Homemade Cleaners

[Captain K]

Anybody come up with a recipe for homemade boat cleaners for hull and decks? A friend recently recommended mixing 1-cup white vinegar with 1-cup clorox and 1-cup dish soap in a 2-gallon bucket, then filling the remaining volume with water. I have not tried it yet, but would be interested in any favorite formulae you all may have.

 

[rwidman]

Just for general cleaning?

My favorite is commercial boat soap. It's concentrated, meaning I don't have to have a gallon of vinegar and a gallon of bleach and a bottle of dish soap in the dock box, just a quart of boat soap. Using a couple ounces per wash, it lasts for many washings. And it does the job.

Chlorine bleach (clorox) does nothing for general cleaning. Dish soap will remove the wax from your boat. Vinegar is said to keep the surface from streaking when you rinse it. I don't know if it works or not.

If you're trying to clean non-skid deck surfaces, in my opinion, this is by far the easiest and best product to use:

Follow the directions on the container.

 

[SomeSailor]

A friend recently recommended mixing 1-cup white vinegar with 1-cup clorox and 1-cup dish soap in a 2-gallon bucket,

Great recipe for making hypochloric acid... and it's extremely toxic, heavier than air by-product chlorine gas. I would never recommend mixing any acids / oxidizers on your own.

 

[LaBomba]

We had a bad year with spiders last year as well as a lot of leaf stains from nearby trees and general dirt. I tried everything and some products did work but required a lot of muscle power. Then on one shopping trip I decided to buy some bathroom cleaners to give them a try. Viola !!!! Scrubbing Bubbles. It literally melted the spider crap before my eyes and worked awesome on the deck. I bought the one with the battery operated electric dispenser since I can get bulk refills at Wa___t and this is a lot cheaper than the aerosol. For what it's worth.

Scrubbing Bubbles - Products - Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-A-Clean Power Sprayer

 

[SteveH]

Scrubbing Bubbles. Works well on fenders too!

SteveH