Cleaning mildew off sails

[alcodiesel]

Good day shipmates. The sails on this new to me boat are in very fine shape. Stiff, always flaked carefully, etc. but there is the beginning of mildew. Of course I'd like the main to look sharp and bright but not enough to go crazy over it.

1. Is it worth doing anything about it?
2. If yes, what is safe to use to clean off the mildew?

Thank you for your kind consideration,

 

[Blue Chip]

Another question is why the mildew. I have found it invariably is because we all have a tendency wrap those sail so tight not a breathe of air gets in there. Sails need to be kept dry...but they need air too. Leaving a bottom snap on thesail cover open is not going to cause the end of the world..and may save a lot of grief later

 

[Christian Williams]

Mildew is the bane. Worth taking the sails home if there is a season you don't often sail. Hard to get off once it's on.

Dacron sails are impervious to most household cleaners, and a solution of bleach is fine. Lots of cleaning info on the Internet, from sailmakers.

The thing is, dirt: that's where the mildew lives and thrives. Frequent washing is the best defense.

I have noticed two main sources of dirt on mainsails:

The boom. Even under a sail cover, dust and junk builds up. Every time the sail is furled or raised, it rubs the boom and pick up dirt. Keep boom clean.

Shrouds. The weave of wire rope collects dirt. That comes off on the main when downwind sails rub on it, or the genoa drags across it. Shrouds should be cleaned periodically (which also serves as an inspection). It's a bosun's chair job that we don' pay enough attention to.

 

[frick]

Cleaning Sails

I had a friend who loved white sails. He sent his sails of to be professionally cleaned every two year. They where very white Dacron sails, but they lost much of the shape with the repeated cleaning.

I hose my sails off to get the sail out of them. Sail attracts moisture. Yes I have a few small spots of mildew, but my sail shape is still pristine. Which means they will last much long that being continually cleaned.

Rick+

 

[Frank Langer]

The guy who does sail maintenance (stitching, etc.) at North Sails in Vancouver told me it's best not to wash them or have them professionally cleaned unless I can't live with the moderate dirt and discolouration. He agreed that rinsing the salt off periodically is a very good idea, but said he doesn't know of any cleaning process that doesn't have a bad effect on the sail.

On a previous boat I sent our mainsail to a company called Sail Care somewhere in Pennsylvania if I recall correctly. They were promoting a Lemauney method of sail cleaning which they said didn't damage sails. It came back white and clean, but had lost it's firmness. I phoned them and they said to send it back to them for "infusing resin" which they did at no cost, but only a marginal improvement. I'll never have sails professionally cleaned again unless I have no other choice.

Frank

 

[supersailor]

The very best way to keep mildew off sails is to use the method pictured above. This is the main and 130 in a closet without the sail bags. The two spinnakers are in another closet and the 70 at the sail maker getting checked. The sails were washed prior to being stored. The sail cover was deliberately made loose to allow for air circulation. It will get a Scotchguarding or similar in the spring to keep it waterproof. A winter cover should never be put directly over the sail cover I use a length of line threaded through a length of 1" schedule 40 tied to the mast and backstay to keep it off the sail cover when the main is on the boom. While it is a bit of a pain to strip the sails off the boat in the winter, the results are better looking way longer lasting sails.

 

[alcodiesel]

Copy all. Mostly leave them alone. We sail year round and it lives on the boom, covered. The cover is not waterproof to the best of my knowledge. The sail is not tightly faked (flaked?). The mildew spots are on the exposed sail cloth-that is not covered by other parts of the sail when faked. I have triangles of mildew.