Mildewed cabin cushions

[Dick Kobayashi]

Ok, spring is coming, and I will take another run at this topic. I have mildewed cushions in the cabin, The covers are original - herculon or similar. The zippers on the covers are pretty much corroded shut, so I don't want to remove the covers - I will never get them back on. What I'd like is a product that I scrub on/into the cover material that makes the mildew go away (or at least appear to go away). I have tried clorox and various detergents to no real avail. I don't really want to pay for new covers. But I do agree with my wife that improving the covers will make the boat more attractive to her.

I am open to suggestions.

[sgbernd]

If the damage is small and localised, you might try MDR Amazon Mildew cleaner and a brush and lots of elbow grease. (Defender has it as do other places).

I had some mildew where the cushion (Sunbrella) rests against the wood. The cleaner seemed to get the worst of it without noticeable colour damage. And it doesn't smell so bad either. Supposedly, the residue will retard future growth. After you rinse the cleaner off with your damp sponge, let the cushions sit in the direct sun for few days to dry and hopefully kill what the cleaner didn't take.

[Steve Laume]

We have deduced Raven's cushions to only the seats in the main salon. I got rid of the seat backs in favor of throw pillows and we never use the V berth for sleeping so those cushions also live in the barn. I am not sure if the cushions were mildewed or just smelled bad, but getting rid of most of them seemed like a good way to improve the smell of things down below.

The two remaining cushions were taken home and washed. To do this properly the covers had to come off. The zippers didn't look all that good but did work with some coxing. It was then a matter of washing the covers and the foam. I forget exactly what I did but it must have involved a large tub and I know there was a lot of soaking. Washing the covers is pretty straight forward but the foam was a bit more of a project. Even after squeezing out all the water I could it seemed to take a week for them to dry. One of the really nice things about washing the cushions aside from them being clean and smelling fresh is that yo get rid of all of the salt. I am very careful about not getting any salt on the cushions as it draws water and nothing good can result from that.

I know you said you wanted to try to deal with the cleaning without removing the covers but you may well waste a lot of time and end up with unsatisfying results. Even if you have to destroy the zippers you would get much better results by taking the covers off. Once everything is clean and dry you could take the covers to any upholstery shop and have them sew in new zippers. I really don't think this would cost very much. You could even take out the old stitching to save the pros a bit of time.

I know Raven's covers were not really that nasty but washing them once every 20 years or so is not a bad idea, Steve.

[camroll]

To make new cushions covers is not that expensive or hard for that matter. I do it for people all the time. Remember that the really expensive part is the foam and if, in your treatment you get something in the foam or ruin it in some way you'll have an expensive fix. I would definitely think about getting the cover off before trying too many cleaners. Take the covers off and leave the foam out in the sun for a while. That will kill off the mildew and dry out the foam. Good luck

Russ

[tartansailor]

I support Steve's recommendation.
Trash the zippers, launder the covers in a machine.
Sew on Velcro strips.
Store cushions at home over the winter.
Dick

[Bill Moore]

I agree with the 'get the cover' off argument. I had the same situation and discovered that my spouse was right--it really is not hard to remove the zipper. I did it myself. Installing something back on the cushion to close it is the harder part. I was prepared to just use velcro tabs when she took pity on me and installed new zippers. It was a little work, but removing the covers in the future is simple. I suspect that if you try to clean the cushions with the covers on, the end result will be that they still smell and you have to remove the covers anyway...

[Brian2]

Hello,

You can try some zipper lubricant. I had a sail that in order to rasie it it zipped around the mast, and zipped up as you pulled up the sail. (Zuma sailboat) It was pretty well corroded after years of stoarge, but with some saillube and a couple of days of working it, it was like new.

After removal of the covers, we wash our covers in a machine.

Also, you could take them to an upholstery shop for cleaning. We did that once as well. The covers stay on, and they basically use a wet dry vac to clean them.

Brian

[Jdpmus]

I had a local upholstery guy remove the old vinyl covers and make new ones. He had a machine that cleaned and sanitized the old foam. The price was half what complete new ones would have cost.

Found him at my marina doing work for others. You might try.

[trapper]

Use Tuff Stuff. You can get it at automotive stores. It is used to clean car upholstery and it is great. Follow the directions and it is amazing what it can do. Sometimes you can get it at Dollar General. Try a can. You have nothing to lose. It worked great on Saga's cushions.

[Neil Gordon]

Don't worry about the zippers or any fancy velcro replacement. The zipper part is hidden in the back of the cushion... just sew the opening back together with a sail needle and twine.

[Dick Kobayashi]

OK OK OK, I am convinced there is no "magic" cleaning solution. Strange though, the members of the Board have magic solutions for almost everything else. I will remove the covers, and get new zips installed or perhaps use Neil's suggestion of twine and needle.

The human Susan B will be pleased