Keep your boat in shipshape this spring with some simple yet thorough spring cleaning. From top to bottom, here are some tips to help you make sure your boat looks its absolute best.
1. Take Out the Trash
The first step to a good spring cleaning is removing the accumulation of garbage that takes place over the course of time. Just like at home, if you haven’t cleaned in a while things start to pile up. So, grab a trash bag and pick through each and every corner and crevice to find anything that doesn’t belong.
This can also be a good time to decide what you need and what you don’t and get rid of clutter that you thought you might use but never have. Things like clothes, furniture, or decorations.
2. Ensure Your Hull is in Shipshape
Before you set about cleaning the outside of the boat, take a look at it and check for anything that may be wrong. This is a great time to get a sense of any light damage that could affect it in the long haul. Check for things like abrasions, scratches, blistering, and connections of anything attached (ladders, rails, etc.).
After checking for hull damages, a simple waxing will help give the outside of your boat a crisp shine and help protect the paint job in the future.
3. Cleaning Your Boat’s Carpeting
Normally a simple vacuuming is enough to clean the carpeting inside your boat, but this isn’t normal cleaning; this is spring cleaning. So, you’ll want to dive deeper.
First, start with that classic vacuuming to remove loose dirt and get any stray debris.
Secondly, choose a safe carpet cleaner and use a soft-bristled brush to scrub away at the carpet. This will help remove and release any settled dirt or set-in stains that may be deep within the fibers of the carpet. You can follow this up with a dusting of baking soda—to help remove any odors—and another vacuuming to get anything that was loosened during cleaning.
4. Clean and Polish Wood Surfaces on Your Boat
For the wood on your boat, treat it like you would in your own home. Use high-quality hardwood polish and cleaner and avoid using soaps or water which could damage the flooring. Afterward, you can choose to buffer them for the ultimate shine or use a spray-on wax.
5. Clean the Vinyl in Your boat
Cleaning the vinyl surfaces on your boat will probably be the easiest bit of cleaning you’ll do during your spring cleaning. If you’ve kept up basic cleaning habits, cleaning your vinyl is as easy as spraying with a basic household cleaner and wiping with a sponge, brush, or paper towels.
If dirt or molds have begun to accumulate, you may need to do a deeper clean involving sponges and a bleach solution to get rid of any stains.
Cleaning your boat top to bottom every once in a while is the best way to make sure it remains in tip-top shape. Want more tips an
