Mould on lifejacket

[DoubleEnder]

Any special tips on how to clean spots of mildew off the outside of a gas auto lifejacket -Kru, red. I was thinking a gentle scrub with soap and water, then another scrub with diluted bleach. Is that a good idea? Thank you. Graham

 

[sailorman]

try patio magic rather than bleach that might harm the fabric

 

[superheat6k]

I have been using cheap Tesco beach for years for this purpose, with no ill effects on the material. I squirt a little on neat then scrub it all over the surface with a nail brush, working around the jacket. Leave for a few minutes then rinse thoroughly - material like new.

 

[MikeCC]

Try a weak bicarbonate of soda solution. Bit gentler than bleach and no smell.

 

[Burnham Bob]

doesn't bother me although SWMBO complains. as long as it goes off when i fall overboard i'm not too bothered about cosmetics!

 

[Skylark]

I have been using cheap Tesco beach for years for this purpose, with no ill effects on the material. I squirt a little on neat then scrub it all over the surface with a nail brush, working around the jacket. Leave for a few minutes then rinse thoroughly - material like new.

Another vote for bleach and scrubbing brush. It's a balance, many of the proprietary dead spider removers just aren't strong enough. Sometimes, bleach may lift a bit of colour. Once the mould has gone, a good clean with detergent should remove any residue bleach.

 

[Talulah]

Mildew is one of the reasons that when I bought replacement lifejackets I went for black.

 

[neale]

I always use Milton baby sterilising stuff. I think it is just a mild bleach but it has always removed black mould spots from lifejackets for me and being slightly milder it has never caused any fading or damage to the material. Unlike strong bleach it doesn't work instantly, just leave it for 5-10 minutes and then wash off in fresh water.

 

[ashtead]

Milton would be first choice as said above but if this fails maybe some Vanish would work given its ability to clean teak and clothes but would obviously try on concealed spot first to ensure no adverse colour loss occurs

 

[westhinder]

I have just treated a sailbag with bleach as an experiment. Putting it through the washing machine had reduced, but not completely removed the mildew. I then put on undiluted household bleach, softly scrubbed and left it. After a few minutes all the black spots had gone.
I think I'm going to try it on an affected part of the sail too.