Keep your boat clean without having to scrub the decks!

Sarah Matlock runs through her onboard cleaning routine – just using Enjo fibres and water!

Not only is this method quick and efficient, it also uses no chemical cleaning products (not even environmentally friendly ones!) so it protects the environment and saves money; not to mention the benefits to the user through not coming into contact with harmful chemicals.



So, a win/win situation all round!



But how can you clean without using chemicals?  – using fibre technology developed in Austria and launched over there in 1990 under the name of ENJO.  Microscopic man made fibres (ENJOtex) are woven into a cloth resembling "fleece".  Each cloth has a different job and they are colour coded to make life easier for the user.  The fabric is stitched into gloves and cloths and then distributed through ENJO consultants who give demonstrations to ensure that the end user understands the methodology and a few simple rules to allow them to use the cloths effectively.



There is a nack to using the cloths as most people are tempted to "scrub" a surface and you can’t do that with ENJO – but once you have used the cloths and gloves for a short space of time and seen for yourself how quick and efficient they are, then you will NEVER go back to using traditional methods again!  



The fibres work with the help of cold water which acts like a surfactant found in a chemical cleaner to loosen and dissolve dirt.  The microscopic ENJOtex then lift and trap the dirt, germs and bacteria and hold them in the glove or cloth until it is washed using detergent and warm water.  The cloths have a two year warranty against faulty manufacture but should last for several years – certainly two to three if not more.  Just think of all the chemical cleaning products (and cloths) that you would use in your home over a three year period that you wouldn’t need to buy if you were using ENJO products!  And all those bottles of chemical products, the bucket and mop, scrubbing brushes, rags and cloths etc. which you need to store on your boat – does it appeal having only a few cleaning cloths and a rectangular plate measuring approximately 7cm by 35cm and a meter long pole to store?  



Whether motor or sail, a barge or Superyacht, traditional wooden boat, steel or GRP, the methods of cleaning are broadly the same.  Decks need to be scrubbed, stainless steel and chrome needs to have the salt and/or watermarks removed, you need to be able to see through your windscreen and cockpits need to be clean and welcoming – nobody wants to sit on dirty cushions!  Below decks, the heads need to be kept clean and it’s not good for the fish to be putting bleach down the loo!  The grease from a fry up needs to be removed; the fridge needs to be kept clean (especially if, like most boaters, it gets turned off in between visits when mold easily and quickly develops).  The dust builds up and teak flooring needs to be swept.  ENJO can help with all these things and more.



First of all, let’s tackle the decks.  The floor cleaner (pole and plate) and the Extreme Floor fibre will allow you to clean both wooden and "textured" GRP decks.  The coarse fibres help to dislodge the algae, dirt and salt from the grain of the teak or the ridges in textured GRP and the "strong" fibres absorb and hold them.  You wet the fibre with cold water, roll it up and squeeze it; attach it to the floor cleaner and move the fibre over the decks, applying more water if required and, perhaps, rinsing the fibre out with warm water if you have a large area to clean and find that the cloth has got saturated with the dirt.   You will find that the decks dry extremely quickly as you don’t have to use much water and you won’t get "Jif", bleach or washing up liquid running off your decks straight into the sea, canal, lake or marina.

 

Next, the windscreen, stainless steel and chrome – for the windscreen you can either use the white Bathroom glove or blue Plusline Glove Strong (if it’s really dirty) or, if you have a large area, the Combiwiper with either the Plusline or Bathroom fibre.  Again, cold water on the cloth or glove, roll up and gently squeeze the excess water out, glide over the surface ensuring that you do not compact the fibres because if you do, then the microscopic ENJOtex cannot do their job lifting and trapping the dirt particles.  If you use the glove, dry off with an ENJOfil for a streak free finish.  If using the Combiwiper, then flip the tool over and use the rubber strip to wipe away the remaining water.  Chrome or stainless steel can be wiped over with a damp Plusline cloth and buffed up to a marvelous shine with the Plusline ENJOfil. 



Vinyl cushions and the cockpit surfaces can be cleaned using the grey Outdoor glove and dried off with the Outdoor ENJOfil.  The same principle applies – "stroke" the surface to ensure that you don’t compact the microscopic ENJOtex.  If you have a barbecue or griddle in your cockpit, the Outdoor Duo Glove is absolutely fantastic – use the coarse textured side for the greasy and burnt griddle and the light grey side for cleaning around the area then dry off with the Outdoor ENJOfil.  Salt, dirt and that "greasy" layer that is often on all surfaces after even a short time at sea will all be removed simply, quickly and very effectively with the ENJO fibres leaving a squeaky clean surface.



The outdoor range of cloths are also fantastic to clean cars, bikes, outdoor furniture, flower pots, greenhouses, sheds, climbing frames, slides etc. and the extreme floor fibre will clean your patio or decking. 



Moving to the cabins, the orange Dust Glove – used dry – will trap dust particles in the fibres and you then take the glove outside and give it a good shake to release the dust into the atmosphere. Remember not to press hard so that the microscopic ENJOtex can do their work.  The yellow polishing cloth or glove (also used dry) will keep any shiny metal looking good. 



The white Bathroom Glove and Bathroom Maid (for difficult to reach areas such as round the back of taps as well as the lavatory bowl) are designed to remove soap scum, mildew spores and limescale and will clean the heads compartment and your portholes using just cold water.  The Bathroom ENJOfil leaves a remarkable streak free finish. 

            

The green Kitchen cloths and gloves absorb grease and grime so efficiently that it’s almost worth having that fry up just so you can clean the galley afterwards!  The ENJO method of cleaning is the only thing that I have found to clean stainless steel in the kitchen satisfactorily and believe, me, I had tried most of the chemical products on the market before I discovered ENJO! 



If you have a hard floor down below then the Dust floor fibre will make sweeping a joy and either the soft, medium or strong floor fibre dampened with cold water will then clean the floor very quickly and efficiently. 



All the cloths can be washed by hand using warm water and detergent or washed with your normal load at up to 60ºC in the washing machine. 



As a general rule, the dirtier the surface, the more water you use so if your decks are very dirty, spray more water on them before using your floor cleaner.  If you have burnt on food on the cooker, spray some water on it before you use the Kitchen glove.



If you have a really stubborn problem to resolve, then ENJO has a few products to help.  These are made using cosmetic grade ingredients so they are entirely safe.  For instance, the Marble Paste is marble dust, Sodium-Laureth-Sulfate (from Sugar, Maize and Coconut), Alcohol and Etheric Oil (orange oil – a natural cleansing agent).  This is very useful for stubborn marks and I have found that it has shifted everything that I have tried it on including oily finger marks, tea stains from stainless steel, Corian and porcelain sinks, burnt on grime from ovens, my stainless steel splash back where the oven vents are (I get burnt on, greasy brown marks just above the vents) as well as tarnish on my silver photograph frames (note: mildly abrasive so do not use Marble Paste on Perspex or plated silverware!)  For a very high build up of calcium or other mineral deposits (common in hard water areas) then the Calcium Dissolver is specially formulated to remove them from wet areas.  It is highly concentrated so you need a tiny amount and a 250ml bottle should last for ages.  My first tub of Marble Paste lasted me for over a year! 



A surface cleaned and dried using ENJO cloths and the appropriate ENJOfil will stay cleaner for longer and there is a very logical reason for this.  Think of a mirror.  You would normally clean this using a spray cleaning product.  You spray the product on the mirror, wipe the surface with a cloth and walk away.  What have you left on the surface?  A layer of chemicals which is sticky so when particles of dirt, germs or mildew spores land on the surface they stick to it and your mirror looks dirty quite quickly.  When you use ENJO cloths, the microscopic ENJOtex get into the microscopic pores and crevises which every surface has (even that as smooth as a mirror).   Once in these microscopic pores and crevises, the ENJOtex trap the dirt, germs etc. and lift them away from the surface.  You then dry using the ENJOfil and are left with a completely clean and dry surface so airborne particles are less likely to "stick" to the surface, thus your mirror stays cleaner for longer! 



To show how the ENJOtex trap the dirt and don’t transfer it to other areas as you clean, I love to do the lipstick test – I put my initials on a mirror in the brightest red or pink lipstick I can find and then clean the mirror.  I then proceed to clean the sink, taps, shower screen, etc., all of which both look and feel absolutely clean.  You would expect the lipstick to smear over all these surfaces but it doesn’t, thus showing how the ENJOtex trap the dirt and germs, only to be released when your cloth is washed with warm water and detergent. 



ENJO has won many awards with its environmental credentials and is a great company to work with.  Many of my clients are benefiting from using ENJO in their homes and on their boats and are spreading the word about the merits of this great system.  ENJO is represented in 25 countries and has helped to remove millions of chemical cleaning products from homes and businesses around the world. 

• At the beginning of 2007, over 36,000,000 litres of chemical cleaners had not been used as a result of people using ENJO fibres worldwide!*
• AND it was estimated that an extra 10,000 litres of chemical cleaners per day were being eliminated as a result of ENJO use. *

All ENJO products can be purchased individually or in packs.  There is a Boatcare Pack which includes most of the products that I have described above. 



For more information about ENJO look at their very informative web site: enjo-link