Sail Cleaning

[Eliot Dinsmoor]

What is the best way to clean sails at home. Can you use bleach? I have just purchased a ty week ender and the sails have some rust stains and are dirty. I have a front loading washer and was wondering if they could be cleaned in it.



rdins@rof.net

[Don Carr]

What is the best way to clean sails at home. Can you use bleach? I have just purchased a ty week ender and the sails have some rust stains and are dirty. I have a front loading washer and was wondering if they could be cleaned in it.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use bleach. The best way to clean sails is to find a large container and fill it with water and a MILD detergent. Put the sail in and soak it overnight. Find and area on your lawn where you can spread the sail out without foreign objects punching holes in it and take a scrub brush to the heavily soiled areas. After which rinse the sail thoroughly with the hose. If you have the facilities,raise the sail to dry THOROUGHLY before putting it back into the bag.



carrd@erols.com

[Catherine Monaghan]

Don't use your washing machine, it cannot handle that much fabric. Usually a queen size comforter is pushing the limits of most machines and your sails are bigger than that.

You can use oxygen bleach. Oxygen bleach is the kind that's safe for colors, like Vivid or Snowy. But as Don said, never use chlorine bleach.

If we don't have a sailmaker wash our sails, this is how we do it.

(Only wash one sail at a time.)

Spread the sail out in the yard and scrub it with soapy water (you can use dishwashing liquid and add a small amount of oxygen bleach if it's needed). Flip it over and do the other side. (The sail picks up some grass and small bits of debris but that's okay.)

We rig a block from the limb of one of our trees in the backyard and hoist the clew of the sail up to it, then we run a line from the head of the sail to a fence on one side of the yard and a line from the tack to the fence on the other side of the yard. (The sail is raised on it's side rather than the way we raise it on the boat.) This gets the sail completely off the ground. Both sides of the sail can then be rinsed with the garden hose. The sail stays in this position until it is dry. It is then lowered, folded and returned to a clean sailbag. Then the second sail is cleaned using the same method.

catherine_monaghan@merck.com
CD32 Realization
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

What is the best way to clean sails at home. Can you use bleach? I have just purchased a ty week ender and the sails have some rust stains and are dirty. I have a front loading washer and was wondering if they could be cleaned in it.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use bleach. The best way to clean sails is to find a large container and fill it with water and a MILD detergent. Put the sail in and soak it overnight. Find and area on your lawn where you can spread the sail out without foreign objects punching holes in it and take a scrub brush to the heavily soiled areas. After which rinse the sail thoroughly with the hose. If you have the facilities,raise the sail to dry THOROUGHLY before putting it back into the bag.

catherine_monaghan@merck.com

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

Eliot,

I too clean my sails in the backyard, using Tide with bleach(an oxygen bleach included in the Tide). I do it before covering the boat for the winter. First lay the cover out in the yard, lay the sail out on top of the cover, and scrub away with the soap & water. Your deck brush on a stick may make a good scrub brush! The sail never touches the ground, and I hang it as Katherine has described earlier. For a small sail, like your Ty may be, I'd take it to a laundermat and use their largest tumble wash machine. I've done my jibs in one of these with no problem. Also, I noticed in the advertisement for the sail reconditioner in Pennsylvania (forget the name)that they also use a large capacity tumble washer to wash the sails.

Don't EVER use chlorine bleach, it will yellow nylon! FWIW....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

[Catherine Monaghan]

That's a great idea using a tarp under the sail! Why didn't I think of that?

catherine_monaghan@merck.com
CD32 Realization
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

Eliot,

I too clean my sails in the backyard, using Tide with bleach(an oxygen bleach included in the Tide). I do it before covering the boat for the winter. First lay the cover out in the yard, lay the sail out on top of the cover, and scrub away with the soap & water. Your deck brush on a stick may make a good scrub brush! The sail never touches the ground, and I hang it as Katherine has described earlier. For a small sail, like your Ty may be, I'd take it to a laundermat and use their largest tumble wash machine. I've done my jibs in one of these with no problem. Also, I noticed in the advertisement for the sail reconditioner in Pennsylvania (forget the name)that they also use a large capacity tumble washer to wash the sails.

Don't EVER use chlorine bleach, it will yellow nylon! FWIW....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

catherine_monaghan@merck.com

[Mike Everett]

Cap'n Stump -
The Pennsylvania outfit you're thinking of is Sailcare, Inc.
They do good work, and I recommend them to anyone whose sails are in need of reconditioning.
Mike Everett
s/v Dr. Pepper



everett@megalink.net