Read here what no one is saying. This is the reason that mold, green deposits and dirt can get on your boat cover so quickly.
This advice also applies to the canvas of your:
- tent
- convertible top
- sunshade
- parasol
- boat kisses
- tarpaulin
- garden cushions
- shade sail
It applies to any cloth you use outdoors. Curious? Read on quick.
Is the canvas really still well protected?
The canvas of your boat cover or tent has to endure a lot. Just think about:
- fungi
- algae
- bird pop
- to the rain
- spiders and other insects
- resin from trees
- sand
- snow and ice
You probably think that the canvas is well protected. After all, the manufacturer has treated it with a protective coating, right?
That's right. In most cases, he certainly did. And if it is a good fabric manufacturer, he mainly looks at the result of that treatment. (Some go for the most profit. They then use poor quality coatings and impregnating agents)
That cloth manufacturer only has 1 important problem. Environmental regulations are getting stricter. This allows him to use fewer chemicals. Much less even. The original new tent cloth, sail cloth, boat cloth and convertible cloth are therefore less well protected.
An example
If you used to buy a cotton tent, you could safely leave it wet in the garage for a week. You could use the tent again and again. There could be some green deposits on it. Of course you paid attention then. But the chance of mold in the tent canvas was not very great in the first few years. You don't have to do that anymore!
If you buy a new boat cover, tent or shade sails, there is a good chance that mold, weather spots and green deposits will develop on the inside. Often after 1 season.
How come?
I already mentioned that the protective coatings are not strong enough to stop fungi and algae. But there is another important reason. UV radiation affects the protective coating. And that can go very quickly!
As the owner of Ultramar, I have had many fabric types tested. That went like this:
- We bought a new piece of tent cloth, tarpaulin or boat cloth.
- The coating on the tent cloth has been tested (mold, dirt, oil, water)
- This new piece of tent cloth was placed in a special UV container.
- A certain amount of UV radiation was applied to the tent canvas 24 hours a day.
- The radiation was comparable to the strength around the Mediterranean Sea.
- After a certain period of time, the canvas was tested again to see how the protection was now.
In several cases the canvas was no longer protected against dirt, oil, mold and water after an average of 48 hours! And those were not the least types of cloth. That is also the reason that your tent, boat cover, convertible roof, awning can become green and dirty after only a few months.
Prevention is better than cure!
My advice to you is therefore:
- Protect the canvas itself!
- And do this regularly.
- At least once a year.
- Protect it with a good impregnating agent.
- Simply by spraying the cloth.
- Then you avoid many problems.
Don't just protect the outside!
Also spray the inside every year. Mold and weather spots develop on the inside. An extra impregnation means that fungi have less chance of attaching themselves to the cloth.
Think about your shoes :-)
Vulnerable shoes are often already injected in the store with extra protection. While those shoes have already been treated by the manufacturer. With shoes, most people find that logical. With a boat cover or tent, most people assume that it is not necessary. "Hasn't the canvas already been treated?" one thinks.
The canvas of your boat cover or tent has to endure much harder than those shoes. So do not wait until dirt, mold and algae are already in the cloth, but give the cloth extra protection. That way you can enjoy your boat cover, tent, convertible top or awning for longer!
Would you like to know more about good impregnating agents? View the impregnating agents with which we at Ultramar impregnate many boat covers, tents, etc. every year.