mold-mildew

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warren631
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mold-mildew

Post by warren631 »

How can I prevent mold/mildew on the hard over winter? I live in southern PA. Last winter I tried three DampRid buckets in the cabin but I still get some mildew on the cabin walls and cushions in the spring. I close the companionway and forward hatch and I cover the boat with a tarp for storage. Would it be better to open the companionway and hatch to let air flow through the cabin while in storage? (the tarp will stop the rain). Also, what is the best/easiest way to clean mold/mildew from internal cabin surfaces and cushions? Thanks.
K9Kampers
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by K9Kampers »

When I tarp up for the winter, I leave the companionway and front hatch open and have not had to deal with mold/ mildew issues. I store all the cushions in the house.

For cleaning inside cabin surfaces, I use Clorox wipes.
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Starscream
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Starscream »

The constant battle. Some suggestions :

Use these during storage:
https://www.amazon.ca/Nosguard-Mildew-C ... ite+mildew

And this on surfaces (or mix your own TSP since that is basically what this product is)
https://www.amazon.ca/Concrobium-020-94 ... Concrobium

And try to keep things dry and airy of course.

I painted the inside of the reachable bilges and unfinished hatch surfaces with killz anti-mold paint. That's done a good job but it does flake a bit in some of the flexy areas of the bilge, mainly the outer hull side.
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Seapup
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Seapup »

I started keeping a normal $20 110v household box fan running in my boat 24/7 a few years ago. The moving air seemed to help. I take everything out and store in my attic January and February, recommission with a complete interior scrub down before bringing everything back. The interior liner is a really nice feature of the :macx:, the glossy finish wipes easily.


The topic makes me curious of north vs south boats. Nasty stuff grows all year in the south since it doesn't drop much below freezing, I would imagine it would be cold enough to slow/stop it in the more northern climates half the year.
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Starscream
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Starscream »

Well, up here at 45N, the mold stops growing shortly after you put the boat to bed in October, and starts again a couple of weeks before you take it out in early May. There's no respite, it just puts itself on hold for seven months and is always there when you are.
Alexis
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Alexis »

I would suggest you remove all the cushions -as well as anything that can absorb moisture- and store them for winter.
sporgo
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by sporgo »

Oh mold and mildew my eternal enemy... I live in Gainesville and the terrible humidity combined with trees every where means a 24/7 battle with mildew. The only thing that made a difference was painting the inside with anti-mold paint. Putting a tarp over the boat was a big mistake, it just turns it into a mildew grow house. I have to leave all the hatches open with a fan going and make sure I close them before it rains (aka every single fing day). :x

I have come to realize that the only sane way to store a boat down here is inside a climate controlled garage. Any other method results in copious amounts of mitigation labor and hair pulling. It is no longer a mystery to me why I see so many expensive yachts stored in the open left to rot. The owner went insane trying to keep it clean and was committed.
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Herschel
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Herschel »

I keep my 26X in the water year round at a marina on Lake Monroe in Central Florida. I have minimum difficulty with mold and mildew, but I make a point to air the boat out every three weeks, normally by using it, but sometimes just to run the engine, open it up, and check on "things"! If I plan to be away more than three weeks, I pay my nephew to go by and air it out. I don't know how to maintain a boat that just sits for months at a time. If I lived up north, I would find some time to get in and air it out and check things. I have found the cockpit cushions are most susceptible to mildew, so I stow them vertically as much as possible with some air separation around them as much as I can. I rarely ever put away wet cushions, but if I have to due to weather, I return in a day or two and dry everything out. I check the bilges regularly, too. But, generally, I don't find the mildew there. I find it accumulates more often on the cushions or interior liner. When I do detect some mildew, I wipe it down with a mildew spray I get at the grocery store. For southerners, it is from the Publix chain/brand. But the active ingredient is simply bleach. I know everyone's situation is different, but I think regularly airing out the boat helps me the most.
K9Kampers
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by K9Kampers »

Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation! I've had my boat closed up for weather for the last many weeks and ducking inside today, noticed that I have a mold/mildew issue to deal with! Normally, I have it ventilated over the summer with no issue. :x
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Highlander
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Highlander »

at my slip right now I have a W/M boat dehumidifier one of those 10" round approx. electric ones
but when I had my boat in a storage yard winter 2016 after about 2 wk,s of rain it was like a wet sauna inside with all the walls & cushions soaking wet so I removed all the cushions dried them out & put in dry storage I then purchased one of these I got the bigger one good for 1000cubic ft thro it in the boat went back 3 days later boat was bone dry its basically a white small pillow I now leave it in the boat all yr once it turns all red u then just toss it in the reg garbage right now it only has a few red stripes since 2016
Image

As for mildew I use this
Image

Oh & left my boat in the water last winter & no problems
Image

U can see my cowl vents & durade boxes on the cabin roof

J 8)
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Highlander
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by Highlander »

K9Kampers wrote:Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation! I've had my boat closed up for weather for the last many weeks and ducking inside today, noticed that I have a mold/mildew issue to deal with! Normally, I have it ventilated over the summer with no issue. :x
I,m surprised u did not have any bandit,s hostin in ur boat with leaving ur hatches open !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHJOFBcqIKk

That,s not smart feeding them critters they might start to host in her attic :o

J :P
K9Kampers
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by K9Kampers »

Highlander wrote:I,m surprised u did not have any bandit,s hostin in ur boat with leaving ur hatches open. :P
I leave the hatches open so,s i have a place to retreat to after... letss jus say iss good, shhh, shh... :wink: :D
K9Kampers
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by K9Kampers »

I have successfully ridded myself of the mold infestation by removing ALL wood based modz, cabinetz, rackz & cleaning with a bleach-based solution.

As I said before...ventilation, ventilation, ventilation...
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warren631
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by warren631 »

How do I keep the boat ventilated in a slip without 110v and without rain or squatters getting in? Any rain and squatter proof ventilation hatch covers? A loose tarp over the whole boat with both for and aft open? I tried that over winter and it worked but it's a pain to cover and remove for everyday boating.
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warren631
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Re: mold-mildew

Post by warren631 »

PS I have tried many mildew removers and found this the best and fastest and easiest to just spray around:
Google RMR-86-Instant-Mildew-Remover
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