Mold Killer

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Rick

The ladies like that as well because attendant with that is no smell. I've noticed over the years that there is nothing more repugnant to a woman (other than an insensitive man) than the whiff of dry rot, sewage, mold, and that "closed up" boat smell from a dirty bilge.

Ha ha ha. I think I might have the recipe for that one too. If your woman smells like dry rot, sewage, mold and closed up boat smells, she'll never notice.

[NAWWAL]

I learned that using Clorox ,by itself or in combination with other ingredients, is effective but can be hazardous to your health. I switched to using Hydrogen Peroxide. I used it straight to remove mold on my metal windows in my house and it worked great. No fumes, no hazardous concerns.

[stevensc]

I see the soleus has a collection tank for the condensate, does the tank have a hose fittin to let it go into a sink or drain and not need to be emptied?
Thanks
Steve

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by stevensc

I see the soleus has a collection tank for the condensate, does the tank have a hose fittin to let it go into a sink or drain and not need to be emptied?
Thanks
Steve

It has a little "break out" piece of plastic to use an external drain hose. This is probably a less desireable feature in this unit. You could also go to Lowe's or some hardware store and retrofit like this:

Put hole in bottom of collector, get plastic fitting to fit snugly, epoxy, then connect a hose when you want to drain that way, or a cap when you want to use the built in collector.

[ssullivan]

Rick, I'm also allergic to mold, mold mites and all that garbage *now*. I wasn't before I moved aboard and lived with them. Never had any known allergy before this except poison ivy, which I was only allergic to as I grew older in high school. So be careful.

Ok, what I mean by not rinsing is to do the following when cleaning:

Pre-treat: Apply bleach straight from a spray bottle on any mold to make scrubbing easier later. Do small sections as the bleach can be overpowering even with a mask. It can still make your eyes water. Go out to get some air while the bleach does its trick.

Wash: After the bleach turns the mold from dark colors to light yellow (a minute or two), use a brush/sponge to scrub the rest of the mold off by liberally applying the borax/detergent/light bleach combo. Apply it liberally to cut the original bleach treatment and also to wash away any mold remnants. The air returns to almost normal at this point, and smells something like a laundromat.

Rinse: Don't do it! No rinsing at all. You may sop up any extra wash water or push it down the bilge, but leave the surface to air dry once you have scrubbed all the mold off wihtout rinsing it. This will leave a chalky coat of Borax on the surface that will keep mold from growing in the future. This is the real key to this method other than the bleach, which makes scrubbing much easier.

As you said above, moisture is your enemy. Keep the humidity down. I sure hope that SoleusAir works well for you... (sweating bullets on that one). Mine did, but I did hear of a few that arrived DOA after I went to look at some of the Amazon posts. Not many were bad, but a few seem to have been.

So now that you have a clean bilge/area with your borax/soap/light bleach mixture drying, you may have a lot of areas to dry. Blow a fan on them if you need them to dry more quickly, and be sure to use your dehumidifier to remove the water from drying the cleaning solution that will be left in the air.

Hope that helps.

[Rick]

Thanks Sean!

When I moved my dehumidifier from a house to the boat I attempted to not invert the unit yet it did get jostled around quite a bit before being deposited in a proper position aboard. Although the fan came on it was obvious that the compressor did not work.

After about two days of alternately being off and on it finally began to function. I think that something happened with the "warm" refrigerant to prevent immediate functioning of the compressor duringing the jostling around.

It could be that those "DOA" units had a similar problem and merely present this here in case someone else has a similar problem that might be "fixed" by waiting.

Does anyone have a good explanation for this occurance?

[Alan Wheeler]

After moving any compressor fridge unit, you need to allow it to sit in an upright position for a minimum of an hr beofer you operate it. This allows the oil to settle back down into the correct area of the pump. Otherwise the oil goes where it shouldn't and will stop the unit working.

[cchris0411]

Just a quick note on mold.
I have had the unfortunate event of Mold not only penetrating my boat but my Florida home after a hurricane.
I tried purchasing vinegar, and many other mold fighting remedies.. I gave up on the tree hugging and went for the toxic remedy that finally stuck. "Liquid Chlorine aka bleach"
In my opinion there is only one way to treat and prevent mold, that is with bleach. If you have a large boat then it is recommended that you go to your local pool supply store and purchase 5% bleach that is almost twice the strength of household bleach at half the cost. Be sure to follow ssullivan's advice and dilute the bleach. Straight liquid chlorine will damage the surface of any wood, rot any fabric etc. So do not go overboard, DILUTE or suffer the damages. If you have mold the you have floating mold spores, in order to ensure the mold does not return you need to make sure there is a film of the bleach reaming in all areas.
Bleach/chlorine is exceptionally hazardous to your respitory system, but mold is much worse.
I gladly deal with the extra monthly cost of running a dehumidifier, now only if I could find one that last longer than two years!
Side note:
Now that I live on both east and west coast it is quit comical how in California the slightest appearance of mold can have a building condemned, a boat deemed valueless until removed; where as in Florida it is typically expected.
Keep it simple works best in most situations, and from first hand I can say KISS..
Hey this is just my opinion.....

[Lynx]

198 proof grain everclear or the like does work as well.

[rleslie]

Originally Posted by Lynx

198 proof grain everclear or the like does work as well.

Lynx

We're trying to kill the mold, not ourselves!!!!

[GordMay]

Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is one of the Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats), and not particularly dangerous.
I believe it may be effective against HIV & Hepatitis, as well as mould.

“Impact” MSDS:
http://www.traskresearch.com/impact_msds.htm

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is one of the Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats), and not particularly dangerous. I believe it’s effective against HIV & Hepatitis

Ahhh... so it's good for you single guys heading out for a night on the town.

[Richhh]

Quats, gluteraldehyde, and other formaldehyde based 'cocktails' are being rapidly replaced in the biopharma industry because of additive exposure risk .... being replaced with mixes of peracetic acid + hydrogen peroxide, etc. which has better 'kill' efficacy than quats, etc. ... and is biodegradeable.

[cchris0411]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is one of the Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats), and not particularly dangerous. I believe it’s effective against HIV & Hepatitis, as well as mould.

“Impact” MSDS:
http://www.traskresearch.com/impact_msds.htm

I do not believe it is such a good idea to speculate on what may be or may not be effective on the containment of fluids containing the HIV virus and or Hepatitis.
It would most probably be wise to go to: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/brochure/care7.htm or other such sites that provide scientific fact on how to deal with what is effective against HIV & Hepatitis.
The product you suggest known as Impact sounds great, the health hazard warning on the label sounds pretty similar to Bleach.

Mothballs work as well, not only to keep the mold out but it also deters snakes; however I would beg you not to put them into your boat the smell saturates the cushions, life vests and pretty much anything fabric.. Yuck
Just my opinion.

[GordMay]

Revised my original post to de-emphasise the reference to medical usage.
FWIW:
EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Human HIV-1 and Hepatitis B Virus:
http://www.epa.gov/oppad001/list_e_m..._hepatitis.pdf