Antifreeze Leaked During Winterizing..Smell in Trailer

[BW1]

My first time winterizing in November 2014. Things were going along fine, but where the water filter was for the kitchen sink antifreeze started pouring out.

It continued to exit outside underneath the trailer, wheel well area and others. All winter it had a smell, and I hoped it would be gone by spring.
Still has a smell, but not antifreeze like anymore.

I have aired it out, used ozone machine, odour absorbers etc. It is not a bad smell, and when windows are open it is not noticeable.

My questions are, could the antifreeze still be somewhere, and what damage might it have done, and how can it be fixed.

I hope this mistake turns out not to be too costly

[cwf]

Good question... I would expect it would diminish... Good luck!

[Rich W]

Was it regular RV antifreeze?

If I understand, the antifreeze, a lot of it, spewed out of the water filter and onto the floor. Was there no way of bypassing the filter?

Sounds like you soaked the wood under the flooring and now it's rotting the wood. It might just be mold under the vinyl flooring. We had some floor rot and there was a definite smell, regardless of the weather. We had the floor repaired and they washed down the wood with bleach to kill the mold that wasn't in the rotting area, but between the vinyl and flooring. That stopped the odor.

I think you're going to have to pull back that vinyl and get some air in there to let it dry out, then wash with bleach/water mix.

[BW1]

I did use RV 'non toxic' antifreeze. Being a newbie I didn't think to bypass the filter or even know how .

The floor was redone about 6 or so years ago by the PO. It is a laminate floor throughout.

So do I remove the flooring and see what has happened, then what do I from that point, meaning what to look for and where?

Thanks

[CRH]

If you have an Everpure filter, you can get a plug to replace the canister. It allows antifreeze to go to the spigot without pouring all over the floor.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by BW1

I did use RV 'non toxic' antifreeze. Being a newbie I didn't think to bypass the filter or even know how .

The floor was redone about 6 or so years ago by the PO. It is a laminate floor throughout.

So do I remove the flooring and see what has happened, then what do I from that point, meaning what to look for and where?

Thanks

Laminate is a floating floor and was probably put over the top of the existing floor. I'm guessing that the antifreeze has gone at least between these two layers, possibly below that to the subfloor.

In my case, I knew I had a soft spot and wanted to see what else I was dealing with. I removed all the furniture from the door to the front. I removed the decorative floor trim ( just 3-4 pieces) along the doorway and that wall. I removed the staples from the vinyl and rolled it up back toward the galley. I found the soft spot but I also found the floor was very wet under the vinyl. [It took me about 2 hours at the storage facility to take out the L-couch and drawer-table. I don't have a lot of furniture in the front.] I let it dry out for a month. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and gave me several weeks of dry, sunny weather.

Not knowing where the leak was, living in Central KY, I just took it up to Jackson Center and paid Airstream to make the repairs to the floor. They ran a water pressure and air pressure test and found no serious leaks. They said the PO must have sealed them up but didn't allow the floor to dry out. They replaced the rotted section and washed the wood and vinyl with a mild bleach mix. The smell that was there for the past year was gone.

I your case, if you can get access to the area where the antifreeze leaked onto the floor, I think you need to see if it's just sitting there between the floors. AS said that not enough air can get between layers and it just sits there.

Another option would be to purchase a moisture meter and test several areas. If it's wet, you're going to have to allow air to get there and dry it out. It will need to be cleaned with a mild bleach solution if there's any mold. If you have it done professionally, the more furniture you can take out the lower the cost will be.

[greghoro]

There are two types of RV antifreeze; alcohol based and glycol based.

The former will evaporate much quicker, has fire danger and is typically cheaper

If you still have the bottle, look at the contents to see what kind you used.


Greg

[JCWDCW]

Whether alcohol or glycol, neither should cause rotting of the sub floor. If the glycol has perhaps softened the glue holding the plywood together then it might cause a soft spot, but unlike rot it won't migrate
If you can't get at it it may dissipate over time in hot weather. If you can rinse it and vacuum up the liquid you will be able to carry most of the glycol into the vacuum. Glycol is not explosive so it won't be an issue for your wet vac.
I'd guess you need to do a limited amount of dis-assembly to see where the liquid started flowing, and where the residue is now located.
JCW

[BW1]

The smell is slightly noticeable, considering there was no odour before. I am hoping with time and my de-odourising efforts it will disappear.

What I was most concerned about was that the leaking of the antifreeze would be trapped in some insulation underneath the trailer and it would remain wet and cause moulding.

Is that even possible with the way water or any other liquids in large amounts exit from inside the trailer?