Cleaning Sunbrella

[fitz73222]

Hey Guy`s,
I have a question about cleaning Sunbrella material. I had a custom cover made for the 22-2 about a year ago and it is starting to mildew on the inside. My first inclination is to do the traditional bleach and water in a sprayer method; rinse and be done with it. But since I invested $1600. for this cover I wanted to make sure I`m not going to hurt the Sunbrella material or stitching before I embark. I thought about using Jomax which is a herbicide, bleach and water mix to kill the mildew. It works great on my soffitt and facia around the house just once a year. Any advice is much appreciated!

Fitz

[John Jones]

from the horse's mouth

http://www.sunbrella.com/na/cc_marine_tops_covers.php

[fitz73222]

Thanks JJ...

[wingtime]

Fitz I have worked with Sunbrella at my job for over 20 years.  In theory bleach will not harm the Sunbrella itself since it is a solution dyed acrylic fabric.  Now the threads to sew it together and the hardware is another story.  I would clean it as suggested on the Sunbrella site with a mild cleaner and a soft brush adding just a few ounces of bleach to your cleaner to kill the mildew.  Unless the mildew problem is severe I would not resort to the strong bleach cleaning unless absolutely necessary.

[Capt. Bob]

If you want it to look brand new, put it (if possible ) in a washing machine and follow directions on the site JJ provided.

I've been doing this for the past 26 years (that's right) with both my bimini and console cover, both Sunbrella products.

I store the top inside after every trip but the cover stays on. It is a little more worn but still looks good.