Know how annoying it is when you try with all your might to remove glaring wine stains from your favorite expensive suit and they just won't budge? Yet, when you take it to the dry cleaners, they seem to get rid of them in a flash, almost like magic with no sign as to where they were lodged in the first place. It may cost a little but wouldn't you rather that than have to go buy an even costlier replacement suit altogether?
So what does that have to do with boats?
Back to Basics
Like clothes and our other stuff, boats are our belongings and how we care for them is reflected in how they are presented. Unlike the elements to which our everyday motorcycles, sedans and trucks are exposed, boats and other such watercrafts have to contend with natural elements of a different kind such as severe weather, water, saltwater, slime and wind. The caring and maintenance to counter the after-effects of such exposure differs accordingly.
For instance, the treatment for its all-exposed specially treated wood interiors will differ from that which is required from the fiberglass windshields. The same rings true for the stainless steel fixtures and fittings and their hardy exteriors. An all-purpose cleaner may be used to do the job but that will result in compromises which will do more harm than good for the vessel in the long run.
As owners of such a major investment, it pays to be aware of the basic principles of how to clean, condition, sterilize and restore your boats whether if be for a resale, trade-in, extension of shelf life or strictly aesthetic reasons.
Common methods of
boat detailing
Rust, mildew, oxidation, grime, salt and stains, scratches are totally unavoidable when the high seas are the roadways. And while regular wash-downs help to minimize erosion, frequent maintenance and treatment is key if you want to maintain or extend the life of your boat use.
The leather, upholstery and the many nooks, crevices, and joints can"t help but attract the watery dirt and grime swirling in its midst. Add to that, an absence of proper sterilization, and those boat rides will turn out embarrassingly unpleasant, slimy and smelly ones you and your guests.
Boat soap, gallons of water, various scrub brushes, power hose with nozzle, soft rags, wax, buffer, polisher and a slew of cleaning solutions for the various surfaces are standard fare in any boatperson"s cleaning entourage. These are what is normally used to move the cleaning, extracting, polishing, and conditioning processes along smoothly.
But what about
steam cleaning?
If reading the list above has exhausted you, we apologize. There is truly that much work but what if there"s an alternative that cuts through stubborn stains; bird, bug or fishy splats; grease and grime like no other. A method that is gentle yet effective as it deep cleans most surfaces with hardly a water stain or swirl?
Far fetched as it may seem, steam cleaning is an all-in-one that cleans, sanitizes and deodorizes. By using steam that is temperature-controlled and disseminated through a controllable targeted nozzle, muck gets dislodged and stains are disintegrated almost instantly.
Those very same surfaces are simultaneously sanitized with eco-friendly chemical-free detergents that kill all kinds of bacteria while being deodorized by your favorite aromatic scent of choice or not.
The secret lies in the fine steam mists which are able to get into the hard to reach nooks and crannies. This illusive vapor stream also translates into zilch -- over-spraying and dripping wet, unsafe working surfaces. You save time, effort and volumes of water conventional cleaning requires.
There is more but we think it is pretty clear as to why
organic cleaning methods using steam using steam give quality results well-suited for boats -- both large and small -- without compromises at any stage of the cleaning process.
