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Old 02-06-2014, 05:27   #16
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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Most of the boats for sale I've inspected here need loads of that. In some cases I would sooner look for a boat in the rubbish tip. Some sellers don't get it.
Yeah. ..i don't really get it either. But my husband and I take care of our things. I would think a seller would get slightly better price if it was clean. .. If for nothing other than psychological reasons. ...
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Old 02-06-2014, 05:32   #17
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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Yeah. ..i don't really get it either. But my husband and I take care of our things. I would think a seller would get slightly better price if it was clean. .. If for nothing other than psychological reasons. ...
Somehow or another it's a "boat thing". Almost all the boats I looked at prior to purchase seemed essentially to be abandoned. Looked as if they no longer cared, walked off the boat a few months back and finally said lets sell the thing.
Amazing thing was asking price seemed to be in no way affected by the condition or cleanliness of the vessel. I think sales price definitely is though.
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Old 02-06-2014, 05:54   #18
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

Scarlet, I'm so happy to hear you have bought a smaller boat to learn on and enjoy now! Yes, it takes a while to get rid of the previous owner's detritus. I just threw out a bunch of stuff he left, and we bought our boat last year...this is the second round of decluttering, I guess.

I like the decorative bathmats he left us, though. We have two sets, so can take them off and put them in the washer at home, with a fresh set aboard. This helps keep the footprints down. I also have a collapsible trash can that we keep close to us -- it gets emptied into the real trash can frequently.

Have fun and don't worry too much. It will clean up!
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Old 02-06-2014, 11:33   #19
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

We use Citrasolv for cleaning to remove dirt. Any areas where mold is an issue gets a wipe with pure tea tree oil after. Its a natural biocide and antiseptic and one of the strongest natural biocide so mold wont return.

We don't use any form of bleach. While it appears to kill mold as soon as the bleach is dry the mold will come back. Bleach also kills any biocides, such as in tea tree oil, which remain to neutralise any mold spores you either didnt get or have been newly introduced.

We also clean regularly which stops any mold buildup.
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Old 02-06-2014, 11:52   #20
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

Mold is like any organism, which needs certain conditions to grow and thrive. I did a lot of research on this because mold can cause serious respiratory problems, but it's not a reason to abandon a boat purchase, though many do. You just have to keep at it and remove the "food" source, which is especially hard to do in wood, but that's generally where most of the problem lies. Here's a great website that I found useful: Mold Removal, How to Kill Mold with Bleach, Borax, Vinegar. I started with bleach to remove the black discoloration, sprayed with borax/water that sat overnight, and then spritzed vinegar liberally. I did this to all of the sole boards. I continue to use vinegar on any place where I see mold starting to come back, mainly on the undersides of the soles and in the bilge. I've been regularly pouring a little vinegar into the head when I leave the boat and this seems to be helping, too. I keep an open container of tea tree oil inside the cabinet to keep things smelling fresh and to reduce regrowth. My belief is that 99.9% of any stink on a boat relates to mold, head funk, and diesel leaks. The other 0.1% is the bacteria growing in the bilge water. I heard a great interview the other day about people adding too much soap to their clothes so this is why you'll get moldy sheets because it is a great food source. It is not necessary to see big gobs of suds in the wash water to know your clothes are clean. In fact, the CEO of Levi Strauss recently suggested putting jeans in the freezer and not washing them.....or rarely. Freezing doesn't make them "clean" but it kills the germs that causes odor. You can Google that one, too.
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Old 02-06-2014, 11:55   #21
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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We use Citrasolv for cleaning to remove dirt. Any areas where mold is an issue gets a wipe with pure tea tree oil after. Its a natural biocide and antiseptic and one of the strongest natural biocide so mold wont return.

We don't use any form of bleach. While it appears to kill mold as soon as the bleach is dry the mold will come back. Bleach also kills any biocides, such as in tea tree oil, which remain to neutralise any mold spores you either didnt get or have been newly introduced.

We also clean regularly which stops any mold buildup.
I definitely think wiping down with tea tree oil is a great idea! I just haven't gotten any yet. The stuff I use is the solid blob sold in a jar with holes in the lid.
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Old 02-06-2014, 12:43   #22
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

scarlet, we have owned our boat for 2 years and just lately, I feel I'm making headway in getting it clean. Here's what I do:

1. I have throw rugs down below that are rubber backed (one is right at the bottom of the companionway steps)
2. Right in front of the companionway, in the cockpit, I have an indoor/outdoor mat
3. All "street" shoes or sandals are left there as our boat is shoe-free down below
4. Deck shoes/sandals are left in hanging lockers and I have a pair of slippers I wear if the sole is chilly
5. I clean with 1/2 cup white vinegar and a dash of Basic H (a Shaklee product), in 1 gallon of water
6. I rinse the cockpit regularly

I hope this helps to give you some ideas. It really does take some time to get things sorted out and the way you like it. Just be patient and keep at it. One day, you will wake up and have that wonderful feeling of being very attached to your boat.
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Old 02-06-2014, 13:05   #23
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

Having started an Ice Cream business last year I was shocked when I read the label of a jug of sanitizer I bought from GFS. We used it for sanitizing the ice cream batch freezer we were using but... Right on the side it had directions for all sorts of uses. One of the main ones is for killing mold and mild. The stuff comes in a 1 gal jug for $14, and it's super concentrated. Its recommended dose is 4oz per gallon for killing molds and mildew. Thats a whole lot of mold killer for $14!

It also works great if you have a husband with stinky feet as my wife found out. It has directions for using it in your laundry to sanitize socks and undergarments ect. I've even gone so far as to soak my feet in a tub of it. I sprayed down my shoes and washed all my socks in it. My feet were odor free for a good 4-5 months before I needed to do it again!
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Old 02-06-2014, 13:19   #24
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

Wow lots of good info. I am definitely going to explore some of these products. I like Simple green as a cleaner, don't know if it will kill mold, but it is a good cleaner. Going to try that tea tree oil. Of course boats are always dirtier when tied to the dock, I hate it, can't wait to get offshore so I can finally get the boat clean again. Right now mine is a wreck due to refitting, it hurts my heart to see her such condition. Always a good thought to put a rug down on the dock and then once aboard shoes off! I knew one fishing charter operator that wouldn't allow street shoes on his vessel, he made the customers leave their street shoes on the dock before boarding.
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Old 02-06-2014, 13:55   #25
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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Wow lots of good info.
When I log into this thread, one of the ads is for MOLD Removal!
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Old 02-06-2014, 15:26   #26
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

Sorry, I don't get it.
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Old 02-06-2014, 15:31   #27
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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Sorry, I don't get it.
Uhm, you've been asking for mold removal techniques and materials, and one of the pop-up advertisements is for just that.

Got it? Kinda an example of irony.
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Old 02-06-2014, 15:35   #28
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

Everytime, I go to a different web site to investigate something of interest to me, when I return here there are adverts relating to whatever, I have last investigated.
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Old 02-06-2014, 15:52   #29
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Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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Everytime, I go to a different web site to investigate something of interest to me, when I return here there are adverts relating to whatever, I have last investigated.
They're called cookies....no coincidence at all
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Old 02-06-2014, 16:13   #30
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pirate Re: first official day on my first boat... Cleaning..

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... We also clean regularly which stops any mold buildup.
Well, sure, cleaning regularly works.

I use vinegar, irregularly.
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