How many holes for ventilation under a mattress

jac

jac

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Our mattresses are supported on solid bases at present.

As you might expect, even during summer, after a nights sleep we can feel some damp under the mattresses.

My plan was to put a couple of holes (covered with a nice grill) to ventilate the under bunk areas and then drill some holes about 1 inch diameter in the actual base.

For the under bunk area there should be reasonable good flow as it's not hugely obstructed so I'm thinking 1 or 2 grills per bunk but obviously the base will have a mattress directly in contact which will rather limit the airflow. So how far apart do the holes need to be to prevent the damp?

I could use ikea slats but fighting round Soton ikea is my idea of hell. Equally I could buy some of the dry mesh fabric but it looks pricey and if I can fix the damp by 1/2 hours work per bunk with a holesaw then I'm happy.

Anyone got any words of wisdom they care to impart.
 
I don't think that cutting ventilation holes and fitting slats or dri-mat are mutually exclusive - you really need to do both. I think you would need a lot of holes to completely eliminate damp patches - the idea is to raise the matress a fraction of an inch with slats or dri-mat which will permit air circulation and cut some holes to produce a path for the humidity to escape. If you do it that way, you don't need a lot of holes.
 
I drilled 50 mm holes at about 250 mm centres, and it's not enough - if that helps your thinking.

More recently I made a new base for a mattress in the house - I used plywood sheet and routed slots crosswise 60mm wide with 60 mm wood in between them to within 80 mm of the edges - so simulating slats (and creating a huge amount of waste). The result was very pleasing. I might do the same in the boat.
 
Amulet said:
I drilled 50 mm holes at about 250 mm centres, and it's not enough - if that helps your thinking.

More recently I made a new base for a mattress in the house - I used plywood sheet and routed slots crosswise 60mm wide with 60 mm wood in between them to within 80 mm of the edges - so simulating slats (and creating a huge amount of waste). The result was very pleasing. I might do the same in the boat.
Click to expand...

Now that is a good idea! Calls for one of those Lidle routers that is on special offer this week!
 
jac said:
Our mattresses are supported on solid bases at present.

As you might expect, even during summer, after a nights sleep we can feel some damp under the mattresses.

My plan was to put a couple of holes (covered with a nice grill) to ventilate the under bunk areas and then drill some holes about 1 inch diameter in the actual base.

For the under bunk area there should be reasonable good flow as it's not hugely obstructed so I'm thinking 1 or 2 grills per bunk but obviously the base will have a mattress directly in contact which will rather limit the airflow. So how far apart do the holes need to be to prevent the damp?

I could use ikea slats but fighting round Soton ikea is my idea of hell. Equally I could buy some of the dry mesh fabric but it looks pricey and if I can fix the damp by 1/2 hours work per bunk with a holesaw then I'm happy.

Anyone got any words of wisdom they care to impart.
Click to expand...
Go onto the Ikea website, find the code for the slats, order them on the site and arrange to collect them, or have them delivered (for an extra charge).
 
Jac, I wasted £50 on some of that dry mesh stuff- it's next to useless. I'll be taking a hole saw to the base boards to see if that works- in conjunction with the mesh since I've already splashed the cash.
 
wully1 said:
Jac, I wasted £50 on some of that dry mesh stuff- it's next to useless. I'll be taking a hole saw to the base boards to see if that works- in conjunction with the mesh since I've already splashed the cash.
Click to expand...

Don't despair - the dri-mesh works fine provided there is somewhere for the moisture to escape. It compliments ventilation holes in the baseboard.
 
pcatterall said:
Yes +1, 50mm holes at 250mm centres ( as above) will work if there is some kind of mesh under the mattress to allow moisture to get to the holes.
Click to expand...

I would try smaller holes to start with-50mm are going to weaken the base board and I don't think they will be necessary. Go for10 or 20 mm - you can always enlarge them later if necessary.
 
maby said:
I would try smaller holes to start with-50mm are going to weaken the base board and I don't think they will be necessary. Go for10 or 20 mm - you can always enlarge them later if necessary.
Click to expand...

You worry too much.
Consider this Fact: Perforations increase the strength of materials. More perforations = greater strength. Don't believe it? Then why do bog rolls and stamps and paper towels always tear away from the perforated line?
Good luck.
 
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