Should I try to clean my own sails

[Tanley]

As these sails are new to you, I'd consider taking them to your local loft for this initial cleaning and ask them to inspect them for damage/fatigue while they have 'em. You'll find out a lot about the loft through this process (good or bad) and if you like their work, you've started a relationship for future needs.

For a modest cost, we get ours cleaned at the end of each season where we had them made (Doyle Sails). If we pay for the cleaning within 30 days of dropping them off, they store them for free in the off season, inspect and make any minor repairs/modifications at no additional charge.

The people at our Doyle loft are great and I like that we're contributing to our local economy. The same loft cut the sails for Mirabella V, but they treat us like we're their best customer every time we go in - and they alrady know we only have a 28' boat.

[marcberoz]

My sail maker said to use oxiclean. The 1st time I used it, I washed the mainsail while still on the mast. (Wash with soft brush, rinse and raise the sail another 4 feet.) Came out great and I was shocked at how well oxiclean cleaned the cabin top too with no effort. Ever since, I've used oxiclean for washing sails & topsides.
Marc

[Sabreman]

They're 20+ years old. Are you really that worried about messing them up? If they don't fail as soon as you put them up, a simple scrubbing on the front lawn will be fine. Use laundry soap and a scrub brush. I've used Tilex in a spray bottle on stubborn stains on old sails too, with no ill effect.

I would not use Tilex or bleach on a sail that's less than 10 years old. After that, why not?

[Minnewaska]

Originally Posted by marcberoz

My sail maker said to use oxiclean. The 1st time I used it, I washed the mainsail while still on the mast. (Wash with soft brush, rinse and raise the sail another 4 feet.) Came out great and I was shocked at how well oxiclean cleaned the cabin top too with no effort. Ever since, I've used oxiclean for washing sails & topsides.
Marc

Isn't oxyclean just oxalic acid, ie Bartenders Friend and a thousand other products?

[marcberoz]

Isn't oxyclean just oxalic acid, ie Bartenders Friend and a thousand other products?

Wikipedia says:
The active ingredient in OxiClean is sodium percarbonate (Na2CO3•H2O2), an adduct of sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

Don't know whether this is the same main ingredient in other cleaning products or not.

[AirborneSF]

I used 'oxiclean' on my sails, and scrubed with a 'soft' brush, removed everything except mold stain from being rolled up, and getting rained on.( I took them to a loft, to get the mold stain out, it was only like $2.00 a lb. for their cleaning.)