One of our sailors just picked up a 1989 Hobie SX with Mylar sails and there are mildew spots in the sails; actually between the panels. Anyone know how we can clean them up?

Wyatt

I have a '99 Hobie 18SX. My sails are clear mylar laminated onto one side of colored Dacron sail cloth - as opposed to a pure mylar sail. I have cleaned dacron sails with dilute bleach and a soft boom before and it works well (rinse thoroughly with water afterwards and don't leave the bleach on for more than 15 minute - and test a small patch first).

I'm not sure of any ill effects using this technique on a mylar/dacron laminate. I would attack the dacron side of the sail (the non-shiny one) with the broom - the mylar is delicate and seems to delaminate very easily.

Perhaps Mr Miller can give us the official Hobie cleaning recommendation

It sounds like the mildew is between the film(mylar) and the taffeta(dacron). It is going to be much tougher to remove it. Be careful not to use to much bleach. The sail is 15 years old and on it's last legs with lots of delamination already. IMO

I have heard that soaking a mildewed sail for a few days in a chlorinated swimming pool will bleach out the stains.

Thanks for the guidance. That 99 sx must be really nice. We have a 98 here, and it's so cool. I'm really going to miss these 18s as they get older. Our Fleet has to have at least a dozen of them, and I just think the wings are what make these boats great. I wish more people saw them the same way we do.

Wyatt - Fleet 119, Lake Erie, NY

I can imagine that the mildew is on the mylar side of the dacron. Looks difficult. I don't have any other great ideas to remove it though. Nice benifit of living in a dry climate!

I did a Google search and found allot of references. Here is one...

Sail Care (From J World - Ullman)

Dirt or caked salt. Use a soft bristled brush and liquid detergent. Avoid hard powder detergents and stiff brushes as they may damage the finish and stitching.

Oil, grease, tar, and wax. Use warm water, soap and elbow grease. Hard stains can be removed with household bleach or common stain remover. Be careful to thoroughly remove all cleaning solvents or they will damage the finish.

Blood. Soak the stained portion for 10-20 minutes in a solution of 10 parts water to 1 part bleach. Scrub and repeat if necessary. Rinse thoroughly.

Rust and metal stains. Scrub with soap and water, then apply acetone, M.E.K. or alcohol. Rinse thoroughly and dry.

Mildew. Hot soapy water is usually all that is needed. If necessary, use the diluted bleach approach. If a residual chlorine smell is still present after rinsing, a 1% solution of sodium thiosulfate will remove all chlorine traces.

Paint and varnish. Acetone and M.E.K. should remove most common paint stains. Varnish can easily be removed with alcohol.

Use all solvents with care. Always rinse and dry thoroughly. Solvents and bleaches can damage nylon and dacron if not removed properly.

Mylar and Kevlar sails can generally be taken care of in the same manner as their dacron counterparts. Avoid solvents whenever possible as they can break down the adhesives used to laminate the nylon to the substrate.

I never even thought about soapy water...

Wyatt

One suggestion to Matt Millers list,

Blood comes out with an equal mix of H2O2 and H20. However I dont know what Hydrogen Peroxide will do to a sail. I know it will eat up clothing if left on it over a few days!
I work in an ER and have tried everything on blood stains, and a 50:50 mix of H2O2 and H2O seems to be the best.

David