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Old 30-03-2020, 19:50   #1
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Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

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)
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Old 30-03-2020, 19:57   #2
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

Hey Scarlet!

Glad to hear you're back on your beloved boat!

I'm sitting here racking my brains because I feel sure I've read a thread on this Forum about just this subject.

Or maybe it was a Good Old Boat article...?

Sorry I can't be more helpful on this one. This might gross you out, but did you check the nooks and crannies for dead mice? They really do stink to holy hell until their little corpses have completely disintegrated...

Good luck,
LittleWing77
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Old 30-03-2020, 20:07   #3
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

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Originally Posted by LittleWing77 View Post
Hey Scarlet!

Glad to hear you're back on your beloved boat!

I'm sitting here racking my brains because I feel sure I've read a thread on this Forum about just this subject.

Or maybe it was a Good Old Boat article...?

Sorry I can't be more helpful on this one. This might gross you out, but did you check the nooks and crannies for dead mice? They really do stink to holy hell until their little corpses have completely disintegrated...

Good luck,
LittleWing77
Well... I didn't, but everything smells much better now since I dried it out, so I have to believe that it was the condensation. I did do a search of all the forums, and as many know, the search function leaves a lot to be desired..20 threads with tons of pages and most having nothing to do with condensation issues...
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Old 30-03-2020, 20:20   #4
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

We use something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Tech-.../dp/B0784NXYLT under our mattresses. It allows for airflow and helps to avoid condensation.
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Old 30-03-2020, 21:03   #5
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

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Originally Posted by BjarneK View Post
We use something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Tech-.../dp/B0784NXYLT under our mattresses. It allows for airflow and helps to avoid condensation.
Currently unavailable for delivery to your region due to high demand. We are working to resume delivery as soon as possible.

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Old 30-03-2020, 21:51   #6
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

One year, we used grass door mats to create the air space. If your covers seal off the area from air circulation, probably best to not make the bed till everything has dried out. Jim did not like the grassy smell from the door mats. Eventually, we put a layer of closed cell foam between the mattress and the timber. For us, that has worked satisfactorily.

Good luck with it, scarlet.

Ann
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Old 30-03-2020, 23:03   #7
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

I'm a huge fan of Froli mattress springs. Not only do they give necessary ventilation under the mattress, but they can transform a simple boat-type cushion into what feels like a real bed mattress.

https://www.sv-zanshin.com/r/pages/z...shinifroli.php
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Old 31-03-2020, 03:17   #8
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

How about something like this:


https://www.empind.com.au/shop/item/...ion-mesh-acs10
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Old 31-03-2020, 04:51   #9
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

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
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Old 31-03-2020, 05:23   #10
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

Quote:
Originally Posted by BjarneK View Post
We use something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prime-Tech-.../dp/B0784NXYLT under our mattresses. It allows for airflow and helps to avoid condensation.
We have the slats already with a good 2 inches of space to allow airflow... The product you posted above lookd like it is much thinner and isn't as open as what we already have....
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Old 31-03-2020, 05:25   #11
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zanshin View Post
I'm a huge fan of Froli mattress springs. Not only do they give necessary ventilation under the mattress, but they can transform a simple boat-type cushion into what feels like a real bed mattress.

https://www.sv-zanshin.com/r/pages/z...shinifroli.php
Id love to know how expensive those are. They look really nice
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Old 31-03-2020, 05:54   #12
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

scarlet - this is my 3rd boat with them and you right that they aren't cheap but I think my queen-sized bed ran about $50 and about 2 hours of putting the pieces together and choosing which zones would get extra support.

https://www.froli.com/en/bed-systems/
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Old 31-03-2020, 06:19   #13
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

another vote for Froli: comfortable, never any condensation, no maintenance... and price? Came with the boat when I bought it
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Old 31-03-2020, 06:32   #14
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

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Originally Posted by Zanshin View Post
scarlet - this is my 3rd boat with them and you right that they aren't cheap but I think my queen-sized bed ran about $50 and about 2 hours of putting the pieces together and choosing which zones would get extra support.

https://www.froli.com/en/bed-systems/
I don't think that is a bad price at all..
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Old 31-03-2020, 08:32   #15
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Re: Condensation And Smell Under Mattress

Are the slats removable, could you add some closed cell foam insulation under them?
Or perhaps you could insulate the underside of the berth area?
Something to move the condensation point away from the area under your mattress.
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