I've been reading a lot of blogs on how to do this most are saying a home brew of vinegar and water mix. I would appreciate some real experience advice as my experience is most home brew stuff is ineffective.

First off this is a severe case of mold and mildew on a pontoon that just fell into my lap.
I kind of inherited the boat from the in laws because they are just no longer using it.

The entire carpet is almost black from mold and mildew. The deck is solid and the upholstery is in good condition. I'm wondering if it's even salvageable or if I should just pull it and go with a marine vinyl floor. I'd rather try to salvage it at this point. My first thought is to just get after it with the pressure washer and see where that gets me.

If somebody has a product or tried and true method let me know.

I’d rip it out. I hate screwing with moldy shit. Seems like no matter how clean you think you got it, the mold comes right back when the weather gets humid.

if the carpet is actually good, pressure wash, then shop vac all carpet. Leave in the sun to bake dry. you may have to repeat.

I did this several times and the carpet always looks good after. If the carpet is too far gone the pressure washer will destroy it, and you end up replacing it like i did this summer.

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The entire carpet is almost black from mold and mildew.

My advice is to replace it, and inspect the structure beneath. Inspect and clean the structure, install new carpet.

I'm guessing I'll be going down the replacement road. I will see what I can do with it I'm trailering it home tomorrow. I've been told it's easier to replace the entire decking even if it's in good shape than it is to try to separate the carpet from the deck. Another money hole is exactly what I needed!

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The entire carpet is almost black from mold and mildew.

Shit-can it. You can't salvage it in that condition. And when you rip it out, wear a respirator mask.

Where the heck is Jimmy at???

Why does a boat - which is subject to getting water splashed in it and rained in - even have carpeting? I see this in all the fishing boats at Cabela's and Bass Pro. You don't carpet the bathroom in a house, do you? Actually, I've seen some that were, but the first time the toilet backs up will be the last time for that carpet.

Long time pontoon owner here. I've redone my pontoon down to the bare deck . If your deck is solid then count your blessings that the upholstery is good. Mine needs yearly mildew removal and is much more prone to mildew than the carpet.
My carpet was not hard to remove and laying new was surprisingly easy. I used marine grade carpet and contact cement. Can't recall if it was water or solvent based. Had someone help and just roll it down carefully using a spacer (cardboard,tarp?)until it was positioned. Roll it with a wallpaper roller and maybe a rubber mallet and wood block in places. Looks good and is still secure years later.

The seating is another matter. Mildew loves vinyl! Good luck.

Beware bleach. Yes it will remove mildew but it also dissolves the threads used in most seats. Magic erasures work o.k. Elbow grease is the main ingredient.

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Originally posted by Skins2881:
Where the heck is Jimmy at???

Yachts don't have exterior carpet.

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Originally posted by egregore:
Why does a boat - which is subject to getting water splashed in it and rained in - even have carpeting?

It's carpeting specifically designed for marine applications. The water generally drains through the pile and dries in the sun. Issues can come up if the boat is "put away wet" and not provided a bit of time to dry. Normally, the carpet will last quite a long time if maintained properly including cleaning it once a year or every other year depending on use.

The decks of the boat are designed to route the water away from the carpet and into the bilge where it can be pumped out or drained.

If the carpet has that much mold I would recommend completely removing it. I doubt you will be able to completely eradicate it and it will just keep coming back.

I boat in saltwater so I will not have caroet on my boat. My boat is aluminum and has a vinyl lining that keeps it cool enough to go barefoot on it in the hot Florida sun. Clean up is just a good hose down.

A few different ways-

The biggest thing is what's under the carpet?
If there's wood, it needs to be replaced if it's rotted.
(Look at composite decking material, it's plastic, and more expensive up front, but you don't have to replace it years later because of rot)

If it's on aluminum, you're good to go.

Hose the carpet down, use Simple Green and a good push broom. Scrub the hell out of it with the broom, rinse it off. Lather, rinse, repeat if necessary... But it's a workout.

Next step up on the ladder is- try a pressure washer and a Simple Green solution. Most pressure washers have a way you can hook up a bucket with solvent to them. Then just wash it till the solvent is gone. (Less labor intensive)

My recommendation is doing this with the boat on a trailer, and at an angle/ incline. (Jack up the front of the boat with a few blocks of wood under the aluminum pontoons) This way, all the water drains off to one end.

If that's not working, you're probably going to need to replace the entire carpet. It's not hard, just time consuming. Use a good marine / outdoor carpet. (Boating supply stores, Home Depot, Lowes...)

Warm summer day, some suntan lotion, and a few beers. Let the sun do all the drying!

I should add this is not from years of neglect. This boat has always been covered in the winter with last year being the exception. It's been in the water every year and used, only every year has been less and less use. Heck it's got a 60 horse Honda 4 stroke with less than 50 hours on it. It's been in the water and tied to the dock this summer so it's been getting sun which kills and stops the mold from growing. I'm going to remain hopeful I can salvage it for the short term at least.

You can kind of see what I'm dealing with in this pic.

Folex with a drill brush and if that does not work, bleach water. Check out Sunbrella fabric for their recommended mix.
https://www.sunbrella.com/en-u...sunbrella-upholstery

There

I limped along for a few years with carpet like that. I'd pressure wash it very spring. My carpet finally got too worn out to clean. My wife and I re did it from the deck up. New floor, new carpet, new hardware, painted the sides, and my wife re-did all the upholstery. Took us about three weeks to get it all done. It's a pretty simple job, just time consuming.

Overton's has complete carpet kits (with or without the marine plywood). The also are constantly having 20-30% off promotions. These include the carpet, hardware, and glue.

^^^ watch out! That bleach & water solution might just do what it's supposed to do, and bleach out the carpet!

I'm going with pressure washer and a few cold beers option.
You can also hit the pontoons and motor and get the alge off.
(Pro Tip- pressure wash the alge off right when you pull it out of the water! It comes off soooo much easier when the alge is wet. When it drys, it's a pain in the butt to get off)

When it's on the trailer, get up underneath it, see if there's a plugged drain hole.
There's usually a small hole or a few small holes underneath that let the water out if the carpet gets soaked.

Yep I've been warned about not using bleach products particularly on the vinyl upholstery. I'm going to just pressure was it first with the tongue of the trailer raised as suggested so the water can drain off and see how much of it is just surface. Then I will go with a mold mildew remover with what's left.

Once I get it home it probably won't see the water again this season. Having just purchased our lake place this year the dock purchase hasn't happened yet. So I will have the entire fall to work on it.

Careful. A pressure washer can blast the backing off and leave carpet that rips easily.

Pressure washer with the wide (low power) nozzle is the best way to clean this up. Hire a guy off Craigslist... you can find someone to do it for $75 if you don’t have a pressure washer. I own a pressure washer and I STILL hire the $75 guys because they use their own equipment, they burn $15-$25 worth of their gas, and their hourly rate after all that is way worth it to me. I had a guy pressure wash a large patio for 6 hours... for $75. He way under charged, but that’s on him.