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Safe to wash the boat in the water?

4K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  El Rubio 
#1 ·
Hello all. I was wondering if there are soaps out there that are environmentally safe to use while she is in the water. I want to give her a good scrubbing, but I don't want to kill any fishies, or get any fines!

Thanks!
 
#7 · (Edited)
Vinegar can be a good cleaning agent since it is a mild acid and naturally occurring.
Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate) also makes cleaning soap scum off shower stall tiles easier.
Salt water makes a pretty good disinfectant.
All of the above can be aided by vigorous mechanical scrubbing or brushing after some dwell time.
Ketchup will clean tarnish off of copper surfaces.
YMMV.

Oh, and don't use steel wool on your boat, ever. It drops small bits of steel all over that turn into rust stains. Use bronze wool instead as it does not rust in the same way.
 
#8 ·
I use Captain Phab's non-stick deck wash (I think that's what it's called), it was in the marina store and listed as fully biodegradable, non-phosphate etc and safe to use in the water. I checked with the marina and they were fine with it too. Don't know if you can get it in the US though.
 
#10 ·
Any cleaner, even vinegar, is toxic in strong enough concentrations. I place my knotmeter in a cup of white vinegar to kill the creatures attempting to take up residence there.

This is the EPA data sheet for Simple Green: SIMPLE GREEN® | NCP Product Schedule | Emergency Management | US EPA. Site states there are no known EPA priority pollutents in the product. Simple Green is also EPA-approved for washing up during oil spills.

There are several products labled as safe for boat use including BoatSoap, Biokleen, etc. A trip the West Marine can educate you.
 
#13 ·
They used it to clean up the birds after the Gulf oil spill so I don't think it is harmful in small quantities. It does, however, make a lot of bubbles and it's concentrated so you don't need but a tiny bit. I use it to clean the dishes in the galley.

Seems like baking soda and a good brushing should take away mold. I've used baking soda in a paste on a cloth to clean an apartment from top to bottom and it worked great.

On the boat I'm still using up the cleaning products the PO left behind and they're all West Marine "green" products. When they are finished I think I'm going to try the earlier recommendation of vinegar, baking soda, etc. Less expensive and I already have it all on board.

Personally, I just don't like to take chances. We have an oyster bed in our marina and I don't want to jeopardize it in any way.
 
#19 ·
I think the creek I keep my boat on could use some soap in it, its freaking gross ;)

Seriously though, is it really a big deal? I would imagine that the parts per million would be so small that most "boat soaps" would not have any effect on the environment?
 
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