What to use for mold removal & prevention

[redreefet]

We found quite a bit of mold this weekend. Should I just bleach & go or treat with Kilz or the like before replacing the walls? We also hadn't planned on re-paneling the rest of the coach, but now I'm wondering if we should..... sihhhhhhhhhhggggg

[tracker]

I am not sure that bleach would be the best thing to use on aluminum. It may do more harm in the long run.Try something less caustic to metal like simple green .But I think bleach would work well on the interior walls .

[redreefet]

Originally Posted by tracker

I am not sure that bleach would be the best thing to use on aluminum. It may do more harm in the long run.Try something less caustic to metal like simple green .But I think bleach would work well on the interior walls .

I see. Yes the mold is on the interior side of the exterior skin. What about the Kilz?

[tracker]

I have never tried kilz on metal before. I don't know why it would not work but it may peel. Have you found where the moisture is comming from? stopping the moisture should stop the mold.

[68 TWind]

I don't think bleach will hurt aluminum. There are products for the boating industry that are supposed to be the death to mold and mildew but bleach and a good scrub brush should clean it up. Tilex works well just be sure to rinse it well. Which ever product you use, the most important thing is to first, stop the leaks. Stop the leaks and the mold problem will be a thing of the past. No moisture, no mold.

[DanielB]

Tea tree oil.

[Lothlorian]

Mr. Kleen Magic Eraser. It will fall off and not hurt your aluminum.

Brian

[redreefet]

Looks like the mold is most concentrated around the vents, etc. Anywhere that needs to be caulked regularly. Bummer because that probably means the rest of the camper will have mold.

Also, how do you re-install insulation? Some sort of adhesive, I'm guessing?

[Lothlorian]

My whole trailer was mold and smelled terribly. It had all kinds of goo and nastiness on it and in it. The person we bought it from tried everything and nothing worked. We used the magic eraser and it worked fine. the trailer does not stink anymore and the interior paint looks like new.

I have it on our property and we will visit it next week. I will give it a once over in the inside and I will use the magic eraser.

Brian

[redreefet]

Originally Posted by Lothlorian

My whole trailer was mold and smelled terribly. It had all kinds of goo and nastiness on it and in it. The person we bought it from tried everything and nothing worked. We used the magic eraser and it worked fine. the trailer does not stink anymore and the interior paint looks like new.

I have it on our property and we will visit it next week. I will give it a once over in the inside and I will use the magic eraser.

Brian

I can only SEE this mold only because we removed the fiberglass shell in the bathroom. There is nothing to speak of on the interior walls in the rest of the coach. My concern now is what's behind those walls... I will definitely do the Magic Erase though. Great idea!

Maybe the PO didn't keep up with the caulking like they should have.

[Wabbiteer]

Ozone for the untouchable spots. The familiar smell of bleach has ozone in it. When you rent a high powered O³ producer it will use high voltage to add an extra Oxygen to the O² in the air and that piggybacked atom passes that HV borne energy into 'burning' whatever it lands on - especially good at deactivating micro-organisms and bleaching odor producing organics into charred residues.

The key is reducing the numbers of the wee-beasties back to near normal-background levels... Behind the bathroom liners I found a fairy-ring from a single hand print almost two feet across!

[redreefet]

Originally Posted by Wabbiteer

Ozone for the untouchable spots. The familiar smell of bleach has ozone in it. When you rent a high powered O³ producer it will use high voltage to add an extra Oxygen to the O² in the air and that piggybacked atom passes that HV borne energy into 'burning' whatever it lands on - especially good at deactivating micro-organisms and bleaching odor producing organics into charred residues.

The key is reducing the numbers of the wee-beasties back to near normal-background levels... Behind the bathroom liners I found a fairy-ring from a single hand print almost two feet across!

Awesome description!! Wow! Excuse my ignorance but... I can rent this Ozone machine you speak of somewhere? Seemed like the mold was concentrated around the vents, electrical entries, etc. but then tapered out in a line from there?? Not sure why. I thought there was a lot of mold in areas that shouldn't have it, but my husband pointed out "it's 40 years old, like me, It's gonna have some mold, like me". I was starting to convince myself that we're camping in the woods, where there is leaf mold all over, what's the big deal, but it's not going well. I am also allergic, but I believe that some exposure builds tolerance. I'm still ready to remove more wall panels & hunt down all wee- beasties.

[Wabbiteer]

As a cleaner I was impressed with Spic'n Span liquid diluted into warm water and a nylon bristle scrub brush - with plenty of terry cloth shop towels. Scrub until your arms want to fall off then repeat.

Ozone 'bazookas' can be found at many rental outlets - follow their instructions & recommendations to a letter since its quite the hazard to people.

Some tips is have all closets and cubbys open, use a separate small circulating fan to keep air sweeping over the entire interior, let them run for 24 hours or whatever the instructions call for then shut off only the Ozone machine (inside extension cord connection to the unit reachable at utility hatch?) and open the door and walk away to let it air out.

This is NOT something you can hold your breath to duck in and open all the windows; have the front & back windows unlatched and lift them open from the outside for some cross-circulation.

[mastercraft]

hope this isnt wayyyy to late i have owned a cleaning co for 27 years bleach doesnt kill the mold spores vinegar does spray all areas with vinegar let it sit awhile wipe off or rinse off take a little clorox clean up and spray again to get off the stains it is working well in my new "old" 73 AS make sure u rinse the vinegar off let dry then use clorox clean up

[karen owen]

We are newbies n Alabama. We store our ' stream uncovered I'm thinkIng of running a dehumidifier during periods of non use. Any more suggestions for mold prevention

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Wabbiteer

4Some tips is have all closets and cubbys open, use a separate small circulating fan to keep air sweeping over the entire interior, let them run for 24 hours or whatever the instructions call for then shut off only the Ozone machine (inside extension cord connection to the unit reachable at utility hatch?) and open the door and walk away to let it air out.

This is NOT something you can hold your breath to duck in and open all the windows; have the front & back windows unlatched and lift them open from the outside for some cross-circulation.

Long extension cord plugged in to an outlet outside the trailer, so you can disconnect without even having to reach inside. Safer that way. Plus, ozone is heavier than air. Opening the doors provides faster ventilation afterwards than opening the windows.

By the way, if you go the ozone generator route, here is a link to a Safety Data Sheet for Ozone: http://www.ozoneapplications.com/inf...DS%20Ozone.pdf. Anyone planning to use an ozone generator should read the SDS first. Places that rent the equipment are supposed to provide an SDS upon request, but not everyone knows to request one, and not all rental places have an SDS to hand out.