Mildew

[Tooeez]

I am getting a load of what looks like black mildew spots on my bimini top--its' a white top so it looks terrible. It is exposed to the full sun all day long, so I don't know how the mildew can survive, but it is getting worse by the day. Does anybody know of anything that can remove this stuff? Nothing I have tried has made a dent in it.

[Tony Meola]

Is the Bimini top made of canvas, Sunbrella or something else?

I would be careful with using any sure cures like bleach. Try the Mold agent they sell in Home Depot. I usually find it in the paint departmen. They sell it in a spray bottle and also a gallon refill.

It does kill mold but if it is bad it will not remove it even though it kills it. If you then have sunbrella I would purchase the sunbrella cleaner and the water proofing and clean it with that and hopefully that removes it.

Sometimes vinegar works also but I find the one found in the supermarkets to be a little weak. It is only 3% acidic. You can get stronger online but you will need to cut it. But again be careful.

[MarkS]

Just went through a similar deal with my sunbrella patio umbrella which is also white. Mold bug guts local factory spew and general swine had built up on it for years. Tossed it in the wash machine with bleach and detergent and it’s like branny new!

[Yannis]

Me too, only rust remains.
If its too big it does not enter the w. machine. It has to be done with broom and Kercher.

[Raybo Marine NY]

that top gun material seems to get moldy easy

try tossing it in your swimming pool if you have one

see if you have an awning cleaning service by you they usually do a really nice job cleaning and treating it, comes back folded up like chinese laundry

[Tooeez]

Its' not Sunbrella; I had a Sunbrella top and cover on a smaller boat for fifteen years with no problems at all. This seems to be a stiff, nylon like material. I can't put it in the pool, because the pool does not use an added chlorine chemical; it has a salt generator which produces a natural chlorine at a much lower concentration than the tablets. It would fit in a washing machine, but I am afraid the bleach would tear it apart.

[Yannis]

If its plastic dont put it in the w machine.
Kercher, soft broom and Kercher(water pistol).And a soft detergent, no bleach.

[Raybo Marine NY]

Sounds like top gun or stamoid, there is a cleaning formula on their website

[Tooeez]

I took the info the faithful provided and decided that the top was a stamiod type material, so I went to West Marine to get stamiod cleaner like the website suggests. West didn't have it, but they suggested Starbrite mildew stain remover. It comes in a spray bottle; the directions say spray on, let sit, hose off--no scrubbing required. I didn't expect too much from it, but I figured it can't make it any worse, so I took the top off, turned it upside down and applied the product. This stuff works like magic! Hundreds of black dots from pinpoints up to 1/4 inch in diameter are gone! It also removed all the dirt, so now the top looks like new.
It's so nice to find a product that actually does what it claims to do.