Boats are a big investment and an essential part of recreation for many people today. Maintaining them regularly is, therefore, nothing short of safeguarding that investment. Exposure to fuel, oil, saltwater, inconsistent weather, and the rays of the sun can easily soil the exterior. Detailing, consequently, may take your weekends even rare off days from your leisure life. However, with good boat cleaning products and with proper guidance from the professional boat detailing services, the job can be handled with ease.
Most boats today are made from fiberglass with an outer coating called gel coat. This coat gives the boat a beautiful and shiny appearance. To maintain that shine, you need to clean and wax the exterior regularly. There are many tools and countless boat cleaning products on the market, which can help you maintain the original new look of the vessel. Vinyl cleaner, stainless steel cleaner, glass cleaner, fiberglass cleaner, all purpose cleaner and many more are normally used to clean the boats. The list of these products is endless, just like the tasks at the detailing end.
Boat Cleaning Products – Factors to Consider
Professional Quality
One would not expect an average person to have stacked all these boat cleaning products on their shelf at home. But, the more you have them in store for specific uses, the easier your boat cleaning job would be.
Boats are always sailing in water. They are in the sunlight a lot. Therefore, you want to use boat cleaning products that provide UV protection for the gel coat and paint. Products that are of professional quality are going to give you superior results and typically, with today’s investments in boats, you would not take chances with lesser quality material. You also should not use flammable products.
Many of these boat cleaning products, whether used for vessels in the water or on land, are toxic to animals, marine life, and even to humans. They harm your boat as well as adversely affect the environment. You rarely know which one is unhealthy and which one is helpful. You can minimize the problem by using simple, naturally available products to clean the boat.
Non-Chemical Based Boat Cleaning Products
We recommend the use eco-friendly products such as boat-wash wax and heavy-duty boat-wash of standard make which are readily available on the market. These low foaming cleaners and waxes always clean and shine the metal, fiberglass, and painted marine surfaces of the boat and are eco-friendly. The products are actually made from plants and mineral-based ingredients. They do not harm the biodiversity of the waters, nor do they create harmful side effects in humans. Choosing green cleaning alternatives for your routine boat maintenance, therefore, protects surroundings and saves you money in the long run.
Baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice are definitely not toxic. They are, in fact, perfect alternatives to the chemical based cleaners such as bleaches, scouring powders, and detergents. Additionally, they are extremely popular and you can find them in every household. However, using them sometimes means putting in a bit more work. On the other hand, it also means a cleaner, safer boat and marine environment.
Do not to dispose these materials in water while sailing. Instead, discard them in the shore dustbins. Thus, you follow eco-friendly professional boat detailing practices, preserving the bio-diversity of our beautiful planet.
Homemade Cleaners
- Use a standard hydrogen peroxide mixture instead of chemical bleach to clean the boat.
- Use white vinegar rather than the floor cleaner. It requires only a quarter of a cup of vinegar diluted in two liters of water to produce effective floor cleaner.
- Replace the brass cleaner with paste made up of lemon juice, vinegar and salt. You can also use a microfiber brush and baking soda as the head cleaner for better results.
- Lemon juice and salt mixture can work for your boat as effectively on mildew.
- You can use baking soda paste as a fiberglass stain remover. The solution of vinegar and warm water further cleans the boat’s surface better than a chemically manufactured popular stain remover.
Home detailers generally use harsh soaps and detergents to clean the boat’s exterior as well as interior. That can damage the gel coat and paint. However, the re-application of a good wax coat prevents the chemical reaction on the surface of the boat. Additionally, you can use abundantly available old cloths and towels for drying the boat’s interior in place of disposable paper towels. Microfiber cloth made up of organic material is also quite useful in DIY detailing. You can clean the entire boat yourself using this inexpensive product on your day off. Contact the nearest professional boat detailing service near you at least once a year, preferably near the end of boating season.
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