Cleaning Oiled Wood - Interior

[Bark]

As part of Lotus's interior refinishing last year, we went with oil instead of varnish. Used Daly's Seafin oil. Now that spring has arrived, I've noticed (as usual) some light mildew on various surfaces throughout the cabin, including the newly=oiled woodwork.

A standard household cleaner usually takes the mildew right off the painted surfaces, but I'm not sure what to use on the teak. And the teak definitely needs something - any ideas? Most of the wood-specific spray cleaners I've seen say not to use it on oiled surfaces. I'll probably wipe on an additional coat of oil at some point this year too, but I'd like to clean it up first.

Thanks.

Ben

[Mrleft8]

Oil actually seems to promote mildew and mold growth. Clear white vinegar might help some, or oxyalic acid (Wood bleach), but I doubt you'll get it to look like it was never mildewed.

[Gib Etheridge]

I haven't tried it, so I'm not recommending it outright, but you might try TSP (tri sodium phosphate) on a small hidden area.
Painters use TSP to wash painted areas before repainting them so you can get it at a paint supply store. It's mighty strong soap.

[David G]

When you're done cleaning... and are ready to re-oil (assuming you're not switching to varnish)... I'd go to the paint store and get a bit of mildewcide additive to put in the Daly's SeaFin.

Another thought -- this is the first time I've ever heard of this particular product developing mildew problems. I think it comes with a bit of mildewcide already in the formula. I wonder if maybe you need to take steps to address a ventilation issue?

[Lew Barrett]

If you are growing mildew (as usual) in your boat, I'd tend to agree with David that you have some other issues at play as well. Solving those is important.

Bleach in a mild solution is very effective, and if it comes to pass that you believe the product you are using is promoting mildew in teak, you really sould try another product. In the same family, Ship n' Shore has some solids and dries to a harder finish. Might be worth a look if you are insisting on a wipe on/wipe off product.

[Larks]

I generally use bleach but Tea tree oil or Clove Oil are both functional alternatives. It may pay to test them on a small area to check that they don't strip off your Seafin oil as well, but if they are compatable the oil on oil solution seems like a good fit.

There is a company here in Australia, Gelair, that exports a number of tea tree products specifically for cleaning mould/fungus spores which have gained quite a bit of popularity within the superyacht industry, including for cleaning out air conditioning systems: http://www.gelair.com.au/

I used a spray solution of theirs to kill the fungus/mould in all of our workshop and office A/C units when we first moved in there, they hadn't been touched for years and the coils were black with mould. The spray solution cleaned them up nicely (mind you I used a lot on the first application and the fumes, although pleasant, were enough to make your eyes water for a day).

[Bark]

Thanks, everybody. I was leaning toward the mild bleach solution initially, and i'll probably give that a try. The mildew is mainly a very light chalky film that develops on various surfaces - in some places, I can just give it a swipe with my finger and off it comes. In the past (though not this year), it has sometimes developed as black dots on the overhead, but again, they remove pretty easily from the painted surface. Yeah, I need to take a closer look at overall ventilation in the winter - somebody once mentioned a dehumidifier as a possible cure.

Ben

[Gib Etheridge]

There's a very low output heater with a fan available somewhere, it draws very little power, but it keeps the air warmed up a bit and moving. I keep one in a big fiberglass boat I look after in the winter for a friend and it works perfectly. I keep the boat closed up tightly to keep the heat in. I tried a dehumidifier but it didn't work well in the cold.

Here you go. If your boat is so big that one doesn't work use two of them. https://www.lfsmarineoutdoor.com/boa...irculator.html