Combating the mould??!!??

[Lizzie Bee]

Hi Everybody! I've just joined the forum!!
Please could anybody give me any advice in how to avoid mould due to damp conditions growing over the winter on bedding clothing etc. I dont have access to electricity or a dehumidifier and wont be on board for a few months.
Many thanks
Lizzie

 

[multihullsailor6]

Welcome to the forum!

You need to ensure that you have good cross ventilation, i.e. air in at the front and out at the back. Install an air duct / dorade ventilator at the front and one or two solar powered air ventilators at the back. That's the set up I have on my cat and it did the job when I left the boat over two British winters unattended - when I returned I had no mould.

 

[KellysEye]

I would remove the clothing and bedding.

 

[sarabande]

Welcome on board, Lizzie.

Ordinary moulds (algae and lichens) need three things to grow: air, moisture, and food (which is often the substrate on which they live). If you can exclude one of those, then the boat materials will be safe.

Before leaving the boat for a while, then a deep clean of all surfaces with a biocide * will render all smooth surfaces bug-free and make it difficult for them to start up again. If you have fabric material that can be stored in one of those vacuum bags, that again will make life difficult for the bugs, especially if you can store on a really dry day. The bags really do slow down bug activity. Leave locker fronts and cabin doors open to enable and encourage air circulation. Wash down waterproofs with fresh water, and dry in the sun, before storing with plenty of space between each one.

Since it is impossible to exclude air from a boat, your best plan, as mentioned above is to ensure that you have plenty of ventilation for any wind direction. This will bring in moisture and bio-active material and spores, but will also extract moisture on the next dry day. The more air movement, the better the chances of keeping the boat 'sweet'; lots of ventilation is best.

Don't forget the water tank, and inlet and outlet pipes. They too will need action to prevent moulds.

* I use a clever biocide from Endosan (not only on the boat but professionally)

www.endosan.com

which uses hydrogen peroxide and silver. It is really effective in keeping galley and heads surfaces clean and mould free, and also is an excellent water tank and pipework sanitiser. The products have good residual activity for e.g. bilges, too. PM me if you want practical details.

Do you have a fuel tank hygiene practice ? Prevention of condensation is the key, so fill the tank, add a diesel or petrol treatment, Fuel tanks have a propensity for condensation on the outside, so lots of ventilation there would also be good.

 

[TOKOLOSHI]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12-VARIE...AGS-SPACE-SAVING-CLOTHES-BEDDING-WITH-PUMP/39

The bees knees!

 

[Wever]

Vacuum bags really make a difference. I also use tea tree oil/ gel which appears to be very effective over the winter http://kanberragel.com/kanberra-gel/

 

[moomba]

Vacuum bags really make a difference. I also use tea tree oil/ gel which appears to be very effective over the winter http://kanberragel.com/kanberra-gel/

+1 for vacuum bags are the answer as no air = no mould spores , just make sure you suck all air out and keep lid tight on
also lift any cushions of so they do not trap air underneath them or on their sides
open all doors or at least keep them ajar to allow some air to circulate make sure all vents are cleaned out and working as as said above a good deep clean of the boat with a good disinfectant will help keep mould at bay

 

[One A.]

Vacuum bags really make a difference. I also use tea tree oil/ gel which appears to be very effective over the winter http://kanberragel.com/kanberra-gel/

+1 and a few of these dotted about help.

free image upload

fotografias hd gratis

 

[sarabande]

Sorry, 1A, Those are useless with a capital U.

Silca gel holds about 35 to 40% of its weight as water. Once the pores are full of water, it cannot absorb any more water until it dries out. So a constant airstream (as in a boat) will give up enough moisture until the gel is replete, then the new air will continue to have its full cargo of Rel Hum.

Those boxes do have their uses, perhaps a zipped clothes bag, or a large plastic box. However, that use is in confined spaces where there is no incoming new air.

If the OP spreads a few of those about the boat, in a week or two, she will have lots of little plastic boxes full of saturated silica gel. And at that point, lots of new moist air passing by. The advantage of lots of airflow is that when the RH is low, the air will dry out the interior of the boat (relatively speaking, and slowly).

In the absence of an dehumidifier regime, airflow is king (sorry, Lizzie Bee ) airflow is Queen. I owuldnt even bother with those little solar vents. They cannot shift enough air to make a difference beypond that achieved by good airflow.

 

[One A.]

'Sorry, 1A, Those are useless with a capital U.'

Well I always came back to 6 full boxes and no mould.

 

[Pasarell]

All good points above, especially ventilation and vacuum bags. Other thing is to make sure there is no standing water in the boat especially the bilge. My old boat used to be fine until the spring when on the first sunny day I had condensation everywhere which led to mould. My anchor locker drained into the bilge and the hawse pipe allowed rain to run into the anchor locker. Took a while to work it out but a rag shoved hard into the hawse pipe around the chain solved the problem completely

 

[cynthia]

Agree with the deep clean and vaccum bags, but I also leave the wardrobe doors and clothes cupboards open with a baby’s nappy opened out in front of the doors. They really do absorb any damp. Also useful for in the engine to avoid any oil spills at filter change time. A guy in the car trade gave us this tip years ago and it has been invaluable.

 

[guernseyman]

When I read of people suggesting dehumidifiers, I remember Nernst, who was responsible for the third law of thermodynamics.
He inherited a farm in Poland, I think, which had fields laid to grain, a large herd of cows, and fish ponds, and ran it for a while as a gentleman farmer. Visiting one winter's day he remarked on the high temperature in the cow sheds. He was told this was due to the heat emitted by the cows.
His response was that it was none of his business to heat the universe, sold the cows and invested in more fish ponds.

Neither is it any of our business to try vainly to dehumidify the atmosphere of the earth.

 

[moomba]

When I read of people suggesting dehumidifiers, I remember Nernst, who was responsible for the third law of thermodynamics.
He inherited a farm in Poland, I think, which had fields laid to grain, a large herd of cows, and fish ponds, and ran it for a while as a gentleman farmer. Visiting one winter's day he remarked on the high temperature in the cow sheds. He was told this was due to the heat emitted by the cows.
His response was that it was none of his business to heat the universe, sold the cows and invested in more fish ponds.

Neither is it any of our business to try vainly to dehumidify the atmosphere of the earth.

that is deep man :ambivalence:

 

[duncan99210]

We use dry bags for storing all the clothes, spare bedding, linen etc on board during the winter. Make sure stuff is bone dry when placed into the bags, never had a problem over the years.
As others have said, cupboard doors left open (wedged if needed) and we leave pots of salt about the place. No idea if it does any good but it’s alegedly good for keeping the musty, shut up smell at bay. We don’t do ventilation beyond the dorade box in the fore-cabin.


OK, I’ll. fess up. The boats in Greece, so it easy to get things bone dry before storage and with no one on board in the winter, we simply don’t get a damp problem.....

However, I do have a Hurley 18 in Cornwall and find that she doesn’t suffer from damp during the winter, provided I make sure the companionway hatch is properly shut.....

 

[Heckler]

that is deep man :ambivalence:

+1

 

[Lizzie Bee]

Thank you so much for all your replies. This is the first forum I've joined and you have all been so helpful and friendly.
Opening the doors to deeply cleansed/sanitised cupboards and lockers and the use of vacuum bags over bone dry textiles seem really good ideas. Also, propping up seat cushions and mattresses to help air flow is something I shall do. The idea of nappies to catch oil drips is something I shall let my chief engineer and skipper husband know about?. If I havent mentioned anybody's idea its because I need to read all the messages one more time to let it sink in. You have all been so helpful.
One last thing. Does anybody run an electric dehumidifier or is that just a precaution too far and not worth the effort and expense?
Thank you shipmates,
Lizzie.

 

[RupertW]

Agree with all the ideas but adding a dehumifier (Maeco Junior seems to be the yachtie usual choice) makes a complete difference to smells and mould. At lowest settings it uses up very little electricity and is transformational - we don't use vacuum bags for bedding or clothes and all is fine. All internal doors are left open but hatches and vents sealed shut as we want to dehumidify the boat not the whole marina.

Only downside is that sometimes it gets unplugged and not plugged back in again but a couple of weeks of being off every now and again over the Winter doesn't seem to matter as every part of the boat is dry already.

 

[Wansworth]

My boat is kept in the UK and only used for a month in the summer.Ibuilt a box that fits over the fore hatch that allowed it to be open all weathers and there are various mushroom vent aft etc.So far after several years boat is free of mound and mustiness when opened in June.

 

[Sandy]

When I read of people suggesting dehumidifiers, I remember Nernst, who was responsible for the third law of thermodynamics.
He inherited a farm in Poland, I think, which had fields laid to grain, a large herd of cows, and fish ponds, and ran it for a while as a gentleman farmer. Visiting one winter's day he remarked on the high temperature in the cow sheds. He was told this was due to the heat emitted by the cows.
His response was that it was none of his business to heat the universe, sold the cows and invested in more fish ponds.

Neither is it any of our business to try vainly to dehumidify the atmosphere of the earth.

Should we be keeping fishponds in our boats?