Cleaning a sail

[Shaun]

Hello,

We bought an Ericson 27' a few days ago and the main sail has some mildew stains from sitting in the weather for an extended period of time. Here is what I am thinking about doing. I have a recipe for homemade oxyclean, using hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and distilled water. I am thinking I can raise the sail a foot at a time, clean the exposed area, then raise it another foot, clean that area, and keep doing that until the sail if fully up the mast, then rinse it off with a sprayer hose.

Will this work, or should I take it off and do it while it is laid out on the dock?

Thanks

 

[clp]

I don't know about your homemade version, chemicals not being my forte. But, using Oxyclean as is, I have filled up our spare tub with hot water, a whole container of the stuff dumped in, and let it soak for about three days, turning it occasionally, (hand washing machine if you will). Took them out to the driveway, and rinsed them till I flooded the street. It was the pride of the trailer-park after that. A barrel would work I suppose, and I have heard one guy filling his cockpit and doing it like that. I guess it was a sail bath at sea.
I can't help but feel like I'll get blasted for doing it this way, the threads deteriorating, blah, blah, blah. But it makes for a clean sail. And I sail some brutal weather without a problem yet, say six months or so. No sign of anything coming loose in the sail.
I may "pay" for this down the road, I don't know. But it ain't like I had a brand new carbon fiber, ballistics material sail either..

 

[Frank Langer]

One thought would be to avoid laying the sail on any surface that could cause abrasion--ie. not a driveway, cement dock, etc. I also would be careful about using a brush too vigorously on any of the seams in the sail. Though a clean sail is nice, it might be better to have a bit of soiling than to damage the sail.

Frank

 

[Loren Beach]

My SWAG regarding most cleaning chemicals is that a key part of the cleaning operation is complete rinsing off of all residue.

LB

 

[SurabyaKid]

I use the oxyclean soak in a plastic barrel routine...about 4 hours or so. I called the oxyclean consumer help line and they advised no more time than that. I also barrel soak 2x to rinse and then hang from a large tree in the side yard to dry. Others I know use the rafters of their garage to hang from for drying.Pat

 

[rwthomas1]

I have the local sail loft clean the sails at the end of the season, check them over, repair, etc. and store them. The cost of cleaning is small compared to the PITA job of handling a very large, heavy piece of wet sailcloth and taking the chance of damaging it with the cleaning product or being a bit too vigorous. Sails are simply too expensive to screw up. YRMV, RT

 

[Steve Mohr]

sail cleaning

RT's take on the question is probably the best advice, if you have and don't mind spending a little more money. However, if you do it yourself, there are a few things to keep in mind, some of which were already mentioned in this thread (no order implied here): Don't use chlorine bleach. Don't use a stiff bristle brush. Rinse thoroughly and then rinse again. Be sure the sail is completely dry before bagging, rolling, or flaking it. Soaking the sail in an Oxyclean solution in a bathtub, turning a few times over a couple of hours, is fine, works as well as anything else, and is inexpensive. Use a soft bristle brush and, when over a seam or reinforcing thread, move the brush along it, not across it. Lay the sail out on a softer, non-abrasive surface; lawns work nicely but, if it's a lawn, be sure it hasn't been cut recently or you'll end up with hundreds of clippings stuck to the cloth. These tips will produce decent results, close to a professional cleaning, but you won't get someone with the know-how and equipment going over the sail and making any repairs. We just bought our Ericson 27 this past winter, but what I've done with other sails from other boats over the years is to put them on an every other year cycle, where one year I clean them myself, and the next year I take them to a shop for a thorough cleaning and going over. Hope that helps.


Steve