When you pulled back the cover on your boat this spring, did you notice a pink stain appear on your seats or other vinyl surfaces? That is commonly referred to as pinking and will appear on two out of every ten boats that cruise freshwater lakes and rivers.
Two Causes of Pinking Require Two Different Treatments
That pink stain was not caused by a spilled glass of wine or a failure to clean up after your fishing expedition. One cause for the pink stain is bacteria—specifically streptoverticillium reticulum. This normally occurring bacteria poses no problem to your health or to your boat until it gets trapped between the foam back and vinyl surface of your boat’s seating upholstery. It starts to grow, feeding on the moist environment, sunscreen, and the cells shed by you and your guests. It turns pink only when it dies.
The other cause of pinking is actually caused by the breakdown of glues inside your seat cushions. This happens most often during the covering process at the end of the season. The heat from the wrapping procedure draws the glue to the surface of the cushion, leaving behind a pink or reddish stain behind.
Traditional Cleaning Solutions Won't Help
To clean your boat upholstery, you might think you just need to get out a bottle of that vinyl cleaner you use in your car, but that won't touch the stain left by pinking—whether from the chemical or the bacterial version. In fact after emptying your cleaning cupboard, you may think that you will have to replace your seat cushions. Not so fast. For the bacterial stain, there is a solution! However, for the chemical stain, you can only work to prevent it.
Need New Boat Upholstery? Contact Canvasworks Today!
At Canvasworks, we’ve seen all kinds of pinking problems with boat upholstery—from minor pinking to severe. If you’re not a fan of the unsightly pink color appearing on your boat’s upholstery, we can replace your upholstery to your boat’s specifications and your design wishes. Call us at 320-559-0165 for more information.