Cleaning sails

[CSMcKillip]

I cleaned our main sail over the weekend and was wondering what everyone else does to clean their sails? I used woolite and vinagar to a water mix I got off the net, we are inland and the main is in good shape, it still has that crispy feel to it, all the threads looked good, the luff and the leack were a little dirty, I also used a low pressure power washer to help out on the job, nothing more than a good nossel would produce but more consentrated in an area. There still is some small spots of mold and oil, I was thinking the lighter fluid method on this area, the sail had been sitting under the main cover for a long time and med dobbers made their home in about a hundred spots, Oklahoma lakes have this red/brown mud that after time stains anything, I would say 95% clean. I have gone the route of sending a sail to be cleaned and will just deal with the fact it's an older sail.

Any thoughts?

We also have hull 23 with 22 on the sail??? I am going to check the genoa and see what numbers it has. The story as told to me as this boat was owned by one of the Ericson owners then sold to the owner of our marina, something like that.

Our new floor sole should be installed and bottom paint is being put on the bottom. We launch next week, and I am ready to go sailing.

 

[Blue Chip]

Sail cleaning

I've found OXI CLEAN works pretty well. It doesn't work like Clorox, etc based on a chlorine bleach....but rather on a Hydrogen Peroxide system of chemistry. Way beyond me, but that seems to be the basic theory.
I also use a low pressure washer on this.

 

[SurabyaKid]

I second Oxyclean. I've cleaned 8 sails with it over the last year and found it works very well for rust and other mineral type stains, although it requires scrubbing for mildew.

I let the sail soak in Oxyclean in a clean plastic barrel for about three hours and then pull the sail out on to a clean plastic tarp for scrubbing the dirtier spots. I then rinse with a hose on the tarp and then let the sail soak again for a couple of hours in clean rinse water to get the Oxyclean out before drying.

Pat

 

[Emerald]

While you've got some Oxyclean mixed up, throw some extra in a bucket and toss nasty old mooring lines, salt encrusted sheets etc. into it and you'll be amazed how rejuvenated they become also. I had a mooring line that managed to sneak its tail into the river for several weeks and become a really nasty encrusted mess. A soak in Oxyclean and it was like new again. Critters never stood a chance