So I bought a parts boat that had sails there were in decent shape (well the main was anyways), the jib had some issues, a rodent in them. So I had the chewed up areas repaired by a professional sail maker and I spent some time cleaning them, I could not get the urine stains off of the jib though. After a couple failed attempts (which I'll list in a bit) I decided to just discount them and cut my losses and put them on the market. Unfortunately no one was every interested after seeing the pics and I really didn't want to take any more of a hit and lower the price so I did some more digging, here is what I found.
My stains were pretty baked on, not sure how old they were but they were at least one winter old, when I bought the boat the sails were in a poorly insulated garage.
first thing that I tried was diluted dish soap and scrubbing with a soft brush over tarp on the driveway, no luck.
Then I did some online research for urine on sails and found a lot of people used two things 5% white vinegar or nature's miracle (available a pet stores and is made for this type of thing)
$20+ and a couple hours later, no luck.
So I thought that I would try oxyclean, but before I did, I looked on forums to see if someone else had tried it and it had been done with great reviews. So I bought the just over 1lb container of oxyclean and used a 20 gallon storage tub for soaking, mixed about 75% of the container and about 16-18 gallons of water and put the jib in to soak agitating it every once in a while. After a 24 hour soak (because I was busy sailing) and a good rinse (soak and spin cycle in the washer, NO agitation) they look great, still as crisp as they were, which I was worried about for some reason.
Long story short, oxyclean worked for me, worth a try.
ps. Hobie 16 cat fever sails up in the classifieds now. if interested pm me, 300 shipped
Hey, this is good to know! I've already got Oxyclean sitting on the shelf over my washing machine. My second main may or may not be worth saving. This sounds like a good thing to try this weekend, and see how it comes out.
Tom
Awesome, I was impressed and thought that it was worth paying forward.
By the way Tom, I haven't finished my sail tube yet and I still need to load pictures of the delam repair, I just found a way to mickey mouse my laptop to get it to work (loose power connection), until I get the time to actually fix it. I haven't forgetten about those though.
I wonder if it will work on mildue..?? My H17s both have mildue all over.. Someone suggested a overnight swiming pool bath but I dont have a pool.. Thx Hal
halliske wrote: I wonder if it will work on mildue..?? My H17s both have mildue all over.. Someone suggested a overnight swiming pool bath but I dont have a pool.. Thx Hal
Actually that was the most common use for oxy clean on sails, if you google "clean sails with oxyclean" or something like that, you'll see pretty much what I saw.
I would think the the bath tub at home would work fine if you can lay them out flat to dry, I used a storage tub on my jib (H16) proportionately seems about right. I laid/folded the jib in layers, like you do the main before you raise it. I wasn't too concerned because I was moving it around and agitating the water oxy clean mix anyways.
No pool? Does your neighbor have a hot tub, that would work best, take a couple days off of work and do it all while he is as work. Hahaha.
For the record, that was a joke, no promoting any illegal activity. 🙂
This stuff is specifically for sails and marine fabrics:
http://www.sailrite.com/303-Aerospace-Fabric-Vinyl-Cleaner-32oz
Dilute it at least 10 to one. Great directions on the bottle. Search the web for the best price.
Pool or spa chlorine would bleach out stains, but also weakens fabric. I would avoid the pool.
Oxyclean is great stuff, IF the stain is organic. I have used it many times, it makes whites, really white. As long as the stain is organic in nature, blood, food grease, tomato sauce etc, it works wonders.
It works best with hot water, read the directions, you want to make sure the product is totally dissolved.
E C Hilliard
Nacra 5.7
Bombardier Invitation
If your sails are dacron you will want to let the oxyclean cool before you put it on your sails. Heat will weaken the finish on the dacron, even more so if it is old. Your sails could end up limp as a bedsheet.
I use the 303 cleaner on sails, trampoline, PFDs and any other fabrics. It's a commercial grade cleaner.
Good point, i used cold water because that is all that comes from the hose spicket, sails are still crisp. Guess I got lucky there.
I plan on trying the oxy clean method. I am going to use my coffin style sail box lined with a piece of bill board material that I have left from making a boat cover. Just thought I would pass it on, the sail box seems better than the bath tub, if you dont have a piece of bill board material any heavy material like a shower curtain should work.