mildew on calk

[glmark]

I am curious about cleaning and sealing the caulk that follows the toerail around my boat. A previous owner used Clear Silicone I think. These many years later it's still functional but gets pretty gross by the end of summer. I can clean it with a toothbrush and Softscrub W/Bleach but I'd like to renew the chemicals that prevented the mildew in the first place.
Suggestions????

[QuickMick]

these things are pretty amazing... but id give it ye ole 'test in an inconspicuous area' try

forgot the link! doh


Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Original

[glmark]

I got the mildew out, now I want to prevent it in the future. Does anyone have a favorite sealer?

[mitiempo]

I think you'll find that nothing sticks to silicone well if at all, not even new silicone.

[glmark]

Mildew sticks great!! I guess I'll just keep cleaning it. Thank you!

[hellosailor]

All caulks are not the same. The ones designed to resist mildew usually have significant amounts of mildecides in them, sometimes arsenic or tin, sometimes fancier chemicals, and some of them are just bargain products that were never intended to be used on boats.

If you really want to prevent mildew, you'll need to chew out the old caulking and replace it with a better product. Although, I would expect normal airflow and sunlight to prevent mildew on the rail of a boat. You might be able to find mildicides in the gardening section of a hardware store, probably have to reapply them after each rainfall or every couple of weeks though.