Had the boat sitting in the drive way for about 2 weeks,, mold and mildew already started in the v-berth,, Getting ready to winterize and don't want my upholstery getting destroyed for the next 5 months. We found some spray at walmart in the boating section that says it will help prevent mold/mildew,, I will try it, but was wondering if anyone else has any tricks to preventing it ??..


I was thinking of running an extension cord out to the drive way and put a small fan in the cabin on a timer to keep the air moving,, Any suggestions.. Thanks Chris...

Chris, I had this problem also. I use bleach and water solution to kill the bacteria and clean the staining. Then I used a product that removes the dampness from the cabin. I cant think of the name of the product for the life of me right now, but I got it at Home Depot and they come in little buckets. Its something like Damp X. Ill post the name of the product when it comes back to me.


Bob

I always use charcoal. take some and put it in a coffee can with no lid and just set it in the cabin and put one in the cockpit.the charcoal soaks up the moisture.

Chris, you need to do two things.

(1) Remove the visible mildew growths. This is the easy part.

(2) Kill the airborne and dormant mildew. You can't see it, but you can smell it. it's hiding in every crevise and little areas that you can't reach. You have to completely dehumidify the boat(they need moisture to survive).

Another very effective way to destroy it is to use ozone. There are many devices out there that will help you here. Check out:
http://www.zontec.net/home.html

This is a part of what I do for a living, you need to find a product that has an antimicrobial in the ingediants.

The best thing to us is called MICROBAN, it is sold at most restoration companys. You can spray it on anything and it will kill the mold you see and even absorb into places you cant get to.

DONT us bleach, bleach is made up of 90 water and mold need water to grow.

Look in the yellow Pages under Carpet and Rug Cleaning suppplies
the best company to get this stuff from is call JON DON, hopefully you have one in your larger surrounding city, They are based in chicago

Randy Wild

We use charcoal also to dry the interior for winterizing but we use a large bag cut wide open. Lay it on a trash bag, then just throw it out in the spring. I believe in overkill.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys...

Question,,,,,,,, The v-berth is mostly vinyl, but on the sides it has a padded material, sort of like mole skin, this is what is getting ruined,, whats the best way of killing/cleaning this type of material..

Mr P we didn't throw it out, I gave it to the neighbor for their grill, and then we ate the pork roast they cooked on it waste not want not

Nick, Thanks for the link, will look into these....

Does anyone run anything off an extension cord that works well ??

DON'T USE OZONE

Again this is my business and what i do for a living.

Ozone will deteriorate Rubber gaskets and wiring covers

Randy Wild