Sulfur burner for killing cabin mold?

[SailorKeddy]

Came across this idea on a liveaboard facebook group. Anyone have experience with this? I've got a bit of a mold problem in all areas of my cabin and tried Concrobium to no avail.

[boatman61]

Think I'd prefer a spray bottle with 50/50 cider vinegar/water sprayed in the area's affectedd.. something that goes in a short time rather than rotten egg smells permeating everything.

[SailorKeddy]

Yeah, its all over the place and I really can't wipe/spray into every nook and cranny. I really need a fogger type system. I have the boat complete gutted of all my stuff and its sitting on the hard so Im not worried about messing up upholstery or anything.

[Cheechako]

Get rid of or try to clean the fabrics and foam. Get an Ozone generator... that does what you want.

[rbrentp]

Five years ago I bought a cat and had it delivered By Captain Outrageous. He left the hatches open for six weeks. All carpet, fabric etc. had to go. Mold everywhere. I stumbled into a site that recommended boric acid dissolved in water. I sponged and sprayed into every nook and cranny I could get to. It still smells fresh and new. No mold return and no bugs. Boric acid is a powder bought at Home Depot or the dollar store for insects in the home. It kills mold, fungus, viruses, etc. and is non toxic to pets and humans.

We were afraid the boat was toast. My wife has allergies and asthma so when I say it cleaned the smell and mold completely I have a very tough Admiral to please.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by SailorKeddy

Came across this idea on a liveaboard facebook group. Anyone have experience with this? I've got a bit of a mold problem in all areas of my cabin and tried Concrobium to no avail.

If there is a ServPro in your area you might contact them about renting a small Ozone Generator for an over-night treatment. Surface mold can be washed away as described by others but the Ozone treatment will definitely clean the stuff out and remove the smell. Just air the boat out well before you go back aboard.

FWIW...

[Cheechako]

They are somewhat expensive to buy. I wore one out using it for about a year straight. Loved the Ozone smell though! We kept it on every day while at work.
Wow... the Boric Acid is a new one to me... cool.

[George DuBose]

I like to use Lysol spray and Lysol soap. Every spring, when the boat is empty of cushions and everything else. I even use the pressure washer to spray Lysol soap and water in places I can't reach.

There is so much mildew in The Netherlands that it is a never-ending battle against mildew, but a heavy dose of Lysol in the spring keeps the boat fresh for the season.

Another problem we have in The Netherlands is spiders. They get quite fat on all the different fly species and beside their webs, the worst is their "****". It is green like the flies that they eat and it stains the gelcoat.

There is an anti-spider spray and if I don't use it, my neighbor's spiders move over to my boat.

Burning sulphur? I would go with the boric acid. Cockroaches also don't like it.

[Arthur Garfield]

Spendy,though does the job-Ozone generator really does it,also the boric acid as old standby !


All the Best

[Stu Jackson]

Oh, golly, another mold question.

No one has ever had mold in their boats before, so a search on MOLD probably wouldn't turn up much on any boating forum known to man or even Google, would ya think?

Really, try doing some homework on the issue, there are tons of answers out there.

Would save a lot of the skippers who are trying to help you from retyping the same answers over and over again.

If, OTOH, you have done your own research, can you be more specific in your question?

Good luck.

[Popeye70]

Ozone removes the smell, but be careful because it may "eat" rubber if left on for too long.


--
Sent from the restaurant at the end of the universe, probably using a PC, an iPhone or an iPad.

[Marksman]

Not may, it WILL eat any natural rubber and many synthetics over time. It's not good to breath either. My folks had a very early model electrostatic air cleaner on their heat pump and it produced a fair amount of ozone. Rubber bands became weak and crumbly way before their time. use with care.

[hellosailor]

I think I'd also go with ozone, if not used to excess it won't cause the elastomers to fall apart. I'm pretty sure there's a reason the use of "sulfur candles" for fumigating ended, I just don't recall why.


But boric acid? "Boric acid ...is non toxic to pets and humans." Not quite. If any of the powder gets inhaled, it cuts apart the tissue in your lungs. You'd want to make very sure it was NOT used pervasively where some of it might get airborne as dust for months afterward. Toxic? No. Harmful? Oh yes.

[AgPilot]

Originally Posted by SailorKeddy

Came across this idea on a liveaboard facebook group. Anyone have experience with this? I've got a bit of a mold problem in all areas of my cabin and tried Concrobium to no avail.

I had a mold problem, not on a boat but in one of my plant grow rooms. I tried several remedies but they didn't work. I finally bought a commercial sulfur burner from my local hydroponics store. I filled the cup, hung the unit in an open area, plugged it in to a timer and shut the door. Also, there were growing plants in the room during this process. In a short time period the mold was gone and hasn't returned yet. That was several years ago. The smell of the sulfur doesn't hang around long, and, in my opinion, is better than the mold problem.