Cleaning Cane Inserts

[Crew of Turning]

Our boat has locker doors with cane inserts. The inserts are starting to look a bit aged against the joinery which responds well to teak oil each spring. Does anyone have a good process for cleaning cane? The last thing I want is to ruin the material.

[ohdrinkboy]

can you replace it with synthetic cane?

[Orion Jim]

I'd pick a door in an out of the way spot, maybe the head. Spray it with simple green and give it a few seconds to soak in before gently wiping it of with a damp towel. I'll bet you just have an accumulation of dirt to deal with. If simple green has no effect you may have cane which was "sealed" with something like polyurethane and you'll have to test more aggressive products like xylene. If you must go to the more aggressive products just test a small spot to see if it is effective.

[JPA Cate]

Ours are varnished. Vacuum them first to remove most of the loose stuff. Then a sponge in a solution of dishwashing detergent (like Joy or Dawn or Palmolive) with warm water, and sponge them off.

If they were unsealed, mold may have become established in them, making them look "dirty", blackish. In that case, 10 drops of clove oil to 2 cups warm water, and sponge them thoroughly with that. It is said that the clove oil penetrates the pores the molds secure in, and kill it there. If the boat is in a highly humid area, you do not use de-humidifiers, and the cane is unsealed, you may have to do this every three months or so. Time will tell.

At any rate, good luck with it. I like the cane we have; the air circulation is great.

Ann