Rope Fender growth
- Thread starter Euphonyx
- Start date
V1701
Well-Known Member
That is a tricky one - I wouldn't want to use anything chemical for fear of damaging the rope so physically removing as best and gently as possible...
Sticky Fingers
Well-Known Member
Could try Boracol? Or that old standby - Patio Magic...?
Euphonyx
Well-Known Member
Exactly. Thats what I'm afraid of
pvb
Well-Known Member
Boracol won't harm it.
thinwater
Well-Known Member
To kill the growth, you've been given two quality suggestions. Patio Magic will probably be more effective. Neither will affect the rope.
Then remove the staining with an oxygen bleach such as Oxiclean. That will not damamge the fibers like chlorine bleach, and you don't need to rinse it all out (it will sell-neutralize, leaving only salts in the rope within a few hours).
Then remove the staining with an oxygen bleach such as Oxiclean. That will not damamge the fibers like chlorine bleach, and you don't need to rinse it all out (it will sell-neutralize, leaving only salts in the rope within a few hours).
VicS
Well-Known Member
No problem.
Any benzalkonium chloride based mould/ mildew/ algae killer will get rid of it without harming the rope
Patio magic is already mentioned and is available from most DIY and hardware stores.
Aldi have their own version which is much cheaper but only available from time to time
Polycell 3 in 1 mould killer is another available from most hardware and DIY stores
There are numerous others
Boracol, which also contains disodium octaborate, is also effective and also good for treating teak decks but not so readily available
No need to rinse
Avoid mould killers which are hypochlorite based
pvb
Well-Known Member
Boracol will be more effective. Firstly, because it has disodium octaborate as its main ingredient, as well as some benzalkonium chloride. Secondly, because Boracol also contains ethylene glycol which helps it to penetrate the surface and therefore improves its effectiveness. In contrast, Patio Magic is simply water-based.
Mistroma
Well-Known Member
The advice given is correct and Patio Magic will be cheaper than marine alternatives. It doesn't need to be Patio Magic, anything containing Benzalkonium Chloride will work as that's the active ingredient. Lidl sell something similar, just check the list of ingredients.
Benzalkonium Chloride is highly toxic to aquatic organisms but does break down fairly quickly. I seem to remember that it binds to clay fairly readily and then breaks down.
No need to scrub with a brush, just wet thoroughly with diluted solution, allow to dry and ignore for a couple of weeks. Rinse thoroughly at that point and check to see if you need to try something like Oxyclean. Benzalkonium Chloride won't clean a dirty rope but will kill off pretty much everything growing on it.
You can also dilute it down a bit more and use it to wash surfaces as it is a bactericide and virucide. Many hospital cleaning products are likely to contain Benzalkonium Chloride. I saw a stupidly expensive product being sold to wipe car interiors as protection from Covid. Guess what was shown as the active agent. I reckon that about 25p worth of Patio Magic would be as effective.
Benzalkonium Chloride is highly toxic to aquatic organisms but does break down fairly quickly. I seem to remember that it binds to clay fairly readily and then breaks down.
No need to scrub with a brush, just wet thoroughly with diluted solution, allow to dry and ignore for a couple of weeks. Rinse thoroughly at that point and check to see if you need to try something like Oxyclean. Benzalkonium Chloride won't clean a dirty rope but will kill off pretty much everything growing on it.
You can also dilute it down a bit more and use it to wash surfaces as it is a bactericide and virucide. Many hospital cleaning products are likely to contain Benzalkonium Chloride. I saw a stupidly expensive product being sold to wipe car interiors as protection from Covid. Guess what was shown as the active agent. I reckon that about 25p worth of Patio Magic would be as effective.
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Euphonyx
Well-Known Member
Great advice everyone. Thanks so much. Appreciated.
Mistroma
Well-Known Member
I've seen the claims about a synergistic effect with octaborate and BAC but haven't seen any proof yet. I haven't checked for a few years, perhaps some recent studies confirm the effect.
Interesting about ethylene glycol penetrating the surface to a greater extent than BAC, where did you read that? From memory, elthylene glycol is generally considered to be polar and it seems reasonable. However, BAC is actually more soluble in alcohol than water and is a surfactant (i.e will have both hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups). I was curious about any research into the subject.
pvb
Well-Known Member
Boracol is primarily used as a timber preservative, the glycol content allows the boron to penetrate deeper into the wood. It works similarly with other materials.
Mistroma
Well-Known Member
Yes, I am aware of Boracol for timber preservation and improved penetration vs. products without glycol. I was wondering about improved penetration into rope. However, comparative study of impact on wood might still be interesting, thanks. I suspect that will be easier to find but not certain it will actually prove much regarding algae on rope.
Main problem is comparing it with BAC rather than finding articles relating to improved penetration in wood. I'd actually expect Quats in general to be quite good at penetrating wood. Problem is that it will bind with the wood and that will probably slow penetration.
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Derek ide
Well-Known Member
Carefull pressure washing cleans mooring lines like new. I assume the rope is synthetic.
johnalison
Well-Known Member
It would make more sense to pressure wash after Boracol/PM, though rain will usually do the same job. The rope will then stay clean for six months at least.
Martin&Rene
Well-Known Member
I find Wet & Forget more effective than Patio Magic, apart form on moss.
Euphonyx
Well-Known Member
This looks like moss?
Mistroma
Well-Known Member
Wet & Forget has approx. the same concentration of Benzalkonium Chloride as Patio Magic. Benzalkonium Chloride will treat moss, algae and lichen. Don't expect an instant effect as it will take a few weeks to work. I'd expect it to behave in a very similar fashion to Patio Magic and would select whichever is cheaper or easiest to find.
My roof is pretty much free of moss apart from one corner I couldn't reach when I last treated with Patio Magic. I can get to most of the roof without a ladder and just spent today with a long extending ladder, scraping off huge lumps of moss. I could have just treated with Patio Magic but it is more effective to scrape it back first before spraying. I just need to wait for some dry weather before spraying. I bought 10 litres from Homebase for about £18 quite some time ago and expect it to last quite some time.
Patio Magic works very well on teak deck covered in algae but not as well on a roof with a thick coating of moss. It does die and won't grow back for a year after scraping the moss off first. You also don't have gutters full of dead moss.
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gus
Well-Known Member
If you can remove the rope and coil it in a tub, then a biological washing powder will eat away the debris without damaging the rope.
Euphonyx
Well-Known Member
Cant do that. The rope is about 8 inches thick.