I saw my wife grab a bucket and a scrubber and a bottle of bleach to go wash
our boat. Her thinking was that since we've been on a lake with an algae
problem the bleach would kill any algae that we brought back with us.

I asked her to stick with liquid detergent since I didn't know what bleach
would do to the paint or decals on the boat.

What would have happened if she had used bleach?

"Bryan" wrote in message
om...
I saw my wife grab a bucket and a scrubber and a bottle of bleach to go
wash
our boat. Her thinking was that since we've been on a lake with an algae
problem the bleach would kill any algae that we brought back with us.

I asked her to stick with liquid detergent since I didn't know what bleach
would do to the paint or decals on the boat.

What would have happened if she had used bleach?



I use beach as well at my own peril.

Whenever I do this, the fluid that emerges is milky white.
Im probably beaching the "good stuff" out of the gel coat.
She's nice-n-white when Im done though.

This is a habit I need to correct.

db

"Bryan" wrote in message
om...
I saw my wife grab a bucket and a scrubber and a bottle of bleach to go
wash our boat. Her thinking was that since we've been on a lake with an
algae problem the bleach would kill any algae that we brought back with us.

I asked her to stick with liquid detergent since I didn't know what bleach
would do to the paint or decals on the boat.

What would have happened if she had used bleach?

Her motivation is sound, but I think her chemistry could be improved. Since
you trailer your boat (at least I that's the case), long-term algae build up
is probably not at the top of your list of issues. More likely, what you're
really trying to deal with are water spots on the hull. Either way, algae
or hard-water mineral deposits (spots), tend to be alkaline, and the
antidote for alkaline is acid. Sort of a matter/anti-matter thing. If
you're just dealing with water spots, one of the cheapest and most effective
treatments is a vinegar and water solution. Vinegar is a mild acid, and you
can buy mongo-sized bottles of the stuff at Costco for next to nothing. Mix
a solution of vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Spray the hull and wipe
with a clean rag. Have a beer, you're done. In the case of stubborn algae
build-up, such as when a boat has been slipped for a while, you need to step
up to a more robust acidic solution, probably muriatic acid (what you put in
your swimming pool) and water.

RG writes:

If
you're just dealing with water spots, one of the cheapest and most
effective treatments is a vinegar and water solution.

Vinegar is a very costly way to buy protons. Buy muriatic acid at a pool
store and dilute to the appropriate strength. Or the Zep calcium-lime-rust
cleaner (CLR clone) at Home Depot.

"RG" wrote in message
...

Her motivation is sound, but I think her chemistry could be improved.
Since you trailer your boat (at least I that's the case), long-term algae
build up is probably not at the top of your list of issues. More likely,
what you're really trying to deal with are water spots on the hull.
Either way, algae or hard-water mineral deposits (spots), tend to be
alkaline, and the antidote for alkaline is acid. Sort of a
matter/anti-matter thing. If you're just dealing with water spots, one of
the cheapest and most effective treatments is a vinegar and water
solution. Vinegar is a mild acid, and you can buy mongo-sized bottles of
the stuff at Costco for next to nothing. Mix a solution of vinegar and
water in a spray bottle. Spray the hull and wipe with a clean rag. Have
a beer, you're done. In the case of stubborn algae build-up, such as when
a boat has been slipped for a while, you need to step up to a more robust
acidic solution, probably muriatic acid (what you put in your swimming
pool) and water.


The algae issue is one of the lakes we visit a couple of times a year has a
serious algae (actually, it might be a cyanobacteria) problem (I'll have to
look into it a little deeper). To minimize our cross-contamination
potential we like to really scrub the hull and trailer before visiting other
lakes.

Now that you mention the water spots that was going to be my next question.
We haven't been giving the topsides a good cleaning often enough and we've
got water spots! I'll try your vinegar solution. Thanks.

Don't use bleach on vinyl. It'll leach out the plasticizers and destroy
it over time. Best thing I've ever found for vinyl is Barkeeper's
Friend scrubbing powder with a spray of Simple Green. A little bleach
for the hull, etc. should be too bad, as long as you don't use a very
strong mixture.

"Keith" wrote in message
oups.com...
Don't use bleach on vinyl. It'll leach out the plasticizers and destroy
it over time. Best thing I've ever found for vinyl is Barkeeper's
Friend scrubbing powder with a spray of Simple Green. A little bleach
for the hull, etc. should be too bad, as long as you don't use a very
strong mixture.


Thanks for sharing the knowledge everyone!

I asked her to stick with liquid detergent since I didn't know what bleach
would do to the paint or decals on the boat.

Or the wax or the surrounding environment. Best to use a cleaner designed
for the purpose. I've found Oli-pine works great.

Bill Kearney wrote:
I asked her to stick with liquid detergent since I didn't know what bleach
would do to the paint or decals on the boat.

Or the wax or the surrounding environment.

The water that I use to water my garden and my lawn has chlorine in it!
So, it's actually benificial to my environment.

The water that I use to water my garden and my lawn has chlorine in it!
So, it's actually benificial to my environment.

Yeah, uh, you go drink that bucket of bleach water first and then tell us
how beneficial it was.