What mold and mildew Preventative spray to use?

[John Nantz]

In a month or so I'll be puting our boat away for the winter.

In a recent Boat US message it said: "Once a year remove the foam (open cell only, not closed-cell foam) from your interior cushions and spray them with a mold and mildew preventative and let dry. While you're at it, spray carpeting (do a spot test first), sails, showers, etc. to create an invisible barrier where mold and mildew won't grow."

This sounds interesting, however, they didn't give any suggestions about what to use.

They also said to do a spot test first but that means you'd have to buy the product, which probably isn't cheap, in order to do the test.

Some chemicals when used on foam will cause it to discolor, and perhaps degrade?, so one has to be careful to avoid damaging chemicals.

Does anyone who has "been there, done that" have suggestions on what would be good to use?

Might Peggie's favorite CP be an option since it works with enzymes?

 

[Buck2796]

John,

Several times a year, I use one of the over the counter antifungal strays (ie, Lotrimin, or Micotin), found in the foot dept of your grocery store. I spray it into lockers, under cushions, & then heavyly into the A/C returns (then quickly leave the boat).
I also never leave wet or damp things sitting around, use the dehumidifier function on my Cruisair A/C routinly, spray showers, etc, with chlorox cleanup occasionally, and also occasionally put 1 or 2 small (1") pool chlorine tabs in the A/C drain pans of my A/Cs.
I have yet to have any mould or mildew problems or odors of any kind in the 8 years that I have owned the boat.

 

[John Nantz]

Lotrimin & Micotin OTC

Thanks for the ideas, Mike. I frankly never thought about checking out the over-the-counter meds for fungicides but it seems like a good idea because if they're good enough for human use they should be okay for use on a boat. And, one doesn't have to pay marine prices for 'em!

In past years I always lugged all the boat stuff home in the fall and lugged everything back down to the boat again in the spring, between rainstorms, and this is getting really, really old. This year I'm thinking about finding things that I can leave on the boat.

Also, over the years the garage has been gradually filling up with stuff and there is less room available.

There is a dehumidifier that I keep on with it's setpoint set at 40%RH which has worked very well but with more items left onboard there will be less air circulation so some sort of a spray for those underneath or hard to ventillate spaces might be a good idea.

Anyone have some thoughts about mothballs? I know they're hazardous but with nobody onboard that should be okay. When I go to check on things I can leave the hatch open and I'm not onboard very long.

The picture is from the Royal Victoria Yacht Club in Victoria, BC. Is it any wonder why they have such a good Junior Sailing Team?

 

[Steve Dion]

Fans/Heaters/Dehumidifiers etc.

John:

If you leave your boat in the water or on the hard and there is access to electricity, you should be able to use fans/heaters/dehumidifiers to control these problems.

Prop up your cushions so there is air circulation and keep the air circulating. I can imagine the problem of gutting a 35 footer and figuring out how to store the stuff where it is dry & clean.

I would also suggest that you wipe the entire interior down with lemon or citrus oil. This cleans the wood and seems to suppress the growth of mold spores.

We also hang those bags that capture moisture in the closets and other places to ensure that we can eliminate any potential mildew problems.

 

[Buck2796]

John

The only time that I have used mothballs has been to keeps cats out of my enclosure when I have left the boat at marinas in Fla.
I know, I know, cats are cute and cuddly..... till they "spray" on lines etc. in the cockpit. When you return to the boat, you gag on the smell and then have to wash and deodorize everything... someone told me about the mothball idea and it worked...

 

[John Nantz]

Some replies

The boat is left in the water and there is access to electricity. The dehumidifier is plugged directly into the shorepower cord and the shorepower does not touch the boats electrical system to avoid possible electrolysis problems.

We do a thorough vacuuming and cleaning, and like you suggested, wipe the interior hard surfaces down, and open everything up, and move cushions so they aren't blocking. And thanks for the Damp Rid link. We used to use something like that but haven't since switching to the dehumidifier but still have the containers and some of their product. Might check this out for the really out of the way places like you mentioned. Thanks.

I've got one Hella fan but it's connected to the ships electrical system. What I'd like is a small solar panel for just running the fan and probably a couple more.

So far I'm thinking of using some of that foot spray stuff in some of the areas with little or no circulation.

A few years ago I had a neighbors cat leave his mark on some of the lines in the cockpit and the next time I went to the boat I caught him coming out from under the tarp. I chased him down to the boat with the liveaboards and told them what their cat had done. The protested but to keep the peace the wife cleaned the lines. Even given that I chased the cat onto their boat they still didn't believe their cat did it. The problem may have been that we have a cat too and perhaps their cat could sense that. But we don't live aboard. And, yes, it did stink.

Okay, so maybe the mothballs might be used.

The boat also has the PSS shaft seal so the bilge is always dry and there are no leaks, so that's a plus.

Thanks for the continued feedback.