Since you only mentioned "light" mold, I might try a general purpose cleaner first. Something like Simple Green, Amazing Rolloff or even a 409/Fantastik type cleaner would work. Some of the kitchen/bathroom cleaners have a disinfectant to help with the mold. After a onceover, go back and hit any stubborn mold with bleach. That's how I'd do it.

Mike

I would do a light bleach/water mix in a spray bottle and have at it with the hatches open. I don't think you'll kill yourself - this is how we did it on our '83 boat when we brought it home full of mold and other stuff.

Try to do it uniformly as too much bleach will discolor the oiled teak.

On durable surfaces, a wipedown with a light bleach mix would be appropriate, I think.

You never want to mix bleach and bleach-based products with ammonia-based products, as the result is chlorine gas, which is a deadly gas. 'Not beneficial' to your respiratory system, nor to any other of your body's systems...if you agree that 'not beneficial' is a synonym for 'fatal'.

Here's a better idea...for bilges and other enclosed spaces, a spraydown with vinegar really does the job. First, wash with soapy water: I buy a synthetic mop from the grocery store, cut the handle to about 2 ft in length, then use a garden hose on a nozzle to wash the bilge with soapy fresh water, swabbing with my shortened mop, going after dirt and crud waaaayyyy up beneath the floorboards. Afterwards, using a garden sprayer, I spray vinegar throughout the bilge spaces. Plan to leave all bilge areas open for a week or so afterwards to let the vinegar evaporate. I wouldn't use a fan during this time, as you want to let the vinegar dissipate at its own speed. In a week or two the air will be pristine.

The overall effect of spraying vinegar is so powerful that no one but you will want to be on the boat for a couple weeks (in my own experience). That says a lot, though, because the result will be a pristine boat. Costco sells two gallons of vinegar for cheap, cheap. One gallon will do you for this task, and the other, with olive oil, will yield anough salad dressing for the next 10 years.

[BTW, make sure you have replaced the black rubber hoses used in the sewage system. These are notorious for developing microscopic weeping which you can't see or even feel, but which are the source of awful nuisance odor on most boats.]

Well I typed a reply to this post earlier today but it did not show up.

I used half a cup of chlorine bleach per gallon mixed with some dish soap for a purification on my boat when purchased. Larry is correct you DO NOT want to mix amonia or acid based cleaners with chlorine bleach as it creates chlorimine gas, not so good for cleaning but, a good choice if you have rats, termites or a spouse that you do not want.

Don Casey suggested in his book This Old Boat using a bleach solution wash down to get rid of mold and mildew aboard, he also suggested using it on the woodwork and using Lemon Oil afterwards to rejuvenate the wood and it also prevents mold from reoccurring . I did this on my boat as it had had and exhaust leak prior to my puchasing her that left soot everywhere. A good scrub down with the soapy bleach solution and treating the wood made her sparkle. I did this right after purchasing her as you are doing with your boat,
it was a great bondiing period and gave me the oportunity to learn a great deal about the boat by opening and cleaning every accessable spot.

I hate the smell of vinegar almost as much as I hate the smell of bleach. (Though, I did find a "lavender" scent bleach recently that we use in the head that doesn't bother me at all...)

Try mixing a little Oxiclean (yes, the stuff you mix when doing the laundry) with Murphy's Oil (soap). It kind of turns into a thin "snot" for lack of a better term. That might sound pretty odd, but I learned it from a funny old guy in my Lake Michigan days and it works great!

My first boat was a '75 C-30 (Hull 101, if I remember correctly) that has been left closed up for three years after the owner had died, etc... I spent an afternoon wiping everything down and it cleaned up nicely. Four years later, I sold the boat and never say any mold/mildew again...

Good luck!

Balsamic vinegar smells much better especially mixed with garlic and olive oil, not so good for cleaning and a bit more exspensive at Costco but worth it. Larry's taste is just not that sophisticated.

[QUOTE=Nimue;10620]I would do a light bleach/water mix in a spray bottle and have at it with the hatches open. I don't think you'll kill yourself - this is how we did it on our '83 boat when we brought it home full of mold and other stuff.

Try to do it uniformly as too much bleach will discolor the oiled teak.[/QUOTE]

Be VERY careful when spraying bleach in any location where it might drip or overspray onto the teak. It WILL discolor it. (Don't ask me how I know).

By the way, if anyone has suggestions for restoring the color in teak that has been accidentally bleached, I'm all ears!

[QUOTE=Nick_Tonkin;10618]Hi friends,

... I plan to take the cushions to be cleaned at a carpet cleaner...

Nick[/QUOTE]

We considered doing that after we bought our boat last year. But it turned out to be much easier (and considerably cheaper) to just remove the covers and run them through our washing machine on gentle, cold water wash using Woolite. They came out clean and nice smelling.

Sounds like a good solution. Post pics of your crew.

[QUOTE=Nick_Tonkin;10651]I just took all the covers off I could, but the seat backs are upholstered and would need to have the buttons refitted if I took the covers off.

Did you do that, so you could machine-wash the seat back covers? I was going to rent a machine and do those here on the dock.

Thanks, Nick[/QUOTE]
We didn't have that problem (i.e., the upholstored backs with buttons); obviously, the originals were replaced at some point by a prior owner.