Fabric sunroof mould V39

[2013PrincessV39]

Hi All,

Returned to my princess V39 after a few months away, and there has been a mould buildup of spots all over the fabric sunroof

Any advice? It's a beast to remove the thing to take to the dry cleaners so any other ideas would be great.

Thanks!

 

[AllanG]

I used to use Patio Magic on the cockpit cover of my last boat, with very good results.

 

[P4Paul]

Hi All,

Returned to my princess V39 after a few months away, and there has been a mould buildup of spots all over the fabric sunroof

Any advice? It's a beast to remove the thing to take to the dry cleaners so any other ideas would be great.

Thanks!

are we talking black spot mould on the inside rather than the outside? If so, I await further replies with interest as you are not alone...

 

[P4Paul]

I used to use Patio Magic on the cockpit cover of my last boat, with very good results.

On the inside for removing black spot mould? I have used it on the outside for green algae with great results but have seen differing opinions on using it to remove the black spots on the inside.

 

[Nick_H]

There is a myriad of proprietary products for removing mould and mildew from fabrics costing just a few quid, so I'd start with one of those rather than something designed for cleaning patios.

 

[2013PrincessV39]

Inside I am afraid. Awful to see even though others probably would take a while to notice

 

[lisilou]

The only thing that seems to have kept this at bay on ours over the last year is having the dehumidifier running in the cockpit. We had it build up on our last cover and removing to clean proved impossible so we had the whole thing replaced.
L

 

[2013PrincessV39]

The only thing that seems to have kept this at bay on ours over the last year is having the dehumidifier running in the cockpit. We had it build up on our last cover and removing to clean proved impossible so we had the whole thing replaced.
L

Passive or electric? If electric are you worried about it catching Fire etc?

 

[AllanG]

On the inside for removing black spot mould? I have used it on the outside for green algae with great results but have seen differing opinions on using it to remove the black spots on the inside.

Just to clarify, Paul, I only used Patio Magic on the outside, as the inside only ever needed a wipe with a damp cloth....this was on a Nimbus cockpit canopy.

 

[P4Paul]

Passive or electric? If electric are you worried about it catching Fire etc?

You don't know the half of it;

Dehumidifier buzzing away all the time complimented every ten minutes by the rattle of ice cubes dropping into the ice maker tray and completely sucking up any bandwidth available at that end of the pontoon just to post on here all the time...


mind you, they are great neighbours

 

[lisilou]

LOL....haven't you moved marinas yet?!!! xxx

To the OP...electric and no, not worried about it catching fire. It's very stable where it's placed and has a cut out thingy built in. The only thing that concerns me is the electricity consumption. Our bills were ridiculous so we've stopped leaving it on when we're not there. I'm now keeping an eye out for any signs of mould with the intention of blasting any spots that appear PDQ. Access to it behind the mesh is a real bugger.
L

 

[No Regrets]

My dehumidifier does not eradicate or prevent the mould stuff on the black canopies during Winter, but Cillit Bang Black mould remover' instantly gets all the white marks off, simply by spraying some into a microfibre cloth and rubbing it all over the inside (not a hugely nice job working at funny angles!) Blackness restored perfectly...

Available from Tesco's, very cheap indeed!! :encouragement:

 

[benjenbav]

Melamine foam blocks are quite good at removing this sort of marking.

 

[Nigelpickin]

Whatever you end up using, test first on some similar fabric, pair of old shoes or old covers. You need to make sure that you not going to ruin the hood.

+ 1 to patio magic and the forum for pointing me in the right direction, works wonders on the deck but again, find a test area to use first.....

 

[jrudge]

The only stuff I found shifted mould was Starbright Mould remover - and as per the packet it did indeed vanish ( much to my surprise having tries everything else!).

I used to find that the worst contamination was where something had not been cleaned pre winter - even things like hand prints would be catalysts.

I then used to clean with spray on flash (beach cleaner) at the end of the season so it was clean to start with an this was pretty effective at making sure it remained pretty much clear over the winter.

Some fabrics have built in anti fungal properties. A fabric sunroof would be a logical candidate for something like that. You could ask Princess if it was supposed to resist mould, and maybe there is a faulty batch ( if nothing else it makes it their problem until they say no!).

 

[Momac]

I have used a steam cleaner to successfully clean and kill off black mildew spots on interior upholstery - using no chemicals.

Alternatively - White vinegar is a natural antiseptic and may well kill off the mould and can be purchased cheaply in a spray bottle.
http://www.wilko.com/multi-purpose-...hite-vinegar-trigger-spray-750ml/invt/0335206

 

[jfm]

I think the inner lining can be removed and put in w/machine. If the roof is made by Makefast (which I think it is, but not 100% sure), the front and back edges of the cloth inner lining have a stitched on boltrope that slides into luff track, and each "section" is attached by an athwartships zip. Pretty easy to remove therefore. Flexicovers likely make the original so can supply a new one if its has gone beyond point of no return. At least, this is how mine works - I ordered 2 inner covers and I plan to swap them over when cleaning is needed