Cleaning the Interior of your Boat with Powerizer Complete
When it comes to cleaning your boat, the work involved can seem a little more extreme than what’s happening in your kid’s bathroom. It usually requires more in-depth cleaning, especially when mold sets into carpets and upholstery, and dirt and leaves have become permanent stowaways. The clean-up can feel like an intervention and a restoration. If you’re already using Powerizer to clean everything in your house and vehicle, why wouldn’t it work on your boat?
Let’s give it a try.
Here is a list of things Powerizer can clean in your boat:
- Upholstered Surfaces such as the seating areas, benches, and carpeted areas
- Hard Surfaces like the Furniture, Deck, Console, Metals Fixtures and Appliances
Powerizer will clean outdoor fabrics by removing dirt, mold, and odors as explained in a previous blog, “Clean your Outdoor Furnishings with Powerizer Complete. ” For vinyl, plastic and other hard surfaces, you may reference our blog on “Cleaning Carpeted Car Surfaces.” We walk you through common sense cleaning and advocate leaving surfaces free of waxes and protectants. This is the same process for your home and is an excellent reference to cleaning the carpet in your boat.
The process for cleaning just about anything with Powerizer Complete is to start with a pre-treat or a soak, wash, rinse, and then polish hard surfaces with water and a microfiber cloth. These steps for cleaning most tasks vary; however when it’s time to get down with the dirty, Powerizer is your ally in each step along the way. These seven steps will simplify cleaning your boat interior.
The First Step is to gather your cleaning tools. Here is what you will need:
- Microfiber Cloth for washing and a few dry cloths for polishing
- Hand-sized dish scrubber, skinny hairbrush, broom and dustpan
- Hose for spraying water & connected to a faucet & high-pressure hose nozzle
- Bucket to make cleaning solutions
- Powerizer squirt bottle for making a pre-treat solution
- Shop-vac, if you have one
- Hand Squeegee
- Hand Steam Cleaner if you have one
Second Step is to mix your cleaning solutions. Here are the dosages we recommend:
Wash solution = (1) scoop of Powerizer to (1) gallon of water mixed in a bucket
Pre-treat solution = (1) scoop of Powerizer to 16 oz. of water mixed in a squeeze bottle
The Third Step is to declutter and vacuum out your boat and all its hidden compartments. If you can find a skinny hairbrush, use it to brush any dirt and debris out of the crevices of your carpet, underneath your furnishings and inside your compartments, basically anywhere, it’s not as easy for the shop vac to reach. The thin brush is a staple cleaning tool in my arsenal.
The Fourth Step is to pre-wash all surfaces with just plain water. Anytime you’re cleaning an object that is meant to be outdoors or lives there, first rinse surfaces so that you may minimize your wash efforts. It’s a great idea to invest in a high-pressured hose spray tip which attaches to your garden hose. The goal is to increase the water pressure by attaching a nozzle with a smaller diameter for the water to flow through. It’s not going to provide the same force as you would get from a pressure washer, but you do have easy control by twisting the nozzle to widen or narrow the spray angle. Be sure to test it out on a small area to make sure the pressure doesn’t rip through fabrics or other surfaces that could tear or break apart with water pressure.
The Fifth Step is to Pre-Treat and saturates fabrics and surfaces where stains have set in. Materials on a boat are exposed to moisture and grow mold quickly and tend to smell awful. Your deck and hard surfaces will become discolored, no different from hardwood floorings with long term exposure to elements. Look for signs of mold and be sure to apply Powerizer in a concentrated cleanser form. Using the Pre-treat solution mixed in step 2, soak stains and apply a paste directly over the stain for more stubborn stains. The stain fighting detergent and water softeners will help to dissolve and lift the stains and remain active for up to six to eight hours. Allow the solution to sit on stains longer, especially if they have been there for quite some time.
The Sixth Step is to wash all surfaces of the interior of your boat. Depending on the area you're cleaning, you may find it easier to clean using a microfiber cloth because of their superabsorbent properties, they are great at applying and removing lots of liquid quickly. In other areas, use your hand palm brush or a push broom to scrub the crevices of your furniture, console and the deck. After applying your Powerizer solution to all your surfaces bust out the steam cleaner, it’s an excellent tool for blasting away any stubborn stains. The extreme heat will kill mold and odors quickly.
The Seventh Step is the final rinse of all surfaces to remove the detergent along with any dirt and grime lifted from all your surfaces. Rinsing will ensure your surfaces dry clean and residue-free. To do this, use your garden hose with the high-pressure nozzle to rinse everything down. For stains lingering, try using your steamer which uses only water to help break down those stains and helps to dilute residues left behind. Use a dry microfiber cloth to absorb the steam water and polish at the same time.
Enjoying hours on your boat is a great way to spend time in the sun and connect with friends, family, and nature. However, boat ownership comes with a substantial investment. Boats have increased in price by almost 80% in the last ten years. No different from a vehicle, you must pay to keep it and pay to use it. The start-up investment can be about the same as putting one child through college. Powerizer Complete can’t dissolve the insurance or storage fees, but it can clean everything dirty, help save time and money by eliminating many cleaners powered by harmful chemicals. With clean surfaces, now you can apply all the necessary protectants to your fabrics and hard surfaces to preserve your investment.
