Jet Ski Maintenance 101: How to Clean Your Craft

Knowing proper jet ski maintenance is essential to keeping your craft in top condition and looking it’s best.

With a little effort and adequate care, your jet ski can run perfectly for years. You may even be fortunate enough to find it retains much of its resale value.

The process of cleaning your craft is simple.

Step 1: Rinse

Some days you may simply not have time to give your jet ski a thorough washing. If this is the case, it’s still always best to at least rinse your jet ski off after every use.

Hosing your jet ski down after it’s been in the water will prevent it from accumulating grime, dirt, and dust build-up in between uses. You may think that because it’s been in the water, that is sufficient.

It’s not.

Algae, bacteria, dirt, plant life, you name it. There’s plenty in the lake or ocean water that can remain on your jet ski after a ride. Hosing it down will wash unwanted particles away.

This is jet ski maintenance at the lowest level.

Step 2: Wash

Adequate jet ski maintenance means giving your craft a good wash after it’s been out on the water. You can use simple car wash soap or get yourself a bottle of marine soap.

Either will do the trick sufficiently, but marine soap does give your jet ski a bit of an added shine.

You can get all the crevices quite easily with a regular hose. Be sure to go over footwells and any small cracks or crannies where salt can build up if left unwashed.

When washing the engine, just give it a light rinse. You want to avoid over-wetting it and causing electrical damage.

When you’re feeling good about your wash, grab the rags. It’s time to spot-dry.

Just because it’s a marine machine, doesn’t mean you should leave it wet. To avoid streaking and water-spots, spot dry your jet ski.

Not all rags are created equal. Don’t use anything harsh or bristly on your jet ski that could scratch or damage its paint job.

You may even want to finish with an anti-corrosive spray. This can be used on the engine to protect the electric. Ask your local marine store guru for a good one to use on your model.

Step 3: Wax

Before you ever start step 3, be sure you’ve completed 1 and 2 thoroughly. If you apply wax when there’s still dirt or potentially corrosive salt on your jet ski, it will get stuck under the wax.

Don’t wax the hull. Simple as that.

Get some quality, liquid, marine wax and give it a go. This will protect your paint job and keep your jet ski looking sleek for a long time.

How Long Does Jet Ski Maintenance Take?

Not to worry, proper jet ski maintenance may seem daunting at first. Especially if you’ve never owned a boat before.

Luckily, the steps are simple and after a few runs, you’ll have it down. You can get an entire jet ski, rinsed, washed, and waxed in under 30 minutes if you’re good. In the end, it’s worth every second.

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