Washing Sails!

Zagato

Zagato

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I have heard that you can wash sails in a washing machine, (the larger laundrette ones I presume!) do you just use ordinary washing powder on a medium heat - thanks. Would tumble drying be OK also or would the sails be damaged by all of this? :eek:

Thanks
 
I'm sure I'll be told I'm ruining my sails but I just put some warm water and standard bio washing powder in the bath then trample on them for an hour or so. Rinse out with another bath full of warm water. Then hang in the garden until dry. I've been doing it for the last 20 or so years and the sails seem to benefit so I'll keep going.
I would think too much heat (washing machine/tumble drier) would be a step too far.
 
Lay therm out on a clean flat surface and wash with soapy water. Soft broom and hose are useful. Use a mild bleach solution for stains and mould. Dry naturally.

Better still, if they are good sails and you want them back to as good condition as possible, get them professionally checked over and laundered by a sailmaker. About £4 a kilo and well worth it.
 
There was an article in PBO not so very long ago about getting sails washed.

They compared a traditional process in which the sails were spread out and washed by hand with a modern hi-tech process in which the sails were passed through tanks of cleaning solutions.

Although both around the Solent area the former only dealt with sail makers and chandlers.
The other was NovoSail in Southampton who dealt with owners direct.

The choice seems to be get quotes from sailmakers and chandlers or direct from Novosail.

Quotes from sail-makers might be sensible if any repairs are likely to be needed.
 
I have just booked to take my badly stained spinnaker into Novosail next week for a quote and, hopefully, a dazzling clean. I will try to report back on how successful or otherwise this is.
 
washing sails

At the end of the season, I put the sails one at a time in the bath with warm water and add a small quantity of non bio washing powder. I then hand wash whilst wearing rubber gloves. Drain off the water and refill the bath with clean warm water and rinse the sails. Repeat. Drain off the water again and leave the sails in the bath overnight. Then remove the sails from the bath and leave strewn around the house draped over various bits of furniture until they have dried. This procedure annoys SWMBO, and everyone else in the household, but is an effective and cheap method for cleaning sails.
 
Small sails (anything that will fit in a dustbin sack) are fairly easy to wash in the bath ,Try Oxyclean or similar cleaner you can scrub off green slime and bird poo etc.
Black mould will need bleach solution, but dont allow sail to soak too long (less than couple of hours ) before making sure you rinse the bleach off .The polyester thread is weakened by bleach action.
Rinse well will cold water,allow to drain in the bath,then air dry.
Do not under any circumstances put them in a tumble dryer:eek:.Sailcloth becomes distorted and bolt ropes shrink up ,sails never recover if heated to over 50 degrees.
Most sailmakers will check and wash your sails for £4.00 per kilo,repairs will be quoted separately so you are under no obligation to have those carried out if cost is a premium.Some stitching may be removed in the washing process and major repairs may get worse if not attended to before they get cleaned.
Doing it yourself is a gentler process.Cindy
 
Regrettably our sails are too big to wash successfully in the bath. We used Novoclean a couple of years ago and they did a reasonable job - the new coating certainly helped to rejuvenate them and made them feel a little bit more like 'new sails'. They came up cleaner than normal too.

Nice to see Cindy saying you can wash sails yourself and you might usually be more gentle with them and not just saying that the sailmaker knows best.
 
If you need information on laundry i would be happy to talk to you. I am a sailmaker in the south west and i have used all of the available commercial laundries and also most of the home remedies over the years. Too much info to list here but feel free to call me on 07976 57 44 23 or at work on 01752 337 131 Ullman Sails. Chris Davison.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Regrettably our sails are too big to wash successfully in the bath. We used Novoclean a couple of years ago and they did a reasonable job - the new coating certainly helped to rejuvenate them and made them feel a little bit more like 'new sails'. They came up cleaner than normal too.

Nice to see Cindy saying you can wash sails yourself and you might usually be more gentle with them and not just saying that the sailmaker knows best.
Click to expand...

Cindy's great and sails her wee classic, she cut down my genny (me being a cheap skate).
 
My mate and I used to wash the sails from his T24 "Hasty" every year. We'd collect them Friday night and spread them out on the outdoor basketball court where he worked. Sloshing buckets of soapy water on them and brushing with soft (indoor) brooms got any loose dirt off and with some extra attention most of the more ingrained stuff. We hosed them down with the fire hose and hung them on the wire netting fence by their hanks or slides - hose them thoroughly again and leave to drip dry. Final drying was done by leaving them hanging in the boiler room until Sunday evening. Everything worked a treat until we were thrown out on the excuse of health and safety in case the caretaker (who had given permission) needed access!

Rob.
 
Well the previous owner called today and he said he used to scrub them with water and bleach then rinse off. I will do the same and just check the stitching. I will probably invest in new sails in 3-4 years anyway once I have got the hang of the new boat and can look after new sails properly! It's nice not to worry about the ones I have got, they have been repaired in the past and sails for a 26 footer shouldn't be to expensive :eek:
 
It is true that washingt hem your self will do the trick but it depends what you want to acheive. A simple rinse and removal of salt or real stain removal. We have used most systems now and as a business we now run with novosail They have been the best with there cleaning and the refinishing is a nice touch that actually does work. Due to the amount we do witrh them we can also offer discount to our customers allowing them to get the service at a reduced rate. As you say the biggest issue is normally how nig the bath is and how you get them somewhere to dry without flooding the house. Another neat trick is to mix water with cheap cleach and some washing up liquid to get the tough stains. Not for the faint hearted and also the sail will need a seriously good rinse to prevent staining from the bleach. This is something even the proffesional laundries have come a cropper on. Chris.
 
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