MacGregorSailors.com

My 1996 26X I picked up recently had been leaking around the rail fitting bolts for quite some time and therefore every time it rained water got inside the cabin and with the cushions inside you can image that it was quite a cleanup job inside. I have all the mold/mildew cleaned up except for the white silicon sealant that is around the enclosed head. It is all black and looks like hull!

I'm looking for opinions if there is a recommended product I can use to clean off the mold/mildew from the white silicon or would it be better to try and peel it all off and put on fresh new sealant? If peeling it off is the best I assume I need a product to remove the silicon more easily? Below is a photo showing what it looks like...

Ours usually cleans up pretty good with some plain old household bleach. Use a small model paintbrush if you want to limit the spread.

Silicon is not good on a boat, you can never get the old stuff out unless you cut away the materinal that it attaches to. It would be best to take out, a mild cut away of the old stuff and replace with some 4200.

I use liquid Lysol and water 4 parts water and 1 part Lysol. Just spary every time you leave the boat for a few days. I did not use on cloth, poured straight into the bilge. No bugs.

Thanks, I had not though of trying bleach. I will give that a shot and report back.

As for the use of Silicon on the boat, I'm just assuming it's silicon. It could be some other form of caulking. Also I think this is put in when the boat came from the factory, so you'd think Macgregor would know the right stuff to use??

I was discussing mildew issues with a live-a-board retired couple within my Marina. They have a beautifully kept yacht, and they said the interior (especially the bilge areas) are wiped periodically with a small amount of bleach & light soapy water solution. They use rubber gloves, and simply wipe things down when the need occurs. Their boat is "squeaky clean" -- beautifully kept for the 5 years living aboard.