The dreaded Mould

[BaitDropper]

as the title states, I had a wee battle with Mould on my relatively new boat seats.......

The boat hasn't been used for a good few of months, I think I've pulled the fitted covers off 3 times in that period and ran the motor each time. But with all the rain we"ve had of late, I missed a wee tear in the boat cover, which somehow managed to fill the anchor well and somehow get a small puddle in the cuddy cabin. That was enough to have sitting water, with the weather sprinkling some Nice-ish warm days as well, and hey presto, boat seats got a hammering from the dreaded Mould....  Quite often I'll just pull the covers for the day and let inside get some air flow and sun, which I believe is key to stopping Mould taking hold in the first place, but having been working full time over the last several months or more, this didn't happen.

I didn't get any photo's, but it sure was a Mould attack .. Anyways, I've dealt with it, pretty sure I have killed all the spores, there's a couple of light black stains left, but in all honesty, if you had seen the original " attack " it would be hard to imagine it came up so good afterwards.  The big problem with any Mould is to kill the spoors dead, if, especially on seats, the spoors get through to the foam, it becomes a futile exercise to stop it without replacing the foam itself.  The seats were pretty good quality bolster type seats about 4 years old, and were in pristine condition in all honesty..

There's quite a few products on the market that say they kill Mould, but unfortunately, there basically bleach based, which in all honesty, doesn't completely kill Mould spores and will eventually kill the finish on your vinal seats after a few applications.  I'll have to persist over the rest of winter in giving them a few going overs again, just be sure I've got it all,,, BUT just wanted to make people aware that Mould will nail your Vinal seats in the blink of an eye if you don't play close attention, it's not just high humidity conditions that it will/can occur.. 

having your boat in a shed is a great place to be, but outside with weather fitted covers is where issues can occur, good airflow is the key here....

Edited July 15 by BaitDropper
spelling

[zmk1962]

Hey Col, glad you got ontop of it ASAP.  Yup keeping good airflow is key to maintaining a dry environment and your boat mould free - regular use also helps 🤪.   @riveRecon posted a discussion on this topic as well which garnered a few suggestions. 

 

Cheers Zoran

[BaitDropper]

😁.. Hi Zoran, you are 100% correct, regular use sure helps to eliminate the threat....

 

I should have also noted for others how I deal with Mould, so here goes...

I just have extreme hesitation when ever using any bleaches or hydoxides, they will have no mercy on your expensive vinal seats if you get it wrong and I have serious doubts on its ability to actually kill all the Mould spores..

1) Firstly, I mix up a 60/40 mix of white vinegar ( 60% vinegar) in a one litre plastic spray bottle, make the water warm and liberally spray the solution all over the seats, leave this on for at least 3-4 hours.

  remembering, Vinega is an acid, so make sure you don't get it over your sounder screen etc etc.

  Vinegar, unlike a lot of proclaimed statements from " cleaning product " manufacturers, WILL kill most Mould spores, if you follow the steps.

2) Second step, is sprinkle baking soda over the seats, Baking soda, being an alkaline  neutralizes the acetic vinegar, is also an amazing gentle cleaner then again spray liberally, over the seat covered with baking soda, you will notice the reaction to the B/Soda and Vinegar, it will bubble away, this is the "Acid vrs Alkaline reaction and quite normal.. From there, I get a rag and wet with vinegar and sprinkle B/Soda on the rag and start to gently scrub the seat with the compound, most stains would have been loosened with the initial soaking of the Vinegar/water mix, but you may well have some stubborn black stains to scrub off, a light soft bristle brush or the rag should be enough to remove the stains if you get to it earlier enough.

3)  I'll do another Vinegar/water spray again in a week or so, just to make sure I've killed all the spores, wash the seats with a damp rag, make sure the Vinal is dry, then spray the whole seat with a mixture of, 1/2 a teaspoon of oil of cloves in a litre bottle ( No more than that ratio)....   Yep, it stinks !!  let the boat air out for the next few days. Oil of cloves in it self will also kill off Mould spores, But its not a cleaner, hence the vinegar and baking soda first with the oil of cloves basically finishing the job and becoming a protective barrier for future attacks... Mould can still return, so air flow etc etc needs to be looked at.

 

I've been using the Vinegar/BakingSoda method for near 20 years, firstly using it to restore vintage reels, Vinegar is used to kill off that horrible green growth you find on unloved and left reels, followed by the baking soda wash and polish to neutralize the effects of the vinegar..  White vinegar is an amazing product, its " Killing" ability is well known in the Vintage reel circle, it can even remove completely, the German silver chrome if your not diligent, or forget you have something on the soak !!  ask me how I know 🤐..

The key here though, is NOT to mix the two together first, one neutralizes the other, but combined, make a real effect cleaner.. 

For me, it was the sitting water underneath the cover when we had some nice winter sunny days that quickened or caused the rapid Mould invasion ( now sorted). But the key to Mould treatment, is get into it quickly, don't let it get to your foam inners, there's no coming back from that..

  At a fraction of the cost of commercial products, and using normal cheap house hold products, you've saved yourself some coin to boot.

Your expensive vinal seats will thankyou as well......

 

HTH

Edited July 15 by BaitDropper

[zmk1962]

Lots of good info there Col ... and very well explained. Thank you for posting.

If you research Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) its a natural antifungal, antimicrobial that breaks down to H20 (water) and O2 (Oxygen) .... the higher concentrations are very oxidating (corrosive), but 3% is safe ... It's used as a wound cleaner, mouthwash etc etc 

Cheers Zoran

 

[BaitDropper]

Hi Zoran. Yes, I know a little about Hydrogen Peroxide, I'm certainly no expert by any means, we use it at times in my industry, at a much higher % ratio.  I do not doubt you at all on it's capabilities one bit.

Probably more hesitant than anything else in all honesty, 😁, but as you say at 3% it is safe. Knowing my luck, the first time I would use it I'd muck up in some way and melt my Vinal seats !!!  😁..

I had an experience a few years back, my sister in law failed to get an inspection on a house she bought, ended up costing her near 100K to resolve its issues. To cut a long story short, her roof leaked, which travelled down the walls to her down stairs bathroom, we went under the house below the bathroom, to find Mould on all the rafters, beams and flooring etc, and it was mold like I had never seen before, with a torch it was like looking at coral under water, the full colour spectrum, growing like stalagmite's in fact.  The builders and fumigators came in to treat the timber, and from my recollection, one of the processes involved Hydrogen Peroxide, along with other chemicals which was pumped into the timber like they do with Termite systems. She spent about a month out of the house before they deemed it safe to move back in, and for the builders to start demolition.  It's a horrible stuff that Mold.