Damp/Mildew

[steveandlisa]

Hi Folks,

Yep as you can guess from the subject title I have found a damp/mildew problem!

So to put things into prospective, my m/h is a new to me 2007 Swift Bolero FB and this is my first over wintering.

I have taken her out for just a couple of short 10mile runs since November the last run was January whereby I noticed a very small amount of mildew forming on a small part of the wood veneer surface. I went in to check on her two days ago and found a green/black mildew had spread over most of the wood veneer (it has not affected the mattress, bedding, curtains, furnishings or any other stored belongings.)

The middle to rear off the m/h appeared to be the worst affected. Ok I`ve now inspected all round inside and I can find no water ingress or damp ceilings or walls.

There has been no additional heating for the m/h over this period as I have no mains electric supply available and I have to admit I have not provided extra ventilation other than what is built in.

I have now cleaned and wiped down all the affected surfaces using a weak mixture of bleach, put a 500g kilrock damp tray with crystals on the work top, opened the roof vents and set them on their first notch and have had the truma gas heating running off the hab battery (solar Panel fitted) for several hours the last two days.

Everything is starting to look and smell a lot better and I hope this will cure the problem from here on out.

If anyone else has any further helpful advice please let me know.

Best regards

Steve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

[Will86]

Sounds like you're doing the right thing by allowing an air flow through the interior, you might open the cupboards also to allow those areas to free themselves of moisture.

 

Enclosed spaces with many absorbent materials are a magnet for collecting moisture. Any loose items such as cushions and pillows take indoors for the winter.

[PJay]

i buy 4 damp containers in the pound shops, (£1.25 each)and dot the about the van. i don't know the layout of your van, but is the damp on the wall to the toilet room? We found a little bit there, so blocked the vent in the roof, and that stopped it

PJay

 

Ps as said leave the cupboards open!

[plwsm2000]

Air flow is key to prevent dampness (as well as temperature and humidity levels). Moist air is great at finding cold spots inside the m/h and will quickly form damp areas where the air circulation is not good.

You could try one of those small solar powered fans to help circulate the air a bit when the sun is out and, as another poster had said, leave the cupboard doors ajar if you can.

Overall, it is probably worthwhile to open the vents very slightly to help air circulation and also to refresh the air in the m/h. Ideally, you only want to draw air in from the outside if its absolute humidity (dew point temperature) is lower than the air already in the m/h. On a damp day (cold & misty day or warm & humid), the outside air may actually contain more moisture than what is already inside the m/h and so as soon as the temperature drops below the dew point temperature, dampness (condensation) will form. The vents on my m/h have a trickle vent to allow some circulation and so do not close the blinds on these if fitted.

Those moisture absorbent crystal packets work well but they don't last that long. Many of these use calcium chloride to absorb moisture but this will keep working down to about 32%RH (they take out more moisture than strictly necessary to prevent condensation). You only need to keep the RH below about 85%, so common table salt (sodium chloride) is some times used as a cheap alternative which keeps the RH at around 75% . The silica gel sachets work well too and can be reused if dried out.

I am a bit of a techy and have a RH monitor inside my m/h attached to my home wifi. It sends me an email if the %RH gets too high. The m/h is on my drive and I have been running the heating at around 8-10degC over the winter. I increase the temperature to something more comfortable the day before I plan to use it so all the "nooks and crannies" have a chance to warm up before the humidity increases with people breathing / boiling the kettle. I also leave it on for a few hours after we get home for similar reasons. Obviously you can only do this if the m/h has a permanent EHU.

Don't leave any standing water in the sinks etc. or damp clothes around either!

[747]

I used to use 3 bowls of common Salt to absorb dampness. When crusty I would dry it out on a radiator and replace in the van. Nowadays I use the Pound Shop disposable gizmos.

 

My van does not suffer with damp but I still had a small area of mildew starting to form, mostly because of the loose covers preventing air circulation. In your case I would recommend taking all your seats and loose cushions indoors and thoroughly airing them off in a centrally heated environment. Washing all your covers might also be advantageous if there was a lot of Mildew.

 

Whenever you get a nice sunny day, open the rooflights and windows to get plenty of air through the van. If you have Alde heating, try running it on 'Central Heating only' to get heat to the hidden parts of the van. I do that once in a while at a high setting.