Florida weather can trash your boat if it is kept in the water in just a few months. Because of the high humidity any surface fill grow algae and mildew on it. The fiberglass surfaces, vinyl seats, canvas covers, metal surfaces....just about everything. Some times of the year are worse than others but surfaces just grow stuff.
I need to wash my boat down about once a week on the minimum just to keep it looking OK. If I do that I can just use a bucket of soapy water (environmental eco soap) and a boat brush to lightly brush all surfaces I can get and then just hose it off. A quickie wash does wonders. If I skip a week I usually need to add a little bleach t the wash. A ammonia wash will kill algae and mildew but you can NOT use it with BLEACH! You need to wash it with ammonia, rinse well and them use a dilute bleach rinse. Let the bleach water stay on the surfaces for a while and then rinse it off. The bleach will get rid off the dark mildew and will help keep it from growing back.
After cleaning the interior, I use Damp Rid to help keep the humidity down and I also have a 15 watt light bulb lit inside the boat. The light helps prevent mildew from growing and the dry heat from the bulb helps keep the interior a little more dry.
Even the wood work will get algae growing on the wood and or varnished surfaces. I wipe them down to keep them looking good, but if you let it go to long you will have to sand and refinish.
A little work saves a lot of work. About every 3 months I take my cheap power washer down and spray off the boat and then soap wash it. Mother's has a great soap that is eco and has a little wax in it.
I have a cheap rag mop I use on the boat deck as a quick clean up when I get back from taking the boat out. That also saves a lot of work. My dog can leave foot prints that are almost impossible to get off if I do not wipe them down when the are still wet.
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