Thread Vanished

[John R Smith]

Friends, my scintillating, nay essential, thread on mouldy sails has gone all funny. It now has no title and I cannot even access it. Spare a thought for it, as it sinks nameless and unloved to oblivion.

Ha. Of course.

I should have realised that you Americans do not have horrible mould on your sails. Just as you all have perfect teeth, healthy tans, and a Charles Atlas physique.

Pardon us pitiful Cornish, denizens of the misty mouldy swamplands, bent deformed creatures barely recognisable as human, who shuffle through the cloying mud on the way to our rotting hulks . . .

John

[Wayne Jeffers]

Looks like he's on to us, fellas!



Wayne

[ken mcclure]

I'll have perfect teeth as soon as the dentist is done making them.....

After four rounds of skin cancer surgery I no longer consider tans to be healthy.....

And I have a physique that's closer to the Rand-McNally Atlas than to Charles.

Now if you had mentioned "mold" on the sails instead of "mould" ............

What material are you sails made of? (I know, I know - a preposition is something you should never end a sentence with.)

[ahp]

John,

This Yank missed the beginning of the tread, and I do have some crooked teeth.

That being said, I spent a week in Cornwall about three years ago. Thought it was a fascinating place. I did get to see nearly as much as I would lke and would like to go back some time.

I don't know what its like to work and live there. There seems to be the risk that your house may fall into a forgotten tin mine.

There is an establishment behind the Cathedral in Truro called "The Sheaf of Barley". I want to go there again and wedge myself in a corner with a pint and do some serious bird watching.

Art

Art

[TomRobb]

Rats! I just made the definitive perfect reply on the old one and it's gone

[John R Smith]

What has happened to my original thread? I still can't access it, but some people are posting on it 'cos the time is incrementing.

Weird.

Doubtless there are all sorts of useful recipes for MOLD eradication which I can't read and will be forever ignorant of.

Gnome

[Scott Rosen]

Originally posted by JohnRSmith:

Pardon us pitiful Cornish, denizens of the misty mouldy swamplands, bent deformed creatures barely recognisable as human, who shuffle through the cloying mud on the way to our rotting hulks . . .

If the mo(u)ld thread hadn't disappeared, we would never have gotten the pleasure of that small bit of poetry. What a great image.

Next you'll be wanting to know how we get the mud off of our shoes.

[Ed Harrow]

Mold off of sails? Hah, likely story. It's been Scotted, LOL.

[ken mcclure]

Well, a good powdered cleanser with bleach and a nice scrub brush would go a long ways toward getting rid of either mold or mould.

Find a cleanser that's not TOO abrasive, and check to make sure that bleach won't harm whatever material was used to make your sails.

[Scott Rosen]

John,

I suggest you call a sailmaker and ask what he uses.

[Todd Bradshaw]

I think I'd skip the cleanser. It's too abrasive and has to be bad for both the stitching and the fabric. Abrading the surface just gives the little dirt and salt particles that the mold grows on a better grip on the fabric and also can't be good for the resin that's helping the sails keep their shape. In addition, it's likely to remove the stuff that's put on the fabric to help protect it from U.V. damage (usually silicone).

Standard practice for mold removal on Dacron sails is to wash it well with water, mild soap and a brush to get as much stuff off of the surface as possible. Try to do it on a smooth surface so that the underside is not being abraded by rough concrete, etc. while you scrub the top side. Washing can be followed by soaking it for a couple of hours in a mixture of ten parts cold water and one part household bleach (like Clorox) - followed by another good rinse with plenty of clean water and thorough drying. You may not be able to completely remove all the stains, but they should look better.

If the sails are cotton or other natural fiber, rather than Dacron, DO NOT use bleach on them. Soap and water is about all you can use on natural fabric without reducing it's strength.


[This message has been edited by Todd Bradshaw (edited 01-10-2002).]

[AngWood]

That's what happens when you post profanity-laced threads!

[Donn]

Lay the sails out smoothly on the sand in the Sahara Desert at noon. At 1PM sweep the dead and dried mold away with a broom. If mold exists on both sides, reverse and repeat.

[bud]

There are threads that are missing, there are threads that have no topic, the important thing is, everything is under control. There is nothing to worry abouttttttttttttttttttttttt

[B. Burnside]

There is at least one corner of "America" that gets moldy, the upper left. And there is a whole lot more of the Americas than the United States, eh. In some parts of North America, we not only get black spots on our sails but we also spell mould correctly!

[dasboat]

You tellum Burnside.

[B. Burnside]

Hee hee. I did.

[Mirelle]

Oxalic acid. Buy from the chenist as a packet of crystals, dissolve to form a dilute solution, apply and .... presto! Mould gone! But be careful with it and do a test patch first - it is powerful stuff.

Also the stuff to use for bleaching wood, eg black spots in mahogany, and does a great job of restoring teak decks.

[John R Smith]

Thank you, folks.

The thing I hadn't thought of was the oxalic acid. Would it harm the stitching, though?

In fact, what happened was this. We got the sail off eventually (took a while to figure out how) and then realised that the luff rope was a wire so it wouldn't fold up very small. Stuffed this intractable sausage into the back of the car and made off for home.

Back at the gnome hole, we heaved and cursed and wound it around and finally got it into the washing machine. Door only just closed. Inserted washing soapy stuff, pressed switches and sat back. It all squeaked and groaned a bit when it got to the spin cycle, but no matter.

Flushed with success, we hauled it all out again across the kitchen. Damn. Bummer. Absolutely no difference. Sail still all green and mouldy. Despair, more cups of tea.

Upstairs, dragging sail into the bathroom. Place sail in bath, apply water, scrub sail with soap and the nailbrush. Now we have bits of sail draped across the toilet, over the floor and hanging from the shower rail. Hours later, no detectable difference, except that the sail is wringing wet and dripping everywhere and we can't have a bath or go to the toilet. This Cornish mould is tough stuff.

Only way to dry the sail out is to get it hung up in a warm room (our bedroom). So now we have the sail festooned all around the foot of the bed on two clothes horses. Impossible to access normal functions of bedroom.

So you can see why I suddenly realised how misguided I had been to post this question. You good people across the pond would never have let things get to this stage. Can you imagine Scott's missus even letting him have his sail in the house, let alone the bathroom? ESPECIALLY if it was mouldy (moldy)? No, of course not.

There can be no such thing as mould (mold) in the USA. And that's why they don't spell it right

John

[Todd Bradshaw]

Oxalic acid is sometimes used to remove metallic stains from sails (one ounce per pint of hot water) but it's pretty nasty stuff and certainly wouldn't be my first choice for removing mold. If you do use it, rinse the living sh## out of them before drying them. I don't know what's in wood bleach, but I'd sure find out before putting it on my sails.

[Ian Wright]

Mister Muscle Mold Remover, from your local shop,,,,,,,,
Works for me, on charts too,,,

IanW

[Scot]

retrieved missing bits...

Author Message
posted ET (US)
JohnRSmith posted 01-10-2002 07:24 AM ET (US) OK chaps, here's another problem. As you may remember, our sails roll up on rolly things when not in use. Consequently, they are out in the weather all season, and Cornwall being wet and damp generally even in the summer, the outside part of the sail tends to go all green and mouldy. Got the headsail off and at home for the winter, but this green mould is very unwilling to be removed. Ordinary soaps and detergents just don't seem to touch it. What could I use that won't damage the sail? Any advice would be welcomed. John


Andrew posted 01-10-2002 07:59 AM ET (US) A Carribean cruise. The sun will bleach those sails in no time.

Scott Rosen posted 01-10-2002 08:00 AM ET (US) Every couple of years, during winter layup I bring my sails to a local sailmaker for inspection. As part of the inspection, he cleans them as well. I don't know what he uses for a cleaner, but it works. I suggest you call a reputable sailmaker and ask what they use. I'm sure there are some non-caustic stain removers suitable for dacron sails.

JohnRSmith posted 01-10-2002 09:52 AM ET (US) Ha. Of course. I should have realised that you Americans do not have horrible mould on your sails. Just as you all have perfect teeth, healthy tans, and a Charles Atlas physique. Pardon us pitiful British, denizens of the misty mouldy swamplands, bent deformed creatures barely recognisable as human, who limp through the cloying mud on the way to our rotting hulks . . . John

JohnRSmith posted 01-10-2002 10:15 AM ET (US) Oh Lord. My thread's gone all funny, Mother.

TomRobb posted 01-10-2002 11:06 AM ET (US) I thought dacron was nearly inert. What could hurt it? How about bleach or the fancy spray bottles of magical elixers that remove mold from shower stalls? I thought it was mechanical stresses that broke down the fill coating in/on the cloth. Of course it couldn't hurt to ask your local friendly sail-maker. John, why not remove the sails at least in winter, clean and store in a dry(ish?) place?

[John R Smith]

Brilliant! Look at that, he's got it all back again.

Thanks Scott (the WB one).

Ian, I can't find Mr Muscle Mold Remover in or local store.

Would Old Granny Higginbotham's Magical Mould Remedy do instead?

John

[ken mcclure]

Ah, good job scott. Now then. Look around in there for my left-hand glove, knitted wool (natural color) size xtra large.