cleaning vinyl

[III]

Is it ok to use household soap like Dawn to clean soft vinyl such as tonneau covers, auto interiors, boat seats, etc., or is it best to use a cleaner that's designed for vinyl instead? What about using automotive soaps?



I thought maybe using household soaps might dry out the vinyl quicker? If so, is this over time (if I use it a lot) or will this happen if I use the Dawn just once?

 

[thinksnow]

I used to just use marine soap on the seats. This year, I used a degreaser diluted fairly weak and followed up with Hammerhead Boatworks' Vinyl Protectant.



I don't think you'll go wrong using auto shampoo, but I don't know if you'll get the cleaning action you want (especially with boat seats).



PS: The vinyl protectant smelled awesome and left the seats dry to the touch. I'll post some pics when I'm not as lazy and the boat is finished.

 

[6318]

Don't use dawn!!!

yes, it will dry it out too much...

I've heard for heavy cleaning to use a 10:1 dilution of water:simple green