mildew in foam cushions

[Bgriff]

Does anyone know of a good way to get mildew out of boat cushions? I just pulled the
covers off the 1/4 berth and settee cushions to wash them, and the foam cushions
show mildew and are musty-smelling. Otherwise they are still in good shape, but I'd
like to clean them up some.

[JLM]

50/50 bleach and water kills just about everythink

[Scott Rosen]

50/50 bleach in water destroys most foam.

You may have to toss them. Either that or get an air-tight zipper cover so you don't smell the mildew.

[wolfietuk]

You can try using some liquid lysol. nowhere near as destructive as bleach. I have had mixed results with it. Though the foam is the cheap part of the cusions if you need a change.

Rick

[Concordia..41]

Before you toss them and incur the expense of having them remade, use your bath tub to soak them in lemon juice. I think I put about a 16 oz. bottle of lemon juice to a tub full of warm water. Do this on a day when you can wring them out and put them in the sun to dry.

I started to post yesterday but my 'soak them in lemon juice and put them in the sun' seemed a litle flippant given your location.

Frebreeze [sp?] spray in the laundry isle of your grocery store will give some temorary relief.

[N. Scheuer]

You didn't say what the cover material is, Bgriff? Our are cotton duck, zippered over urethane foam, and are fresh as a daisy after 15 years. Of course keeping the boat on a trailer in a barn makes for a dry boat.

If yours are covered with vinyl, a popular material, it sounds like you're getting water into the foam faster than it can evaporate through the cover. If so, the best course would be to get new cushions having more permeable cover material.

If your covers already are a "breathable" material, then I'd look for ways to keep more water OUT of the boat.

Good luck, Moby Nick

[Bgriff]

Thanks everyone, I'll try lthe lemon juice when the weather improves. The covers are cotton duck, the foam is still stable (not crumbling) and I can shape new foam if the lemon juice works. Allegro stays in the water except for spring haulout, sometimes gets damp below.