What do you use to clean your Hydro-Turf or Hydro-Teak?

[Bruce]

When I had the factory black mats on the back of the boat I never did anything more than hosing them down.

Now that I have light grey mats throughout the boat they are so much more comfortable on the feet and cooler. But I realize that I will be cleaning them frequently. I used dish soap and a towel to clean them Sunday. Initially I thought I might wipe them down with a magic eraser but the mats tear up the magic eraser.

I may try using a water hose with more pressure.

What do you suggest?

 

[jdiaz78]

@JetBoatPilot do you have a suggestion? I also have the same question concerning the hydro-teak look.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

We use a stiff brush and a simple green and water solution. The key is the stiff brush.

 

[Bruce]

I emailed Hydro-Turf and received the following response.

What products and methods do you recommend for cleaning Hydro-Turf?

>It can be cleaned using any soap or cleanser and a brush. Be sure to rinse thoroughly, as any leftover residue can make a slippery surface.

Is there any conditioner product for Hydro-Turf?
Could I use a sealer / protectant such as Scotchgard?

>Q: Is there anything we can do to stop or prolong the fading?
A: Generally no, it is going to happen. We have had some customers tell us they used Scotch guard and it helped. We have not tested this ourselves and cannot say whether it works or not.

@JetBoatPilot, do you have a scrap of Hydro-Turf that you could test Scotchgard on? I would like to know if it changes the color of the Hydro-Turf or otherwise makes it less appealing. My theory is that applying Scotchgard would allow us to simply hose off the Hydro-Turf.

 

[JetBoatPilot]

We could try that and stick it in an area that sees a lot of sunlight everyday. Let me see what I can do.

 

[txav8r]

The heat deteriorates the turf fast, almost as fast as UV. And I suspect some compounds that are made to actually enrich rubber may speed the process of deterioration. I have tried conditioners on it in the past, and initially it appears to lubricate it, but once it soaks in, it seems that it may actually be drier. I am guessing you use a very light ratio of simple green just to clean any dirt. Grease or greasy stuff tend to stain it so an occasional cleanser is necessary. But the real threat is sun and heat. Not the heat or sun while your using it, but the heat it gets outside under a cover, and the UV it gets being baked in storage with no cover. So my thought is how much vinyl/rubber conditioner can you use and get away with, without the other ingredients reducing the life of the material? Anything that softens would seem to be breaking down over time...but we use it on our vinyl interior all the time without that happening it seems, and the conditioners do have UV protectant in them to help when the boat is in use. So what about storage and keeping the mats lubricated? @JetBoatPilot

 

[BigN8]

This would be a good study of thermal emmitance and boat covers. This is an issue in the roofing industry. In residential applications you can attach a Mylar or foil to the rafters to reduce thermal emmitance. Might be a market for such a thing for boat covers.

 

[jdiaz78]

Well, let's just hope this product last a long time as I just put it in and don't want to remove it since the transom was a pain in the ass.

 

[Julian]

I've just been hosing mine off. So far not had any marks that needed more than that.

 

[Bruce]

The factory Hydro-Turf on my boat was 7 years old and still in good shape.

 

[JDSCHMOO]

I have a lighter color hydroturf and I've pressure washed it a few times to remove stains that didn't come out after scrubing it. So far, 2 years in, I haven't seen any negative side effects from pressure washing it- light pressure of course...

 

[scokill]

Hot sauce? Seems like a recommendation for everything else .

 

[txav8r]

I tried Conditioning Sauce on it, makes it too slick IMO and seemed to dry out more. Hot Sauce is for shiny surfaces, but I know you were kidding But you could try a pool noodle or change the spark plugs!

 

[Wayloncle]

303? It works on everything else ever made

 

[jdiaz78]

I used simple green and a kitchen brush tonight and it took the stain right out.