Mold Killer

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Princewig]

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.

[scallywag]

Thanks for the info on the SoleUSaire CFM-25. I just ordered one from K-Mart.Com for $149.99 and currently there is no shipping fee if you select
ssullivan and others,
The Cheapest Method. I did have to pay Florida sales tax ($10.50) so the total price was $160.49. We have been buying the damp rid in plastic bags for four years. I also concur with the information on removing mold. Do not by any bleach other than Clorox. Other bleaches do not do remove the mold as well. I also spray the Clorox on the mold on the house.

[Rick]

When I receive my new unit I'll be sure to be patient before turning it on.

[senormechanico]

Rick, you just hit on something everybody's been dancing around but hasn't directly mentioned (at least of the time or your post) and that's the fact that mold has to have moisture AND something to eat, namely dirt or organic matter.
A truly clean surface won't have mold if only moisture is present, i.e. really clean your boat and voila! No more mold problems.

[Rick]

Yes, I've discovered heuristically that if the relative humidity is kept below 65% and the temperature is kept above 50 deg. F that I don't have a condensation problem at the uninsulated hull-to-deck perimeter, I don't have a mold problem, and I don't have an allergy problem even with rapid outside temperature and pressure changes from weather fronts passing through. My real attempt is to keep the humidity at or below 50% for the aformentioned purpose in keeping mite reproduction down in all areas.

Hope it works.

[Princewig]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Rick, you just hit on something everybody's been dancing around but hasn't directly mentioned (at least of the time or your post) and that's the fact that mold has to have moisture AND something to eat, namely dirt or organic matter.
A truly clean surface won't have mold if only moisture is present, i.e. really clean your boat and voila! No more mold problems.

I was concerned with the above statement as I consider my boat quit clean as it is washed and polished weekly.
Some cleaning products do facilitate the mold, however after years of living such an environment those cleaning products are no longer in our inventory.
With a few key strokes I found out that unfortunately you are quit incorrect about how clean your boat is in regards to mold.
Please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold

Mid way through the page it clearly explains that cellulose based materials, such as wood, cardboard, and the paper can be a food source for mold. It truly does not matter how clean your surfaces are if there is the presence of spores and sufficient humidity.
Bottom line, there are many types of mold, and mold is not healthy. The only way to ensure that it does not re-occur is to ensure adequate ventilation and or a method of dropping humidity.
Does anyone living in South West Florida have much luck with the "damp rid"

[ssullivan]

Chris is right. Mold can feed of a vast array of organic materials such as wood, cardboard, etc... He is also correct that it doesn't matter how clean your surfaces are (if they are made out of wood or another material mold will eat). The sheer humidity in Southern Florida will allow mold to grow just about anywhere. As there are always spores in the air, they simply fly in the hatch, land and prosper.

That's why you need the Borax. It leaves a film that doesn't allow the mold to grow. Changes the pH so that mold can't live.

[rleslie]

We received our Soleusair dehumidifier today and I can't believe how quiet it is on the "high" mode. Looking forward to see how it does in actually removing some humidity from the boat.

On the issue of mold removal....we are docked at St Augustine Mun. Marina and they were treating the bathrooms for mold last week. The cpmpany that was doing the work suggested that we needed a hospital grade cleaner. I ordered IMPACT over the internet and will use it tomorrow. The active ingredients is listed as: dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride 2.25%. We will see if the combination of the dehumidifier and IMPACT do the jib.

Thanks for the suggestions

Roger

[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!!!!

[Rick]

I've lived in the greater Seattle area for several years. They call it "The Emerald City". I think that the reason is that green mold and black molds grow on just about anything that does not get washed or abraided. It would not have been so romantic sounding to call it "The Black City".

After living in Florida, Panama, Venezuela, Okinawa, and several other places, I find Panama and Seattle to be the worst for mold growth on a boat. Okinawa was the worst for mold growth on leather shoes (weird, huh?).

Anyway, green mold grows in the brightest light of day here and black mold grows on the underside of things out of direct light. Even carefully cleaned smooth gelcoat will grow black mold. I believe that microscopic dust particles coat the surface giving mold the ingredients necessary for growth.

I like Sean's advice regarding the use of 20 Mule Team Borax. Firstly it appeals to me because as a boy I wished that I had the toy 20 Mule Team toys that were hard to find. Secondly I know how benign the residual powder is to us humans. Thirdly, cockroaches don't like the stuff and any enemy of a cockroach is a friend of mine!

Thanks Sean!