Just dragged the van out of storage. Stored as follows:
Outside.
Fully covered with breathable cover.
All interior cushions lined up down the middle.
All lockers, beds and cupboards empty and open.
All windows and sky lights shut.
When I opened up, no smell, no mustyness but a pervading feeling of damp.
All the cushions have a Feel of clammy damp to them. A couple have green dusty mould on them!
Sides of cupboards etc have greenmould on them .
What did I do wrong??????
My old van used to be dumped, uncovered, unprotected, with everything shut and all furniture in place..... ItIt still is - and feels drier than my new one!
Mold is caused by spores which breed in humid air so you do need to open up & check a caravan every month or so over winter & give surfaces a wipe over. If you leave caravan unattended all winter & spores are present then you may get mold. I doubt if the cover helped, although under floor vents will be unobstructed there are also permanent vents on body & roof hatch that would have been blocked. I can't really see point of covers except to save on washing off accumulated over winter dirt. Most of the paint fading will be caused by summer sunshine.
I can't see any purpose in dehumidifying devices but if you do use them they need emptying & replenishment regularly so you might as well just open up doors & hatches as suggested & give caravan a quick interior clean.
Difficult to say - it can just be the very wet/damp conditions we have had. I am not a big fan of caravan covers but others swear by them.
Too late now but opening up on a dry windy day is good if you can get access and also a burst of a dehumidifier is good if you have electrics at storage.
I have had mould on surface of cupboard doors in the past despite all precautions with a previous 'van.
I suspect you won't be the first this winter to discover the problem.
I have just checked mine this morning - but it's in the garden and all is well.
I doubt if the cover caused the problem, and probably protected the van from a good deal of water ingress, etc.
Your storage method sounds exactly like our own - but, when storing, we do tend to open the caravan door for a couple of hours every month or so. It's well worth the hassle of moving the cover back to permit this.
The other thing to check is floor level fixed ventilation - are the vents clear (are there enough of them, in fact?)
The other possibility (which you probably won't want to hear) is that there is some existing damp in the caravan structure, and that has made the interior humid during storage. Even in winter, a van can get surprisingly warm inside, which might have encouraged evaporation into the interior.
Hopefully, that's not the case - and even if it is, opening the door for short periods should alleviate it a lot.
I can't comment on the various absorption crystals, etc, as I've never used them - but, even with them, there's no substitute for getting some fresh air into the caravan at regular intervals.
------------- Getting Old, Staying Active (much to Mrs Folder's dismay..)
Not enough air movement due to the cover. Vans allow slow air movement by the fact that the ceiling vent and Heki's allow flow as well as air vents on the floors, behind fridges etc. Warmer air in the van will drag a flow through the unit and out through the roof vents.
There is a vast difference between the rate that air can flow through a van and the ability of a breathable piece of material to allow air to pass through it.
Therefore you've trapped the natural moisture in the air in your van. Any sunny days will increase the speed of mould reproduction especially if the cover is non reflective or of a dark colour.
If there is no cover I suspect the opposite is true. On a warm day the air in the van will travel naturally up through the van and have a drying effect.
There will be people on this site who will tell you they've never had a problem with theirs and I'm sure they probably haven't. Not sure why this is, I suspect that the van design, and the location of where it is parked play a part also.
One thing is for sure though, Caravan covers restrict the general flow of air through the van. Some vans seem to suffer with covers.
We have used covers for years now with no problems only advantages. I do go into the van weekly when covered - our has easy access though a Velcro fixed door. I also use crystal filled damp trays (emptied weekly)and never leave upholstery in the van.
This has been an exceptional year for dampness. Our neighbours have found mildewed curtain and blinds in their uncovered van so I don't believe the problem is with the cover more with the construction of the van and staying extra vigilant if possible.
We use two covers And have never had any problems we don't tend to disturb the caravan once the covers are on between october and march but I will have a look inside this week
When I opened up, no smell, no mustyness but a pervading feeling of damp. All the cushions have a Feel of clammy damp to them. A couple have green dusty mould on them! Sides of cupboards etc have greenmould on them .
not your cover at fault,i had this one year without a cover.i found by cleaning all the cupboard sides and walls with antibacterial spray the problem went away.main area was round the cooker and sink where they were prone to splashes unseen.
------------- the only silly question is the one you do not ask.
Checked inside our van today everything was fine no sign of damp or condensation anywhere all the bedding was nice and dry our van is on axel stands so its quite high up not sure if this helps the airflow in the floor vents it makes servicing easier as I can move about under the van to check all the chassis bolts pipes and cables
A cover can't increase dampness inside the caravan, it is only covering the walls and roof, both of which are sealed.
I have a cover on mine, a Maypole breathable cover. I left the roof vents (shower, bedroom and kitchen) open to allow through flow of air.
I deal wth moulds or mold and mildew on a weekly basis. Weather it be internal/ External marine or household. There are arguments for all the above posts
The main accelerant will be moisture or humidity with little or no airflow although airflow can attribute to spore spread in dark humid conditions.
Mould dosent need light to live and often will grow behind a surface then spore and spread normally at a range of 2 to 8 cms which is why they normally appear as spots. (more in greater air flow) and eventually will appear as larger patches if left untreated
Moulds and mildew are a fungi, simple organisms that thrive anywhere there is a moist enviroment normally away for sunlight.
Moulds are everywhere they help leaves to decay and aid soil enrichment ect.
Mildew (mould In early stages) and mould love to grow and consume stuff like material, cardboard, wood. Carpets, foam and most organic materials.
In boats and households the most popular cause would be condensation or damp conditions ect, then food (surface they grow on)
If you have had a cover on or off and no airflow and there was moisture when it was stored this would be perfect condition for mildew growth leading to mold.(cover on or off and lack of sunlight)
The original spores could have come from you sitting elsewhere. Using a cloth from another area that had come into contact with mildew or mold, sitting on a park bench or simply by air movement.
Getting mold is not the end of the world and can be treated successfully although once you have had it your at greater risk at getting it again.
Salt baths are good in confined spaces as the salt will draw any moisture out of the air there are hundreds on the market. Some in crystal form ect.
For hard surfaces, dettol mould and mildew cleaner is very effective for surface moulds and mildew. (a very strong bleaching agent) which I have used on many different types of hard surfaces and kills and removes staining. Although I would suggest a test area first. You can get in in almost all main supper stores.
There are many products for upholstery both form the marine or leisure industry and a simple search at a chandlery website or store/ caravan retailer will get you what you need.
When cleaning areas keep them confined don’t use as cloth for one area then go and clean another area with it. out of habit this can be hard you have cleaned one area spot a bit of dirt and clean it with a cloth you may have just contaminated.
checked ours on monday ,no problems at all easy check as its in the garden ,we do have a cover on ours but its quite a loose fit and does tend to balloon up on windy days ,could this be the problem with yours ,i.e cover to tight and out of the wind position .
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Topic: Mould - what went wrong ?
