As all boatowners know, spills and stains are inevitable, particularly when you count children among your crew. Our heavily trafficked teak cabin soles and fabric-covered settees have seen their fair share of misfortune, so we keep our ears open for any recommended stain removers. A recent hunt for a product to clean stains from teak led us to K2r SpotLifter, which came highly recommended by Teak Decking Systems Jeff Scott.
Manufactured by Connecticut-based American Home Foods, K2r has been around for 40 years and comes in several aerosol and liquid formulas for removing (SpotLifter) and preventing (StainStopper) stains. The K2r marine cleaner is marketed as a stain lifter for canvas, carpets, fabric, and teak.
We tested it on a red-wine stain on unfinished teak, mildew stains on bamboo, and an ink stain on polyester-blend upholstery, with good results in all tests.
The aerosol cleaner was easy to apply and clean up. We sprayed it onto the soiled teak, upholstered seat, and bamboo cutting board, allowed it to dry for a few minutes, and then used the bottles top (a molded, plastic scrubber brush) to scrub away the stains. As the acetone and methyl acetate formula dried, it became a powder that was easily wiped away or vacuumed up. PS recommends users open all ports and hatches when applying K2r belowdecks, and be mindful of the amount you are applying to a certain area. Using too much can make a mess.
A single application and moderate scrubbing made the ink stain disappear. The red wine and mildew stains were a bit more stubborn. The wine required two applications and a good scrubbing before it was gone. The mildewed bamboo cutting board never came totally clean, but it was significantly improved, and K2r makes no claim as a bamboo cleaner.
A 12-ounce aerosol (no CFCs) spray can of K2r costs about $13 and can be found at Ace and True Value hardware stores, some supermarkets, and West Marine. While the cans scrubber top made cleaning easy, testers also appreciated its no-rust bottom rim. A plastic cap is fit over the can bottom to keep it from leaving rust.
K2r Spotlifter Marine gets two thumbs-up as a stain remover. Its effective, and testers liked that it can clean cushions and “raw” teak. Keep in mind that it has acetone in it, so it should never be used on varnished wood, plastic, or waterproof fabrics.
