Condensation under mattress

[jacksaid]

Can anyone recommend a solution for preventing condensation under a mattress. The proprietary products seem to be very expensive at around £68 for a single berth.
Thanks

 

[mtb]

There is a small company who call them selves the french bed company and who are just starting to get into mattresses and seat covers for boats , the actual mattresses are made using latex and I can tell you if you have a bad back they are amazing ,phone 01584811575

the other way is to make sure you have air flow under and through the cupboards beneath the bunks, drill some one inch holes under the mattress then fit those small vents which have a movable cover to adjust the air flow .
Cheers
Mick

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/boats
I want a big steel ex trawler / tug v / cheap or swap for tug

 

[richardknight]

We use a product caled VentAir which we purchased mail order - I've seen it in various cushion and cockpit cover supplier shops too though.

Basically it's a wire type frame about 1cm high which you cut to the size you need and then place under the cushion. We use it on all used berths on our Moody 30 and it makes an amazing difference. I did a quick search and found the following: http://www.mmgces.co.uk/ventair.htm which should explain more.

Good luck,

Richard

www.marsbrookboating.com

 

[pvb]

Drill some holes...

You just need to drill a load of holes in the board under the bunk. Holes should be at least an inch in diameter, and spaced about every 6-9". Works a treat!

 

[Mirelle]

replace the ply bunk bottom with timber slats

mine are 2" with a 1/2" gap between, but you get the idea.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Cold conditions

This is created by cold conditions condensing you natural body moisture [about half a litre of water per person per night]. Place a plasic sheet over the mattress, increase the thickness of the mattress, place more blankets, sleeping bags underneath, increase ventilation underneath to dry it up, only go boating in more tropical conditions increase the surrounding temperature. This is a fundamental problem that all soldiers have to cope with when sleeping out in the bush in cold conditions. There is never a perfect solution, but closed cell foam of foam pads such that trampers, and campers use may help reduce this.

 

[tcm]

agree with most ideas below (or are they above these days?). Needs airflow undr the mattress, so holes drilled in wood, and/or a "something" to lift the matress such as a "ladder" of pieces of wood to give airflow.

Also, lift the matresses side-on each morning, so thet dry off.

Best also to take matresses home to dry central heating over winter or when boat left for a long time.

 

[Trevethan]

The key as alrready mentioned is airflow. We ripped out the solid berth and replaced with 4"x2" wooden slats. Also we use coir matting under the foam mattress... it promotes air flow and will hopefully bear the brunt of the cold air-warm air meeting and condensing damage. Other people with hot ducted air heaters run the pipe work under a berth and maybe drill a few holes in the piping.

 

[Nechtan]

Use a layer of 1 inch thick floormate under the mattress. Yo can buy it in 4'x2' sheets from most builders merchants (it's a closed cell foam used as underfloor insulation in houses). We've tried air holes and ventair under mattresses with limited success but floormate works best as it insulates the warm moist air in the mattress from the cold air of the hull and stops the condensation forming. It's clean and easy to work with too - just cut a line with a stanley knife and then snaps easily with no debris.
No doubt, when the chandlers cotton on , they'll repackage it as 'marinemate' and quadruple the price!

 

[pkb]

A couple of years ago we bought a material from a caravan shop - no doubt lots cheaper than a chandlery - which was (actually it still is) in effect a plastic mesh which raised the mattress a few mm and allowed hundreds of little air pockets to sit between it and the wooden base. It seems to work, it didn't cost more than a few pounds and is a lot less complicated than some other solutions.

Peter

 

[charles_reed]

I had the problem of condensation on the deckhead in some lockers (it was -8C outside and +28C inside) which was totally and successfully solved by using foil/foam sandwich, as sold by the DIY sheds for insulating behind central-heating radiators on the outside wall of houses. A 1.2m x 6m strip cost about £8.

I found using a foam camping mattress under the bunk cushion performed a similar cure - moving to warmer climes was even more effective though.