Interior Mold Solution Needed

[sailingonltd]

Hi! We've had our 2008 Beneteau 340 since its birth. Been living the good life in the Chesapeake Bay (Herring Bay, Tracys Landing, MD). Never had mold issues.

Moved family and boat to Connecticut in spring of 2017. In fall of 2018, mold covered almost everything on the interior: walls, ceilings, wood, closets, storage, bilge, head, EVERY WHERE.

Husband cleaned every possible surface, nook and cranny with bleach. Mold is coming back. He is working on getting better ventilation, and uses the boat fairly often. I have read that bleach does not kill mold. And (with a major mold issue in a small carpeted area of our car), learned that an enzyme will kill the mold. After cleaning and enzyming the hell out of the car, the mold is gone. We will try this on the boat, however, (after a bit of research) we need to find and kill the mold where it originated.

Do the mold 'bombs' actually work? Which are best?

Anyone have proven effective diy solutions for boat ventilation and prevention of mold for a boat on a mooring? Or is this something that's always going to be around?

Is there a conditioner or coating we can put on the vinyl walls, that prevents mold?

Thank you!

 

[Jim26m]

Mold should be our state flower. The best way to control it is to keep the relative humidity at, or below 55% during the warmer months. When you cross the 70% rh threshold, mold generally goes into high gear. Whether you can achieve 55% rh with ventilation or not is a tricky question that other boaters in your area might be able to answer. You can't do it here. Not to say you can't have short periods of high humidity, but you can't have above 70% day after day and get away with it. So, if the ambient relative humidity, measured at your boat stays in the 55-60% range for the vast majority of each 24 hour period, ventilation may work for you. If not, dehumidification may be your best approach. If you're on a mooring, I really hope ventilation will do it.

My rebuild contractor fogged my basement due to an outbreak after my house fire. They swore it would work. It was dark in there, the humidity was high, and we still had some belongings, tools, etc. in there. We were anticipating a lengthy rebuild, so I elected to install dehumidification to make sure it wouldn't return. They fogged with something like concrobium, which supposedly destroys the cell structure, but does not remove the staining, or even the appearance.

I used concrobium in my boat and on my cushions, due to a light outbreak while it was temporarily stored outside. But, as soon as our basement work was complete, the boat went back inside. I subsequently cleaned and vacuumed the cushions and scrubbed hard surfaces with a mild bleach spray cleaner (more for disinfectant and soot cleaning reasons). The concrobium seemed to keep the mold down, but I can't verify for how long. I think the formula for concrobium has been hacked so you can probably mix it yourself cheap. I just bought mine at Home Depot.

Good luck!

 

[shemandr]

Is there a difference between docking/mooring in the two places? I would think Chessey would be more moldy due to the high humidity in the Summer. The Thames River is a valley and maybe holds moisture near the water. And there is the fog. Still I kept a boat in Mystic Shipyard over a winter and had no problems. In Good Old Boat Magazine, forum member Thinwater had an article regarding anti-mold formulations and practices. I'm sorry I can't quote which issue but it was fairly recent. He has also posted on SBO on that subject. In the NE ventilation is generally good.

 

[sailingonltd]

Thanks for your responses!

I will look into the concrobium.

The water in the northeast is colder than the Chesapeake Bay during the summer. When the interior heats up, the cooler hull creates condensation on the interior. We experienced a bit of this during our trip to the Keys. Since we were live-a-boards, I was able to wipe the interior whenever I saw condensation, and I checked all the time.

I think I'm going to have to go on the boat more often than once in awhile. After 15 years of sailing almost every weekend, I needed a break.

Thank you!

 

[Jim26m]

If the hull is staying below the dew point temperature of the air for long periods, ventilation may not help. If mechanical dehumidification is impractical (no shore power at your mooring?) you will simply have to keep it at bay with housekeeping.

I might be tempted to try enhanced ventilation, particularly if you can check with other boaters to see if they've had luck with it. Condensation/mold issues can take a good bit of data gathering to run down. If you happen to have a few temperature and humidity data loggers lying around, you might be able to hone in on it fairly quickly. If not, it will likely be easier to check local opinions and try a few things to see if you can improve the situation.

If the air is consistently at a higher dewpoint than the hull, you may see no improvement, or it may get worse when you increase ventilation.

If the condensation is a transient condition, ventilation has a chance. Simply keeping the interior air at equilibrium with the ambient air might help. If the dry bulb air temp is high enough, and you can move enough air over the cool surfaces to heat them above dewpoint, you might be able to reduce or even eliminate the problem. This may take more airflow, in more hidden spaces, than is practicable.

Sorry I can't be more definitive. It takes a lot more information to do a decent analysis of the problem.

Wish you the best of luck. I really hate mold and mildew.

 

[19thol]

We are in St. Petersburg fl. High humidity always. I put a small dehumidifier in the galley and plumed it into the sink drain. Seems to work pretty well, also have a solar powered fan in the forward hatch that pulls air out of the boat. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYNGLU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 link to the solar fan. Also have a recipe for an anti-mold from paractical sailor,
Formula A
1 quart hot water
1 tablespoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
2 tablespoons washing soda (sodium carbonate)
2 tablespoons trisodium phosphate (TSP)
Hope it helps

 

[jssailem]

My Mississippi located friend @JamesG161 suggested borax as an addition to your water solution. Let it dry and it serves as a deterrent to mold return.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Distilled white vinegar is a good cleaner. Let it dry then use Concrobium everywhere you cleaned with vinegar, and anything else. Seems to work. (Knock wood).

 

[Mechone]

Ozone generator turn on the timer for 2 hrs and get out . There are company's that use this to rid boat of mold give access to bilge too so gas can get everywhere get a 10,000 unit about 125.00 on ebay It kills all the spores however you still must clean the dead mold using above methods

 

[jssailem]

Ozone should be a last resort or never.
Mold does not like Ozone. Neither does your body. Or anyone near your boat.

“Ozone, however, is dangerous to the human respiratory system. If inhaled, ozone will cause itchy, scratchy sensations along your throat. It can also cause inflammation in your lungs, cause headaches, and more. Those with asthma and other lung diseases can experience worsening symptoms when around ozone. Air quality is crucial, so be sure to take a look at your local weather forecast for the air quality index report.
https://www.damagecontrol-911.com/ultimate-guide-to-ozone-generators-safety/”

 

[Mechone]

There are people that I know use them all the time safely . Their boats have no mold or smell ,the gas is gone from the boat within hours. Usually when they are leaving turn it on for 2 hrs next day boat has no smells .I just bought one.

 

[Jim26m]

Both have good points. If you use ozone in high enough concentrations to kill mold in all of the hidden nooks and crannies in your boat, it will be dangerous to humans. Normally, a timer is used to give the area a long soak of ozone followed by hours of vacant time before re-occupying the space.

Think of ozone as a bug bomb. It will kill the bugs it reaches, leaving their little carcasses all over the boat. But unless she cuts the moisture level down (put in screens in our bug analogy), the mold will just come back. Mechanical dehumidification or possibly ventilation to eliminate her moisture issues is her best course to stop the recurrence. Otherwise, she'll be killing and cleaning on regular intervals.

I guess you could ozone soak every time you leave the boat as long as you use caution (bug bomb every time you leave). You would need to investigate the effect ozone might have on various boat materials if you use it in high doses regularly. Ozone combines with, and breaks down, all sorts of things. Don't know how safe it is around lubricants and fuel, electricity, etc. It may not be suitable for regular high soak usage in your boat.

If you are going to use a commercial ozone generator, capable of producing a significant ozone concentration, it would be a good idea to verify the concentrations, and fully investigate the hazards.

Personally, I'd stick with dehumidification and mechanical cleaning. But I'm a bit of a sissy.

 

[Mechone]

They definitely need to dehumidify ,I have a/c and no mold ,I bought one to do it once a year in the spring after 6 months on the hard after winter, sometimes you get some mold . I know people who have had nasty smells from diesel leaks ,bilge etc that has gone into upholstery etc and have rid it it using ozone.

 

[Mechone]

It takes 60 minutes after treatment for the ozone to neutralize from( o3 ozone) back into (o2 oxygen) .I have a hottub that also has an ozone generator killing 99.9% of all bacteria reducing the use of nasty chemicals ,90% of all hot tubs have one installed from factory.The concentration must be very high to cause harm ,it is the fresh smell after a lightning storm so you breath it all the time

 

[Jim26m]

Not trying to be an a$$, but to be clear, I don't breath ozone at the concentrations used to eradicate mold - ever. I agree that there are safe exposure levels. But you won't eradicate anything at safe exposure levels.

I just wouldn't choose to use regular high dosage levels in my boat; primarily due to what it might do the various components and materials. I think you could be careful enough to avoid breathing high concentrations, using timers, etc. But, if it were me and I had to regularly walk into an area that used high dosage treatments, I'd want a readout of the concentration before I walked in - just in case.

Like I said, I'm just a sissy.

 

[Jim26m]

They definitely need to dehumidify ,I have a/c and no mold ,I bought one to do it once a year in the spring after 6 months on the hard after winter, sometimes you get some mold . I know people who have had nasty smells from diesel leaks ,bilge etc that has gone into upholstery etc and have rid it it using ozone.

But, used once a year and dehumidified with a/c the rest of the time seems reasonable.

 

[thinwater]

We are in St. Petersburg fl. High humidity always. I put a small dehumidifier in the galley and plumed it into the sink drain. Seems to work pretty well, also have a solar powered fan in the forward hatch that pulls air out of the boat. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYNGLU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 link to the solar fan. Also have a recipe for an anti-mold from paractical sailor,
Formula A
1 quart hot water
1 tablespoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
2 tablespoons washing soda (sodium carbonate)
2 tablespoons trisodium phosphate (TSP)
Hope it helps

We are in St. Petersburg fl. High humidity always. I put a small dehumidifier in the galley and plumed it into the sink drain. Seems to work pretty well, also have a solar powered fan in the forward hatch that pulls air out of the boat. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYNGLU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 link to the solar fan. Also have a recipe for an anti-mold from paractical sailor,
Formula A
1 quart hot water
1 tablespoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
2 tablespoons washing soda (sodium carbonate)
2 tablespoons trisodium phosphate (TSP)
Hope it helps

Formula A is good, but Formula B (also PS) tested better.

Formula B
1 quart hot water
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons Borax
1 tablespoon TSP

---

As for ozone, I wouldn't touch it. Too damaging, like bleaching the whole boat. Also corrosive. Just get it clean. And if you clean the boat and run a dehumidifier, as some have suggested (I do), you will have no need of it, except for a one-time treatment and clean-up. Remember that you either dehumidify or ventilate, not both; if you are running a dehumidifier, seal every vent.

Ventilation really does work... except when the water gets cold or it snows, as the OP realized.

 

[Jim26m]

Remember that you either dehumidify or ventilate, not both; if you are running a dehumidifier, seal every vent.

Glad you thought to make that point. Very critical to successful dehumidification.

 

[John Nantz]

Ozone ... not only is it not good for your health (In OSHA training it is said "if you can smell it, it is not good"), it is also not good for anything plastic on the boat: Fiberglass, wire insulation, plexiglass, upholstery, etc.
What works is a dehumidifier and air circulation to reach those dead spaces. We had one for years but it finally quit and need to get another one. It had a compressor and we kept the RH at 50% and didn't cost all that much to run.

 

[TimFromLI]

When we bought our boat it had not been used for two years and had some serious mold and odor issues. We cleaned, cleaned cleaned . I rented a concrobium fogger from home depot, it did not help with the smell but probably knocked out the mold and mildew. I then used an Ozone generator, no more smell, no more mildew. Yes they are harmful if not used properly but so are a lot of things. We use it once or twice a season and have no issues with plastics etc. They really work on odors