Help! Severe mold
Looking for some advice on out 2010 Bailey Olympus 525 purchased a year ago. It's been at our storage site over the winter, with a cover from approx November to early March. Over that period we've been down to check it, refresh moisture absorbers etc, but with the cover on its always quite dark inside.
When we took the cover off two weeks ago I noticed a small amount of mold in bathroom basin and didn't think much to it. Today we went down top clean it ready for it's upcoming service and be ready for a new season. To our horror when we opened the curtains and blinds we discovered extensive mold issues. As you can see in the pictures there were large quantities of mold on and in the cupboards, on the washroom door and ceiling, and the Heiki roof blind was complete crusty with mold, as were the roller blinds at the front. All of the crockery and cutlery were also moldy.
We spent a couple of hours trying to clean the surfaces as much as we could, and we've brought the crockery/cutlery back home, but anything made of plastic won't clean. Also I've no idea how we can demold the window and roof light blind.
I took some readings with the cheap damp meter I own and got readings of 20% to 25% in the affected areas, <10% in others.
I'm assuming that finding one's caravan after the winter layover, covered in mold is not normal and I have a major issue with the van?
The dealer sold the caravan with a 3 year warranty including damp issues, but looking at the situation many of the blinds would need to be replaced I would think.
What advice can you give me, have I done anything wrong over the winter?
Thanks
Comments
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Lack of permanent ventilation !! 3 -
I would say the mould as it appears to be throughout is due to the cover and not necessarily a specific issue with the caravan structure, I had a cover years ago of the breathable variety and also had mould problems and have never bothered since, but not as bad as yours appears to be. Was the cover a breathable one or not? As you say the mould should wipe off plastic surfaces the blinds can be more tricky, you could carefully test a small area with a mould killer but I suspect once stained you will find it difficult to clean completely. The flyscreens may clean with water, gently scrubbing with a soft nylon brush.
After storing caravans and motorhomes for over twenty yearsI have never had any problems (apart from once trying a cover) by simply closing the door, check the battery monthly, check inside after heavy rain and forget about it. Leave the cushions on edge, don`t waste money heating etc etc.
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Tend to agree with Triky, probably all due to the way the van has been stored. Caravans/ motorhomes need to be aired regularly when not being used. It will probably be very difficult to remove mould from blinds and replacement may be the only option. I would expect the dealer will come to the same conclusion about the way the van was stored so would not accept a warranty claim. An unfortunate expensive lesson and I am sure some folk on here will be able to give storage advice for the future, but if you can, use the van all year round and avoid storage issues altogether.
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Yes, I too tend to agree with Tricky. A couple of years ago I had some of the dry dusty mould in my caravan after the winter but luckily it wiped off. I now leave all the internal doors/cupboards and all blinds/curtains open over the winter and store cushions on edge. I see that your roof blind is badly affected; was this left in the closed position? I also ensure that the vents are clear ie not blocked by awning etc on the floor. No problems this year. Not too sure what to suggest re cleaning it off your Heiki Roof blind, sadly it is an expensive replacement. I do not use a cover.
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Sadly I think your cover is the main culprit. If as you say the mould has increased greatly over last couple of weeks then what you have in fact created is a bit of a mushroom farm. Dark, bit of moisture (no matter how dry you think it is), add the lovely warmth of this week and mould just loves it.
I hope you manage to get everything back as it should be, and it's not too expensive a mistake. Probably better off not using the cover, and more frequent visits and open doors and windows in the future when in storage. Good luck.
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try using bleach or one of those mould removing sprays on the flyscreens. Be sure to protect the upholstery from the spray.
A good wipe down everywhere with a suitable cleaning product at the end of each trip will make sure there is less for the spores to feed on.
Although we always do a "spring clean" before every trip, the day before we head home after a trip OH always does a good clean of surfaces , so the van is in good shape before being left closed up for a while.
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It does make a surprising difference wiping surfaces down with antibacterial wipes, at least we find it so. Last thing I do after emptying fridge and freezer, then leave door slightly ajar.
Feel for you essexg, hope you get things sorted. We looked at covers a while ago, but we have a very (very) old van, and after 21 years of owning it with few problems, we decided a bit of extra work outside was far easier than risking interior problems.
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For peace of mind, I would clean the mould as much as possible and give the caravan a thorough airing and some heat but i would also have a damp check done on it in afterwards too, just to make sure the mould has not bee exacerbated by some moisture ingress somewhere. If it has, best to find out about it as soon as possible.
Hope it is just the cover and lack of ventilation that has caused your problem.
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I do hope by now you've managed to wipe all surfaces down and air your van? We have some marks on our roof blinds, luckily not mould, but don't know what it is and would love to know what to use and how to get a bit of pressure on it without removing it So any tips you can share would be great.
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I would go careful with that Bakers, we have the pleated blinds in our van and I foolishly gave the kitchen one a good rub when I noticed a mark on it. It has now spoilt the surface of the blind, the blinds are an off white finish but it has a surface like suede, by rubbing it, I have removed the surface
because I did this one evening I didn't see what I had done until the next morning. If it had been the ones we had in the caravan then it wouldn't have been an issue as they were not pleated ones so could be cleaned quite easily.0 -
Dear EssexG,
I am the wife of Engineer55, the one who found the mould on our 2015 Elddis Mistral.
Have exactly the same problem! Could have cried when I saw the state of our van!
We do not cover our van and it is well ventilated. It's not our first van and the storage facility has not changed.
Engineer55 came home today and started investigating!
Question: Do you have a wet central heating system?
This is the main difference between this van and others we have had. We noticed that the header tank was very low (well below where it was when we put the van away for winter) and that it has a vent pipe sticking out of the top. NOT CAPPED! We think this may be the problem!
Moisture from the header tank vent has got into the van and caused mould. With all the cupboards open, it was free to spread!
Like you have cleaned it off as best I can. Going to remove everything from the van (mattress included) and give it a thorough clean again with Fenwicks as this has been recommended on some forums.
Also noticed that on a lot of the forums, people are having this problem regularly with new vans and most now seem to have wet central heating!
What do others think?
Have tried to add pics from ours. (Not sure they have uploaded!) Have loads more!
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Alde wet central heating has been around for donkey's years and unlikely to be the cause. See replies in your thread.
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Kjell,
"try using bleach or one of those mould removing sprays on the flyscreens. Be sure to protect the upholstery from the spray".
Although it is obviously essential to keep any form of bleach away from fabrics, I have never had any problems using LIDL (Baufix) 'chlorine-free' cleaning/mould spray. I even spray it directly onto the fabric boat cushions as a preventative measure. (The full COSHH data sheet is available online listing the active ingredients).
As discussed on this thread and others, really good ventilation is of course the real key.
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Try a weak solution of Milton to wipe over the surfaces. I agree with the above posts, lack of ventilation and almost total darkness, If you left the fridge door closed for a couple of weeks, the results can be awful. Next winter ditch the cover, try to park the van where it catches some winter sunshine, leave the curtains open and some of the vents. I didn't realize that I could enlarge your photos, what a mess! good luck with the cleaning.
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