulled the cover off to do a quick inspection, and found some mold spots forming. I wiped them down with some warm water, and some cleaner. Most of which came off, but some seemed a little more stubborn. I didn't want to use a harsh cleaner I thought it might damage the material.

Thanks,
Steve

[Matt Garcia]

Starbrite Vinyl Cleaner and Polish works well for me. It definetly brightens the white vinyl areas and cleans stubborn stains.

[Tip]

Try the Mr. Clean Magic pads, they work better than anything I've found.

[Aquajack]

BE CAREFUL WITH ALL OF THESE SUGESTIONS!

READ YOUR MANUAL AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES IN IT!

This manual of Do's & Don'ts come direct from the Vinyl
Manufacturer.THEY KNOW what to use.

G&T makes the vinyl for your Tige`.

FOLLOW THOSE DIRECTIONS ONLY, if you have a problem after you followed someone's suggestion from this website and it RUINS your vinyl, , ,it will be just that, , , YOUR PROBLEM!

Here is the Link to their website.
EVERYONE ON THIS FORUM SHOULD PUT THIS IN THEIR FAVORITES:
http://www.gtspecialtiesgroup.com/msg/msg.html

JMHO

[forjar]

Aquajack,

That is a bad link. Are you sure that is the web address?

[Jeff LaHaye]

Use Fantastic and elbow grease to get the mildew off.

DO NOT use Formula 409 - it will take off the plasticizer coating on top of the vinyl. The vinyl manufacturer specifically warns against it.
They do recommend Fantastic as being OK.

I bought some of the cleaner from the vinyl supplier (I guess it's GT industries) for $12 per bottle. It works OK, but doesn't cut the mildew like Fantastic.

I rinse with lots of water, then follow up with the cleaner from the supplier to give a "finish coat".

Best thing I've found to really get the mildew stains out is good 'ol sunshine! I made the mistake of leaving a wet ski rope on one of the back seat cushions for a week with the boat covered. It left a very nasty mildew stain. After a season of use, the sun had bleached it out so it isn't even noticeable.

I called the vinyl manufacturer back when that happened, and they recommended a mix of Ammonia and Hydrogen Peroxide. I was amused, as that's a cleaning solution we use for processing semiconductor chips in my industry. It didn't touch the mildew stain.

I have a friend who uses Tilex for mildew, and swears it doesn't hurt the vinyl. I've only used it very sparingly. It works, and I haven't had any damage to the vinyl, but I'd again rinse VERY well. No guarantees on this one!

The one thing I've found that will screw up the vinyl is fuel or motor oil. I've got a couple of spots where I dripped a little of each. It took the finish off the vinyl, I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the sun cracks it.

All and all, I have to say I'm very pleased with the durability of the fabric on my 2001 21V. I've got one seat seam that's starting to pull apart where everyone steps coming over from the swim platform, but after 4 seasons the boat looks great. The mildew is a pain though. I store my boat on a floating dock at the lake with a cover on it, and it's a battle to keep it dry. I need to vent the cover.....

Jeff

[Jeff LaHaye]

Found a Link

Try this one:

http://www.marinespecialtiesgroup.com/msg.html

Select Products, and go to Cleaning Recommendations.
They don't talk about Fantastik, although I know it had the OK on the pamphlet that came with my boat.

They do talk about the Ammonia / Peroxide solution.

Jeff

[Tip]

Jeff,
I keep my boat on a lift as well and I got one of those electric dehumidifier devices from overton's and it must be working because I have not had any mold after two winters.

At what lake do you keep your boat?


Tip

[Jeff LaHaye]

Tip,

We're on Kerr, near Townesville.

Floating dock, no power at the dock unfortunately.

I wonder if one of those units would run off of a power inverter and trolling motor battery? Do you know the power rating?

What's the principle those things run by? Does it actually suck water out of the air? (i.e. do you have to empty the water out?)
I always thought they were just a heater.

Jeff

[Tip]

Jeff,
Here's a link with a description:
http://www.overtons.com/modperl/over...item_num=20425

The model I have consumes 60 watts, which an inverter could handle, but it probably would not last long.

Are there many Tiges over on Kerr? I have only seen one other Tige on the entire east side of Gaston.


Tip

[Jeff LaHaye]

Tip,

As far as I know, I have the only Tige' on Kerr Lake.
I've seen one or 2 on the lake in the past 4 years.

Did you folks buy yours from Spencer in Oak Ridge (Big Boyz Toyz?)
I'm wondering if he's gone out of business...I see that Wher Rena at Lake Norman now has the Tige' dealership in NC.

Regarding the dehumidifier, I see that it's just what I thought - a heater, not a true dehumidifier.
Maybe I'll try the desicant type stuff.

Jeff

[Tip]

Jeff,
Yeah, I bought my 22v from him spring of 2003.

I checked his web site a couple of weeks ago and he has updated it recently so I assuming he's still in business. I need to call him and schedule a 150 hour so I'll let you know if he's still there.

I spoke to him last year at the Greensboro boat show and he told me he closed his Lake Norman location, he did not offer any details. Do you the know the person running the dealer ship at Norman?

I wish we had a Tige dealer at Gaston/Kerr, I don't know about Kerr, but on Gaston if you don't have a Malibu or Correct Craft they won't even wave at you.

We are having two wakeboard tournaments this summer in Jimmies Creek, both were outstanding last year. I'll get you some dates in case you're interested, it sure would be nice to see another Tige!

Tip

[blondejosh]

Vinyl Cleaning

My New Zealand Dealer used Jiff kitchen cleaner to clean the vinyl or our "New" 05 switch this was after a leaving the boat undercovered on his front lawn for a week. I didn't think it was a great idea, but what can you do witha dealer like this. I would like to talk to any other people that have had to deal with the New Zealand dealer.