How I got my Bimini Clean and Stain Free - Tutorial

[sudoMakeMeASandwich]

We just bought a new boat, and everything was meticulously taken care of, except for the bimini, which had spent its life stored in the bag attached to the poles.

The outside of the bag was fairly clean, but the inside was a different story, a mildewy mess.

So I had a go at cleaning it, and it came out amazing! It came out so well, that I thought some of you might be able to use the info, so I'm going to post it here.



The pictures below are from when I was cleaning the bag, but I did the entire top the exact same way and got the same great results. Obviously, when cleaning the bimini be sure to remove it from the metal poles.

Items Needed:

• Oxi Clean Versatile powder (1 whole small box, 1.77lbs)
• Oxi Clean Laundry Stain Remover Refill Bottle (1 whole bottle, 56fl oz)
• Scrub brush
• Spray bottle
• Rags
• Hager that can get wet
• Bathtub of scalding hot water
• Washing machine
• An area that you don't mind getting oxi clean all over (I did it in the garage and cleaned up with rags)
• 8 hours (You are only interacting with the fabric for ~1 hour)

1. I took the Oxi Clean Stain remover and put it into the spray bottle, then liberally sprayed a portion of the fabric, making sure that the fabric was soaked in Oxi Clean. Don't be afraid to put too much Oxi Clean on. Too much is better than too little. Between the Bimini top and the bag, I used a whole bottle.


2. I then used a scrub brush to scrub the Oxi Clean into the fabric using a circular motion. Make sure that there is not a dry spot on the fabric, and that Oxi Clean has worked its way into the fabric.


3. Repeat this process until the entire cover has been scrubbed with Oxi Clean

4. Use a rag to wipe off the excess Oxi Clean. This should remove some of the mildew with the excess Oxi Clean


5. Repeat the above process (soak fabric with Oxi Clean, and scrub) a 2nd time, but do not wipe the Oxi Clean off.

6. Put the Oxi Clean soaked fabric in a bathtub, and fill the bathtub with scalding hot water.

7. While filling the tub, take one scoop of the Oxi Clean Versatile powder and set it to the side. Then dump the rest of entire box of Oxi Clean Versatile powder into the tub with the fabric.


8. Use the hanger to stir the fabric in with the powder

9. Let the fabric sit in the bathtub for 6 hours, stirring the water and fabric every hour.


10. After 6 hours, the water should be pretty dirty. Take the fabric out and put it into the washing machine. Put the scoop of Versatile powder from before into the machine with the fabric.


11. Wash the fabric on heavy-duty and the hottest setting.

12. When the wash is done, do not dry the fabric (this could cause some tearing at the seams), instead, let it air dry outside. All of the mildew and stains should be gone by this point.


The fabric should be nice and clean and ready to be used. If wanted apply some Scotchgard to protect the fabric.

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

 

[galonuscct]

View attachment 103613

I miss that man!

 

[drewkaree]

I have a I have a whole different process, and mine only involves one step. step one, send it to my wife and tell her this needs to be cleaned LOL I suppose there is a second step in my process, and that is, Step 2 - DUCK!

 

[gthh]

Great Tip!

I did mine up to step 4 and was disappointed with the results.

I bet the soaking in the tub does the trick.

speaking of tricks for us old timer’s with bad backs and knees, I used a plastic stiff bristle broom to do the scrubbing

 

[mark_m]

In order to remove the bimini from the poles does it require drilling out rivot(s)?

 

[gthh]

@mark_m Not on my Bimini which should be the same as your Bimini. It just has screws. You only have to do one side and slip the cover off. It does take some noodling so I would take pictures before you take the cover apart.

 

[DRAT]

I had the exact situation, bought a boat, super clean until I unfurled the bimini (see pics). I used this method with only one scrub (brutal) and half the soak time (3 hrs). The water was so dirty after 2 hrs that I drained, remixed and soaked another hour. The top side looks new, underside less so but still amazing compared to where we started. I was able to get the canvas off/on the frame pretty easily without removing any hardware (2015 AR240).

 

[The Canuck]

I wish I had taken before and after photos, but then they would more or less be duplicates of the other photos. This process worked beyond my expectations.

As a first time boat owner that is wet-slipping, we didn't realize that we should probably open up the bimini every time we are by the boat or take it out. This would allow it to dry out and air out a bit. This past fall when we got the boat we didn't do that, and slowly but surely we developed a good deal of mildew over the course of a couple months. Finally getting some time to work on this, I took the bimini off, and tried the "Star Brite - Mold & Mildew Stain Remover." While it worked a little bit, it didn't do as great of a job as I was expecting. That was with me letting it sit, scrubbing it, re-applying, scrubbing more, and hosing it down. Then I remembered this thread. I figured since I had already done the Star Brite, I could skip the Oxi in a bottle. The bimini was still wet, so I sprinkled some of the powder onto the top and with a soft brush, scrubbed it in. Hosed it off, and immediately took it to the bathtub. Scalding hot water, dumped in the Oxi, and then the bimini and let it sit. Like others, a couple hours later the water was already getting dirty. Kept stirring the water and bimini to keep things aggitated over the course of 5 hours. Threw it in the washer on sanitize and an extra rinse cycle. Hung out to dry on the deck. This morning, the stains are gone! The one downfall I found is that the seams where there was additional fabric, frayed. So I spent a bit of time cutting all the loose ends of fabric off, and trying to clean that part up. Once done, I got out the "303 - Fabric Guard" and coated the top. I need to do the bimini cover next, but am excited that I can get things back to being new or almost new.

Thanks to @sudoMakeMeASandwich for posting this. I will definitely be sharing with other friends that run into a similar issue.

 

[gthh]

• 1 quart hydrogen peroxide
• 1 cup washing soda
• 3 quarts hot water
• 1/4 cup CLEAR liquid laundry detergen
• 
  Inflation buster! sodium percarbonate (Na2CO3•H2O2) is the active ingredient in OXY
• 
  If you have any oil based stains treat with vinegar before scrubbing with the above concoction

 

[Zizzou 192]

I have had success cleaning all the black mold off our grey bimini and its cover using spray on Simple Green scrubbed with a plastic bristled deck brush then rinsed off with ye hose.

Also found that the 303 convertible top cleaner to be near useless for cleaning the knock off sunbrella fabric.