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I am a relatively new member, and a first-time poster, but an avid reader on this forum. I ran into my first real issue today that I was unable to solve on the job, and wanted to get some feedback about chemicals/techniques I could use for cleaning some polypropylene sun sails over some playgrounds at a school.
I started on the first sail this morning, and was planning on knocking out about 4 an hour (26 in total), but after 5 hours trying to clean the first one I knew I did not have the proper tools, techniques or chems to solve it today. This sail appeared to have some type of tree residue which I thought might be oak tannin (you can see this in the picture). I started with an awning cleaner (Winsol Deep Clean), and though this did visibly brighten the sail from dirt removal, it did not touch the organic stains. The Winsol also did not remove all of the mildew on the sail. I was brushing this in with a fairly high concentration of cleaner using a soft-medium bristle brush that was getting some decent foaming action (the foam was going through the sail). Since the mildew was not being removed, I tested an area with some SH/Roof Snot. This did not streak or appear to damage the sail at all, and the mildew was gone, but the stains remained. I then spot tested a few of the stains with EBC on one and Dragon Juice on the other, and the Dragon Juice did remove most of the stain after some vigorous scrubbing. I then applied DJ all over the sail and waited after scrubbing it in with the brush. I also tried a stiffer bristle brush but that one would not foam as well. I hit this thing from both sides with DJ, and there were orangish streaks showing that some of the stains were being removed, but not enough to justify spending an hour scrubbing and waiting and scrubbing.
I then decided to go test another sail that only had mildew, and sure enough the SH/Roof Snot got off 95% of those stains. I packed it up after hitting a few sidewalks around the school, included in the bid, but I am not going to resume this job until I have some bigger guns. I have cleaned a couple awnings before, and never had an issue like this with Winsol, so I am looking for some guidance from someone who has been around the block a few more times than me. Picture attached of the unsuccessful sail.
View attachment Sail From Hell1.pdf
Much Appreciated!
I am a relatively new member, and a first-time poster, but an avid reader on this forum. I ran into my first real issue today that I was unable to solve on the job, and wanted to get some feedback about chemicals/techniques I could use for cleaning some polypropylene sun sails over some playgrounds at a school.
I started on the first sail this morning, and was planning on knocking out about 4 an hour (26 in total), but after 5 hours trying to clean the first one I knew I did not have the proper tools, techniques or chems to solve it today. This sail appeared to have some type of tree residue which I thought might be oak tannin (you can see this in the picture). I started with an awning cleaner (Winsol Deep Clean), and though this did visibly brighten the sail from dirt removal, it did not touch the organic stains. The Winsol also did not remove all of the mildew on the sail. I was brushing this in with a fairly high concentration of cleaner using a soft-medium bristle brush that was getting some decent foaming action (the foam was going through the sail). Since the mildew was not being removed, I tested an area with some SH/Roof Snot. This did not streak or appear to damage the sail at all, and the mildew was gone, but the stains remained. I then spot tested a few of the stains with EBC on one and Dragon Juice on the other, and the Dragon Juice did remove most of the stain after some vigorous scrubbing. I then applied DJ all over the sail and waited after scrubbing it in with the brush. I also tried a stiffer bristle brush but that one would not foam as well. I hit this thing from both sides with DJ, and there were orangish streaks showing that some of the stains were being removed, but not enough to justify spending an hour scrubbing and waiting and scrubbing.
I then decided to go test another sail that only had mildew, and sure enough the SH/Roof Snot got off 95% of those stains. I packed it up after hitting a few sidewalks around the school, included in the bid, but I am not going to resume this job until I have some bigger guns. I have cleaned a couple awnings before, and never had an issue like this with Winsol, so I am looking for some guidance from someone who has been around the block a few more times than me. Picture attached of the unsuccessful sail.
View attachment Sail From Hell1.pdf
Much Appreciated!