Condensation and mould around ceiling corners

KatrinK

KatrinK

Free Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2022
Posts
30
Likes collected
32
Funster No
86,969
MH
Itineo SB740
Exp
In third year of full time travel around Europe
We are having a problem with (what we think is) condensation around the ceiling edges all over our MH. We first realised this after some mould growth in one corner a couple of months ago and it is now spreading, even into our cupboards.

F54ECBB8-48E5-45E3-BFD1-95E3C3B5E207.jpeg

1155AA11-0F6C-4A23-938D-74CDBB38915A.jpeg


We are in our second year of full time travel and did not have this problem (or at least didn’t see any signs of it) through our first year and winter with colder night temperatures.

Has anybody had this problem? Could something have changed on the roof? I know it is very dirty up there and needs a good scrub...

We are in Greece near Kalamata at the moment and have found a MH repair garage in Patras that we’ll aim for, but it would be good to get an idea of what the cause of this could be and how it can be rectified.
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
PP Bear said:
It’s pinkies crossed that’s it’s not a leak from outside and is simply condensation collecting in the colder damp corners of the van. If I leave my van in storage for a few weeks and then head out in it again, I always get condensation in those areas that are harder to heat up and the moisture gathers, especially in a cupboard and the cabinet in the bathroom. Takes a few days of wiping up the moisture from those areas and leaving cupboards open while everything equalises, but I know my van inside out and know where to look.

Where possible sleep with a window cranked open to try and reduce it and also utilise these and this. It seems to gather so much water that I could pour it back into the tank and reuse (joking of course), but while some slate them, me and others swear by them.



View attachment 853029

View attachment 853030




Also pop these on certain shelves, cheap as Blackpool chips…


View attachment 853032
Click to expand...
Have also become a convert to these water absorbers the *amazon"
item shown works well no batteries needed totally silent,
simply sucks up the moisture in the air,
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
Upvote 0
Didn't I read on this forum several months ago about filling a small bowl with salt which absorbes the moisture and the drying in the sun and reuse?
 
Upvote 0
Ducatikid said:
Didn't I read on this forum several months ago about filling a small bowl with salt which absorbes the moisture and the drying in the sun and reuse?
Click to expand...
That’s right, but not my preferred answer. Plus, who knows how long out in the sun it would take for it to actually dry. Much prefer the moisture traps as it doesn’t hold the water like the salt method would and it doesn’t lose its moisture absorption when the salt bowl is filling up.

Just my thoughts on it 👍🏻
 
Upvote 0
Ducatikid said:
Didn't I read on this forum several months ago about filling a small bowl with salt which absorbes the moisture and the drying in the sun and reuse?
Click to expand...
We tried that for a few days and it did F all :rolleyes:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Upvote 0
KatrinK said:
We are having a problem with (what we think is) condensation around the ceiling edges all over our MH. We first realised this after some mould growth in one corner a couple of months ago and it is now spreading, even into our cupboards.

View attachment 852991
View attachment 852992

We are in our second year of full time travel and did not have this problem (or at least didn’t see any signs of it) through our first year and winter with colder night temperatures.

Has anybody had this problem? Could something have changed on the roof? I know it is very dirty up there and needs a good scrub...

We are in Greece near Kalamata at the moment and have found a MH repair garage in Patras that we’ll aim for, but it would be good to get an idea of what the cause of this could be and how it can be rectified.
Click to expand...
milton or cheaper equivalent sterilising solution is great for cleaning the mould off. Just give a gentle scrub with a sponge or cloth. Used to have mould after every winter in my Vw pop top.
 
Upvote 0
Bfreebt65 said:
milton or cheaper equivalent sterilising solution is great for cleaning the mould off. Just give a gentle scrub with a sponge or cloth. Used to have mould after every winter in my Vw pop top.
Click to expand...
Milton is quite weak so not likely to be very effective and should not be used on metal surfaces. Just an added note Milton should not be used as a sterilising fluid in MH water systems, it will damage metal and stainless steel such as water heaters. Same goes for other chlorine based sterilisers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aji
Upvote 0
Try this stuff.......but don't remain in the vehicle. Leave it for a couple of hours and then wipe over. I use if for the shower at home...works a treat! :cool:


1704889337103.png



KatrinK said:
We are having a problem with (what we think is) condensation around the ceiling edges all over our MH. We first realised this after some mould growth in one corner a couple of months ago and it is now spreading, even into our cupboards.

View attachment 852991
View attachment 852992

We are in our second year of full time travel and did not have this problem (or at least didn’t see any signs of it) through our first year and winter with colder night temperatures.

Has anybody had this problem? Could something have changed on the roof? I know it is very dirty up there and needs a good scrub...

We are in Greece near Kalamata at the moment and have found a MH repair garage in Patras that we’ll aim for, but it would be good to get an idea of what the cause of this could be and how it can be rectified.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Just wipe it off with a good kitchen wipe , open your skylights every morning or leave your Windows open on the vent ! We have been full time since 2015 and used to have the same problem
 
Upvote 0
Tykes said:
Just wipe it off with a good kitchen wipe , open your skylights every morning or leave your Windows open on the vent ! We have been full time since 2015 and used to have the same problem
Click to expand...
No good, you need to kill the root otherwise it will keep coming back and will be worse each time, especially in close quarters like a motorhome. Mould spores can lead to all sorts of health issues so it needs to be eradicated.
 
Upvote 0
Do you have a skylight in the bedroom? Could you replace with a low power fan like a Maxxfan?

Have seen people saying that they leave it on low on permanent extraction and uses very little power.
 
Upvote 0
Upvote 0
A little follow-up in case it proves useful for someone in the future:

After posting this we ended up leaving the shower vent open and the bedroom window on the lowest latch overnight. The heating had to work a little bit harder, but not excessively so. Result was dry walls. Success! After a week or so the nights were getting very cold, so we closed everything again when going to sleep to see what happens. The walls still remained dry. Huh, interesting. We continued to leave everything closed for a couple more weeks and still no more condensation. That really stumped me. After a while it dawned on me what was different: humidity! When I originally posted and the damp was very bad, we had spent weeks in very humid weather (see soaked chairs and table outside as soon as the sun set).

I decided to keep an eye out for humidity levels. One night we got 90% in the evening and 98% in the morning and - voilà - there was a tiny bit of moisture in the ceiling corners.

My best guess is that it was an accumulation of moisture at the time.

If we find ourselves in prolonged times of humid, colder weather again, we’ll go back to leaving the window and vent open in the night. Hopefully that will be enough. If not, we would try one of those moisture traps too.
 
Upvote 0
A little addendum to my comment where I said that I read somewhere that bleach is a no-go when it comes to cleaning off mould. Just came across this:
Screenshot 2024-02-23 at 14.39.05.png

Screenshot 2024-02-23 at 14.47.18.png


A quick Google also showed plenty of articles and videos advising against using bleach.

Screenshot 2024-02-23 at 14.53.53.png
 
Upvote 0
For years we used to use clove oil on the pop top of the Bongo and the poorly ventilated Canvas of a folding camper. Very effective. a quick DuckDuckGo gives
greenorchardgroup.com

5 Air Purifying Essential Oils That Kill Mold

Studies suggest that essential oils can inhibit mold and improve indoor air quality. Here are 5 air purifying essential oils that kill mold.
greenorchardgroup.com greenorchardgroup.com
 
Upvote 0

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top