Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

[PortHoleDiver]

Originally Posted by Cpt Mark

Froli is beyond awesome. It eliminating the condensation issue completely, kept it dry when I'd left a porthole open in the rain and makes the bunk so much more comfortable. They ship fast and are the nicest people to work with.

So how can I order the Froli Travel Springs? Would like to purchase and try these. Thanks

[PortHoleDiver]

Originally Posted by danleach

Scarlet, I want to big for Froli. My wife and I have tried all the other solutions on two different cruising boats....looking for something to stop that condensation. It wasn't until we bit the bullet and bought a Froli kit that it all went away. I tried it on one quarter berth, and was converted in one night. I told my wife that there was no more moisture AND no back pain from crappy boat pads. She tried it, and said "I'll come back to our double berth as soon as you order more of this stuff. Until then, find somewhere you like sleeping."

Needless to say I ordered more immediately. ;-) We've moved on to another boat, but all the Froli came with us and we've been sleeping dry and comfy for 15 years.

Where did you order from? Trying to find and order. Thanks

[shauncagiva]

Try puppy training Matt's or human incontinent bed pads easy to drag out let dry put back under sheet and mattress worked for me for years

[JPA Cate]

We cut a pattern of ten 6" diameter holes in the plywood below the mattress to provide ventilation. Worked fine but YMMV depending on what is under the bunk.
__________________

Those are pretty big holes. I'd have thought it would weaken it too much.

We've never needed to have a spacer since we bonded the closed cell foam to the underside of the mattress.

Ann

[gregfreed]

I feel (or smell) your pain.
I had a similar issue, I resolved it by placing “Turbo Venting” under the mattress, an electric Blanket with a built in timer, and a large capacity dehumidifier.
I loved aboard in Seattle for 13 years with this setup, and no issues.

[cappy208]

Need one of two things. Or both. Dehumidifier and / or ventilation. If it’s that cold the dehumidify. If it’s moderately warm during day open up all windows and let air out. If you’re on shore power install a fan in a porthole and exhaust from a diagonal porthole. You’re living aboard taking nice hot showers? Need an exhaust fan in head to get high humidity OUT of boat.

[tony.keel]

Originally Posted by tkeithlu

We keep a small ($37) dehumidifier running in the bed cabin full time. Rather than empty the cup, we installed a 1/4 inch drain hose and ran it into a basin. It keeps the boat dry when we are not on it. But, note, you add moisture every time you exhale, so people on the boat means a heat source to prevent condensation in chilly (we don't do cold) weather.

https://www.amazon.com/SEAVON-Electr...5655462&sr=8-4

I really like this idea because it removes the water from the air and will prevent condensation from occurring if the dew point is raised above the surface temperature of what it was condensing on. Nice.

[lenseman]

Originally Posted by scarlet

I am expecting that there will be more condensation tomorrow, and I figure I will need to take the berth apart, and heat up the cabin to dry out the wood.

So, my question is... what can I do to stop this? Do I need higher slats? Do I have no other choice but to tear it apart and dry it every day? I use the electric heater at night, so, it is pretty dry in there. Enough that I wake up with dry mouth, and dried lips. Any suggestions?

(I have a 2011 Lagoon 450, in beautiful shape, clean as a whistle)

It doesn't matter what yacht you have got, your problem is condensation from the water that your body expires whilst you sleep (which can be up to a couple of pints a night) .


We have all suffered from it and I found a sure fire way of stopping it dead without spending more than a few pounds (bucks).


Buy a thin yoga/exercise mat and place it directly below where you sleep directly under the sheet or duvet or sleeping bag. This will be impervious to the passage of fluid (body sweat) that causes the damp on the cooler surface below your berth.


You can do it with damp-proof membrane but they are noisy as you turn over in the night but a yoga mat ¼ inch (6mm) thick is OK.



Problem solved but don't forget to air your bedding every day.

[Buzzman]

Surprised Sailorchic34 hasn't piped in with how she fixed this same problem on her boat moored in a Delta marina, by simply adding (as others have suggested) a layer of closed-cell foam.
From memory she used the interlocking foam 'floor tiles' that are cheap as chips from hardware stores. Cost a few dollars.
Being a scientist, she was experimenting with raising the dew point temperature, which is the point at which the moisture condenses out of the air and onto the colder surface under the berth.
I would add that if it's gotten smelly, it's probably got mould spores living there now, so you will need to do some anti-mould work to prevent a recurrence of the mould.

[vikingwoman]

I live in Canada Pacific Northwest; live a board for 25 years. First had plywood under foam mattress. What a problem ; smell plus.

Removed the plywood and replace with 1x3 yellow cedar boards rounded on all 4 corners and spaced.

Never a problem for 40 plus years.

Charla

[stiffpeaks]

I did three queen beds for about $900 with Froli

[DGH]

Condensation of warm moist air, caused by your body, on the nearest clod surface, the wood under the mattress.
Very common
See Steve Dashew’s Cruising Encyclopedia.
In cold climates they run heaters on the bunk boards under the mattress. Many ways to do that. Can you do something along those lines.
Or stay in a warm climate!

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by scarlet

So, my question is... what can I do to stop this? Do I need higher slats? Do I have no other choice but to tear it apart and dry it every day? I use the electric heater at night, so, it is pretty dry in there. Enough that I wake up with dry mouth, and dried lips. Any suggestions?

You need to run a dehumidifier to maintain humidity around 40%.

[rapanui 2]

Originally Posted by scarlet

I've been staying on my boat for the last 10 days, and the weather has been cold.. anywhere from 30's to 60's.

2 days ago, I started smelling a really bad smell in the master cabin. Thought it was the head. Didn't really smell anything in there, but went ahead and pumped out, rinsed, and added KO.. smelled like a lovely spring garden..

The smell in the cabin didn't go away. I checked the bilge, and it was clean and dry, and I couldn't smell anything coming from there. As I moved towards the berth, I started smelling it really bad. In fact, it was so bad, I could barely sleep. So, yesterday morning, I tore apart the berth. I have 3 compartments under my berth. 1. a completely empty large drawer, 2. the compartment for the air conditioning, 3. the diesel tank. couldn't isolate any smell, but I didn't see any water, mold, mildew, etc. completely clean

There was, however, water from condensation under the mattress, on the wood base. I have slats under the mattress that lifts the mattress approx. 2"... Mattress was dry, but the wood seemed saturated, and, there was standing water of about 1/4 cup distributed about under the berth. I believe that's where the stench was coming with. I cleaned the entire area with a mold and mildew cleaner... dried it as much as I could with towels, then put my electric heater in the cabin, closed it off, and ran the heater all day to dry the wood out. it does smell a little better.

I am expecting that there will be more condensation tomorrow, and I figure I will need to take the berth apart, and heat up the cabin to dry out the wood.

So, my question is... what can I do to stop this? Do I need higher slats? Do I have no other choice but to tear it apart and dry it every day? I use the electric heater at night, so, it is pretty dry in there. Enough that I wake up with dry mouth, and dried lips. Any suggestions?

(I have a 2011 Lagoon 450, in beautiful shape, clean as a whistle)

Hello, the cheapest and efficient is: bands de mattress foam 4cmx4cm glued 4cm apart on the lenght of bed so when not used air will pass throught,good luck

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by dberdou

I've been using marine rubber floormat for years now. It works well.

We have been using “dry deck”, same principal. Stops the condensation effectively.

You can buy similar floor matting at Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart.

Dri deck is available at West Marine and other marine distributors.