cleaning your tube after a sea outing

what are some tips or tricks to help save the life of your tube after fishing it in the bay?
thanks

I don't know, but I'd think a fresh water rinse would be first.
Then, maybe some sort of protectant for the underside would be useful, and a UV inhibiting application for the topside fabric, too.

Wash with soap and water. I usually leave my tube 3/4 inflated when I clean the darn thing. First, I rinse off any sand or rocks with water. Next, I scrub my tube with soap using a soft towel. Finally, I rinse off with water and leave to dry. Keep in mind that if you choose to not deflate your tube when drying you'll need to deflate half of it. This will prevent the bladder of the tube from popping as the air in the bladder expands from the heat.

I wash it down like you would with a boat.

First I rinse it down then I scrub it down with soap and water then rinse off again. Then I stand it up and allow it to dry.

Thanks guys I just worried about it getting ruined with the salt not like there cheep. So just regular soap?

I usually add about a tablespoon of carwashing soap and mix with 16-20oz of hose water, and I'm good to go. lol my inflatable ride needs the best cleaning solution out there you know?   

my donut is filthy. wiping the leftover unibutter dosent help and the plague of lizards dosent help. tube needs a rape shower..

Pdawg wrote:my donut is filthy. wiping the leftover unibutter dosent help and the plague of lizards dosent help. tube needs a rape shower..

Bro, you need a Shawshank Redemption rape scene action for your tube. You can name your tube Andy from now on.
  

like most peeps here said, i use regular dish soap...hose it down and i have this little brush that i use to get all the dirt off.....then just let it sit to dry off....  

Bwaaaa SS Andy !!!

Some things never get clean...

just hose it down thats all i do

Just a suggestion though. The salt is not the detrimental effect of your vinyl layers, but rather, the combination of salt + UV + thermal effects what will cause havoc on your tubes. As everyone said, a tiny bit of detergent to wash down your tube after every outing is one way to remove the salt. But adding an additional layer of protection on the tube will protect it from UV wear, and a portion of thermal effects. I've been testing the effects between the basic protection of liquid Turtle Wax, Armour All, some of the generic material got from Freight Harbor, and 303 Aerospace Protectant (freakishly expensive compared to the other stuff), I can say for sure that the 303 Aerospace Protectant is doing a splendid job. The fresh waters around here are really not fresh at all. Salinity level is about 1/3, if not 1/2, of the oceanic water. I'll be testing the 303 Aerospace Protectant against the 10x saltier than oceanic from Salton Sea in the upcoming months on both float tubes, a few fishing gears, and the kayaks.

The application of the 303 Aerospace Protectant is the first initial wash/wipe down of the equipment, spray on, spread it out with a non-absorbing material, wait for 15 minutes, and gently wipe again with a very tiny amount of the liquid wax again. Next outing just wash down without detergent, and you're good to go. It's designed for marine's application as well. I notice there's an odd higher thermal dissipation load using the IR remote thermometer, compared to non-application site on my Fish Cat 4. The Hobie's plastic kayak haul is much less than the Fish Cat. Still scratching my head on the oddity of the differences.

Beside the car, I've tested it on my kitchen counter, dish rack drain pan (going on for 3 months now with single application), stainless steel fridge (regular clean up + kids + dirty hands = oiyyyyy), bathroom plastic-tile-glass walls, and so far, I'm very impress. $40/gal is a ridiculous cost, but worth it.

Just two cents for you guys.

TheAsianGuy wrote: I'll be testing the 303 Aerospace Protectant against the 10x saltier than oceanic from Salton Sea in the upcoming months on both float tubes, a few fishing gears, and the kayaks.

Float tubing the Sea? Gross. lol.

TheAsianGuy wrote:Just a suggestion though. The salt is not the detrimental effect of your vinyl layers, but rather, the combination of salt + UV + thermal effects what will cause havoc on your tubes. As everyone said, a tiny bit of detergent to wash down your tube after every outing is one way to remove the salt. But adding an additional layer of protection on the tube will protect it from UV wear, and a portion of thermal effects. I've been testing the effects between the basic protection of liquid Turtle Wax, Armour All, some of the generic material got from Freight Harbor, and 303 Aerospace Protectant (freakishly expensive compared to the other stuff), I can say for sure that the 303 Aerospace Protectant is doing a splendid job. The fresh waters around here are really not fresh at all. Salinity level is about 1/3, if not 1/2, of the oceanic water. I'll be testing the 303 Aerospace Protectant against the 10x saltier than oceanic from Salton Sea in the upcoming months on both float tubes, a few fishing gears, and the kayaks.

The application of the 303 Aerospace Protectant is the first initial wash/wipe down of the equipment, spray on, spread it out with a non-absorbing material, wait for 15 minutes, and gently wipe again with a very tiny amount of the liquid wax again. Next outing just wash down without detergent, and you're good to go. It's designed for marine's application as well. I notice there's an odd higher thermal dissipation load using the IR remote thermometer, compared to non-application site on my Fish Cat 4. The Hobie's plastic kayak haul is much less than the Fish Cat. Still scratching my head on the oddity of the differences.

Beside the car, I've tested it on my kitchen counter, dish rack drain pan (going on for 3 months now with single application), stainless steel fridge (regular clean up + kids + dirty hands = oiyyyyy), bathroom plastic-tile-glass walls, and so far, I'm very impress. $40/gal is a ridiculous cost, but worth it.

Just two cents for you guys.

At the beginning of this thread I suggested using something to combat UV degradation and offer general protectant benefits. . . and Leo reminds us of this stuff. Ive said it before - if Leo likes it, you can hardly go wrong.

TheAsianGuy wrote:Just a suggestion though. The salt is not the detrimental effect of your vinyl layers, but rather, the combination of salt + UV + thermal effects what will cause havoc on your tubes. As everyone said, a tiny bit of detergent to wash down your tube after every outing is one way to remove the salt. But adding an additional layer of protection on the tube will protect it from UV wear, and a portion of thermal effects. I've been testing the effects between the basic protection of liquid Turtle Wax, Armour All, some of the generic material got from Freight Harbor, and 303 Aerospace Protectant (freakishly expensive compared to the other stuff), I can say for sure that the 303 Aerospace Protectant is doing a splendid job. The fresh waters around here are really not fresh at all. Salinity level is about 1/3, if not 1/2, of the oceanic water. I'll be testing the 303 Aerospace Protectant against the 10x saltier than oceanic from Salton Sea in the upcoming months on both float tubes, a few fishing gears, and the kayaks.

The application of the 303 Aerospace Protectant is the first initial wash/wipe down of the equipment, spray on, spread it out with a non-absorbing material, wait for 15 minutes, and gently wipe again with a very tiny amount of the liquid wax again. Next outing just wash down without detergent, and you're good to go. It's designed for marine's application as well. I notice there's an odd higher thermal dissipation load using the IR remote thermometer, compared to non-application site on my Fish Cat 4. The Hobie's plastic kayak haul is much less than the Fish Cat. Still scratching my head on the oddity of the differences.

Beside the car, I've tested it on my kitchen counter, dish rack drain pan (going on for 3 months now with single application), stainless steel fridge (regular clean up + kids + dirty hands = oiyyyyy), bathroom plastic-tile-glass walls, and so far, I'm very impress. $40/gal is a ridiculous cost, but worth it.

Just two cents for you guys.

interesting.  I just emailed them to get clarification whether it'll be safe to use on heavy denier nylon and pvc.  Sound like it will be ok.  Concerning price - are you still on your first application with the tube and the Hobie?  How much product did you need to apply on both?  If it's not much, I think O'reilly's has it for $9 for an 8 oz. spray bottle. I'd try it for that much. On 303's site, I think I even saw 303 AP wipes.  Now that would be convenient but, more expensive (and environmentally unfriendly.)  Amazon had them for something like 40 wipes for $11.

chipmcd wrote:
interesting.  I just emailed them to get clarification whether it'll be safe to use on heavy denier nylon and pvc.  Sound like it will be ok.  Concerning price - are you still on your first application with the tube and the Hobie?  How much product did you need to apply on both?  If it's not much, I think O'reilly's has it for $9 for an 8 oz. spray bottle. I'd try it for that much. On 303's site, I think I even saw 303 AP wipes.  Now that would be convenient but, more expensive (and environmentally unfriendly.)  Amazon had them for something like 40 wipes for $11.

I've purchased the 1 gal size, $42 including shipping, through Amazon. I have the 16oz and 32oz in the past, which set me back $17 to $24. I went smart this time around and purchase the bulk. I stay away from the wipes, since the wipes contain very little of the solution you need. The wipe may be good for your gears, but still, I rather apply what I need through the bulk.

The Hobie has gone through various application since last November. Best to use it once a month, for the first 3 months. After that, it's after every few months. Just spray down, and you're done.

I use a non-absorbing cloth/microfiber rag, put some in a spray bottle, and lightly spray a fine mist over the hull. Spread it all over the hull, and let the damp layer sit for at least 3 hours. I let it sit over night. Come back, use the same rag, this time, spray a very minimal layer (1 light spray can now coat and polish a 5ftx5ft area). This can be the same for the float tube.

I've done it for my stainless steel fridge, dish washing rack and drain pan, along with fishing rods/reels, the guides, and fly fishing lines. Let's say, after a few months, it convinced me quite well.

Updating on the last outing at Salton Sea, using the 303 on the gears. Didn't use the kayak or the float tube due to high wind..really high wind..The fishing gears gone through various test, with salinity load in the 8x to 12x higher than the ocean. The body of the treated rods and reels stood up to the quick drying salt content quite well. The top rod guide for each rod (taking most salt content) get caked up pretty fast with dried salt. Quick splash of fresh water dissolve the salt, and the 303 quickly shed off any leftover caked salt. When the day was done, a light mist fresh water, a non absorbing rag (the same I used to apply the 303), and a quick wipe, the rods, reels, and guides were good as first application. Can't say the same for my exposed body, which had a nice layer of caked salt everywhere.

Got my response from 303 products pretty quick.  Here is what they recommend:

Thank you for contacting Gold Eagle Company.  For nylon or any other fabric, we would recommend using 303® Fabric Guard™.  This product was specifically formulated for those types of material.  For any rubber, plastic or vinyl, we recommend using 303® Aerospace Protectant™.

So, for the 840 Denier nylon, we suggest the 303® Fabric Guard and for the PVC we suggest 303® Aerospace Protectant™.  If you have any further questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact us.


From the quick read I had, Fabric Guard doesn't have the UV protection like Aerospace Protectant but it aids in retaining water repellency. Both repel stains and soil but, fabric guard also resists mildew.

Makes me more curious about their products.

Already look at the chemical compounds to use on their fabric and vinyl type. Since our float tube is not fabric materials, switch it to 303 Aerospace. We're not using vinyl infused fabric materials like the cars do.