Best chemical/product to clean soft cover?

[Awesomeness]

My soft cover top has some mildew/algae growing on it. I tried pressure washing it with Purple Power, and it just grew right back quickly.

I see a variety of products out there for cleaning boat covers and stuff. Some have bleach in them, and some are comparatively expensive in the quantity needed to clean this whole cover.

Is the cover bleach-resistant? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[ToddJK]

My soft cover top has some mildew/algae growing on it. I tried pressure washing it with Purple Power, and it just grew right back quickly.

I see a variety of products out there for cleaning boat covers and stuff. Some have bleach in them, and some are comparatively expensive in the quantity needed to clean this whole cover.

Is the cover bleach-resistant? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Is this cover vinyl? I haven't used any bleach products on my soft top or cargo cover (vinyl) but I do occasionally use a degreaser with dawn dish soap. I've also gotten break clean and all kinds of other chemicals on my cover and noticed no loss of color or rapid deterioration. Try a 50/50 mix of bleach in water with some dish soap and clean a small area and see how that works. The only thing I've noticed that's hard on the vinyl covers is the sun .

 

[87cr250r]

Is it similar to Sunbrella? Wash it in a laundry soap and bleach combo. Follow with 303 Protectant. This will clean and provide you with 1 year of water/mold resistance.

 

[chucky]

At all the local coin operated car washes around here have a setting labled bug cutter looks just like green antifreeze has worked real good on tarps and trailers of mine with the algee growing on them

 

[Awesomeness]

Is this cover vinyl? I haven't used any bleach products on my soft top or cargo cover (vinyl) but I do occasionally use a degreaser with dawn dish soap. I've also gotten break clean and all kinds of other chemicals on my cover and noticed no loss of color or rapid deterioration. Try a 50/50 mix of bleach in water with some dish soap and clean a small area and see how that works. The only thing I've noticed that's hard on the vinyl covers is the sun .

Yes, it's the non-cloth type of cover, though I don't know if that is literally "vinyl", from a chemical compatibility standpoint.

 

[TomTime]

I have used this before on numerous covers before, that were vinyl and cloth. On my trucks and boats. Heck I even use it on my vinyl siding to remove stubborn stains mildew and that green stuff I guess is algae that won’t come off with other cleaners.
YMMV.

I don’t know why it says Robot or human.
It is Starbrite Mildew cleaner at Walmart. Click on it, it will come up.

Robot or human?

 

[juanprado]

Kaboom no drip foam mold and mildew had worked well for me here in the sub tropics

 

[NDT]

I use Jomax on the painted siding on my house to deal with mold.

 

[coachgeo]

suggest search net and maybe youtube for { Semi "Trailer Tarp" cleaner }

 

[Awesomeness]

suggest search net and maybe youtube for { Semi "Trailer Tarp" cleaner }

That's what I did first, before asking, and there were a lot of competing ideas. I am hoping someone has actually tried something that worked.

 

[coachgeo]

That's what I did first, before asking, and there were a lot of competing ideas. I am hoping someone has actually tried something that worked.

makes sense.

 

[Awesomeness]

I have used this before on numerous covers before, that were vinyl and cloth. On my trucks and boats. Heck I even use it on my vinyl siding to remove stubborn stains mildew and that green stuff I guess is algae that won’t come off with other cleaners.
YMMV.

I don’t know why it says Robot or human.
It is Starbrite Mildew cleaner at Walmart. Click on it, it will come up.

Robot or human?

I picked up a bottle of this while I happened to be at AutoZone. It's bleach (sodium hypochlorate) and drano (sodium hydroxide) mixed!

I haven't tried it yet.

 

[Csm Davis]

Whatever you clean it with, I generally use purple power, I suggest you spray it down with 303 aerospace protective.

 

[cwc]

I have tried a lot of products, including doing some head-to-head trials to compare the results. The single best product I have found is Chlorox Outdoor Bleach. It contains sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and various surfactants. If there is any oil present I hit it with Purple Power first.

 

[Awesomeness]

I have tried a lot of products, including doing some head-to-head trials to compare the results. The single best product I have found is Chlorox Outdoor Bleach. It contains sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and various surfactants. If there is any oil present I hit it with Purple Power first.

And no damage to the plastic/rubber cover material?

 

[cwc]

Not that I have ever noticed but I keep the exposure short, maybe 10-15 minutes and then scrub and rinse. I have mostly been cleaning tan soft doors lately and they appear to be made of entirely plastic, rubber, and a painted metal frame. Anything with natural organic fibers such as cotton will be vulnerable to caustic (sodium hydroxide).

Sent from my motorola one 5G UW ace using Tapatalk

 

[juanprado]

The thread on the stitiching for the windows is already suspect for holding up long term. That is the only area I would avoid.

 

[Awesomeness]

The thread on the stitiching for the windows is already suspect for holding up long term. That is the only area I would avoid.

The LMTV covers don't have any stitching, windows, etc. They are all rubberized-fabric, with welded seams.

 

[ToddJK]

I've used that outdoor bleach before to clean vinyl siding and it worked well, especially the siding closest to the ground that likes to get growth on it, the bleach really helps to mitigate that growth much better than soap or degreaser alone.

 

[TomTime]

I use and like Purple Power.

Just FYI. Be careful using it around aluminum! Read the directions on the back of the container.