Help! Mold! Now what?

M

Mike...

New member
Hello to all....

It's been a while since I have checked in here. The economy troubles have forced me to put in as many hours as I can just to keep paying the bills. And unfortunately, in addition to keeping me from this great forum, it has led to me neglecting the TomCat. :(

Today, I hopped up in the thing to discover a fair amount of mold around the windows, and on some of the wood trim. Of course there could be more mold in places I didn't see. The bilge has me worried. Mold is very unhealthy and it has to go.

So, what do I do to completely get rid of this? How do I do it safely? And how do I prevent it in the future?

Help! =8-0

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mike
 
Hi Mike,

On our TomCat, we use two dehumidifier/heaters like the one shown here to keep the condensation, mold and mildew from appearing. They work well and prevent freezing. Our coldest Winter days are about 20 degrees.
P1010006_001.sized.jpg

The mildew in the bilge is a constant battle. Spray with a Clorox solution to kill it.

 
Virginia in the summer is like the South. The heaters will not help during those hot 6 months a year (they work great in the PNW where Roger boats, and that is what I used when I kept my Cal 46 up there during the winters). I run the air conditioner and that keeps the mold to a minumum. Also the "mighty dry" dehumidifier (a compresser, heater) works well in cooler weather. But keeping the humidity down and temp down is what it takes. This is why I am concerned about the "headliners" in the newest boats. They will be very difficult to clean when mold occurs.

Definately dilute chlorox is your best "weapon" leave a little on the surface, and it will inhibit growth. I have not used the organic or non chlorine mold removal materials, so I have no suggestions there. A number of companies claim to have materials which will do the job without the chorox.

In some areas, ventillation, circullation etc will help--but having lived in VA and FL, it does not do as well as dehumidification and air conditioning.
 
Once you clean it with bleach, spray with 3M Mildew Preventative, available at Defender, I used it last year, and so far it's working.
Roger
 
Having recently purchased a Cape Cruiser (here in Florida), I've been learning something about mildew as well. The boat is stored in a lot with not available power, so a dehumidifier isn't an option.

I purchased one of those "Damp Rid" buckets and placed it in the closed cabin. I make trips over to the boat (50 miles away in Crystal River, FL) to check on it and replace the bag of white pellets. So far NO mildew inside. There was some Outside in the cockpit and lazarette's but it cleaned-up pretty well with a mild solution of water:clorox. Spray it on, brush, and wipe it off - works well.

In a sailing magazine I read of another idea, but I haven't tried it yet. Mix one cup of white vinegar + one cup of clorox in a tupperware type plastic container. Put the container with the mixture in the galley sink, open all the cabinets and compartments, then CLOSE the boat completely. Supposedly, as the mixture evaporates it creates it's own anti-mildew fumigant. The boat will need airing out when you get back, but (supposedly) mildew won't be a problem. I haven't tried this, but would like an opinion if someone HAS tried it.

In a similar manner - I sprayed some of my clorox/water solution in a closed lazarette after cleaning it. I really wet-it-down then closed the airtight hatch. The next week it was absolutely mildew free. Who knows, maybe the fumigant idea has something to it.

Good Luck!

Best,
Casey
 
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I was reassuring that no one seems freaked about it -- except me. :)

Any ideas on a good ratio between bleach/water? I assume I need to be careful with it on the wood, yes?

I can run a power cord out to the boat and stick a humidifier in there during the summer. But it will still get toasy in there. It rains a lot here in the spring/summer, so I can't leave the windows open. For a time we went out and open/closed the windows each day, but we got lazy about it. That will teach us! :(

It will help to get it under some shade. Unfortunately, I was too distracted this year to get a carport build for it. I am back to working on that project now.

The biggest frustration of course is that I bought this great boat, but had no time for it this season.

That surely is a crime.

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mike
 
For this type of cleaning, I use 10/1 dilution of chlorox. But Chlorox will bleach the teak. You might try lightening all of it with oxylic acid--that may well take off any mold also. Then re-oil the teak. For the most part I have not had any problem with mold on teak.

Also where you have spilled material, or even touched an area, or wood, with you fingers, is more susceptable to mildew.
 
Mike,

Not a cure, but a preventative measure here.

A small fan or two to keep the air moving may help. I do this in the winter here, and though Roger says it gets down to 20, yes, but not usually for long. I keep a heater and the fan running. Has worked for the last 4 years.

The center forward window and the forward hatch cover are kept open about 1/2 inch. Rain does not seem to be an issue with that.

Stay Cool and be Dry

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Boric Acid solution is also a good mold/mildew remediation tool. The residue remaining after the solution drys prevents regrowth. A Google search for you - mold boric acid ...

If you have access - an Ozone generator also kills it, and gets into otherwise inaccessible areas. But precautions need to be taken, and risk understood before use of this process.
 
Just an update.

The most awesome wife wanted to try Tilex and that seems to be working well. We have not got it all done, but it seems to be cleaning up nicely.

Bill, I contacted the BuyProFresh people and am going to give their product a try. Dr. Bob, I hope this product will kill the mold on the teak so that it will then wipe off with soap and water. At least that's the hope.

What a pain. :(

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mike
 
Hey Casey, I ordered up a couple of the DampRid Buckets. Thought I might give them a try over the winter. I doubt they could keep upon the summer though, We have too may days over 80% humidity here. And, lots of those are at 100% humidity. :)

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mike
 
Now and then I will see some spots of mold inside the cabin walls. I just wipe them clean. The dark corners of the Tomcat are another story. I wipe down what I can reach with a diluted bleach solution and keep damp away bags onboard during the season then the damp away bucket during winter layup. I forget the exact name of the bags, but the material is in a closed mesh bag that can be bounced around without any problem. The bucket type will not work during the boating season of course.

As Charlie would quickly point out, Homo Sapiens cannot can't reach the bilge let alone all the mold growing locations on the Tomcat. :D Just clean it up as best you can and keep the interior as dry as you can.
 
Another update...

All the mold we can reach is gone from the fiberglass. The Tilex worked great. We wiped it down after letting is set, but left some residue to help prevent mold in the future. We will also use the ProActive 90 day bags and DampRid buckets should get is through the winter.

There is still mold on the teak and some on the cushions. My plan is to use Proactive 24 hour Chlorine Dioxide bags to kill the renaming mold and then wipe down the teak with soap and water, then wipe with water to rinse, and dry with towels. Hopefully the teak will not discolor.

On the cushions we'll wash the covers after ProActive has done it's thing. Hopefully the foam inside is unaffected.

Captain Matt, I am indeed worried about the bilge. It would be nice if there was some "Mold Bomb" product (like a bug bomb but for mold) that we could toss in there and let it do its thing. The ProActive might work in there, but it needs some air circulation to be effective.

But wait...... there's more!

We also have discovered a new issue that has gone unnoticed until now: the forward hatch leaks, and water has been pooling on the cushions. And, I am sure that I am not going to like what I find when I get under there and see how bad a problem this really is.

I did look at the hatch and did not see any obvious defects. Any one have a suggestion on where to start on fixing this?

Thanks all for the help.

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mike
 
Hi Mike..
Hatch Leak..maybe..maybe not. Close and lock the hatch then have someone use the water hose to flood the hatch and ajoining area. Watch for signs of intrusion while this is going on.....if you don't see water entering from around the hatch, it might just be condensation forming and dropping off in that area...C-Dorys can be like the rain forest you well know.

Good Luck...

As to a repair...depending on where the leak may be...assuming it is the hatch...check the gasket...for wear or pinching...and then the screws and what you find will determine the fix.
 
Hello Mike.

That's a good test; I'll try that. But, I am pretty sure it's a leak. The berth cushions are soaked. And then there is this:

I climbed up into her today to place the DampRid tub, and saw that more mold had begun to form.

Deep sigh.

As I was climbing down off the boat, I was pondering how I sad it is that bought her early this year, but since then I have been so busy trying to keep the money coming in that I didn't get to take her out even once this season. And this mold thing has bummed me out a bit, and the leak only adds to the troubles. It is all a bit frustrating.

As I rounded the port motor, I said aloud, "Perhaps it was a mistake to buy you this year" And then....I kid you not....

My boat peed on me.

Literally.

Just as I walked by the aft port drains - she spewed about 10 gallons of water at me. Soaked me quite a bit before I got out of the way. And I stood there in total shock watching while the water kept shooting out.

I am assuming it was a bilge pump that decided to kick in right then, but the timing was a bit spooky. At the very least it tells me I have some water down in the bilge.

But it also could mean I have to be very careful what I say around the gal. :shock:

I checked the manual, but it doesn't have any diagrams to show what all the through-hull drains are. However, I remember seeing one somehwere back before I bought the boat. Can anyone point me to that?

Tomorrow, I'll climb aboard, and apologize to her. Sincerely.

Then I'll check the battery switches, which I thought were off(apparently not). And then see what is going on down in her bilge.

Where's the best place to get a good view?

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mike
 
wannaboat":3j2q85xh said:
Hello Mike.


Tomorrow, I'll climb aboard, and apologize to her. Sincerely.

Then I'll check the battery switches, which I thought were off(apparently not). And then see what is going on down in her bilge.

Where's the best place to get a good view?

---
mike
Click to expand...

The bilge pumps are usually wired directly to the battery with and in-line fuse within 7 inches of the battery so if you really want to turn them off remove the fuse.
 
It is very common to have leaks around the hatch--remember that the deck is cored, the edges are not epoxy sealed, the screw holes are not sealed. Even on the New Tom Cat I had to remove the hatch, and seal the edges, the screw holes, and fill with glass and filler because the hole was cut too big for the hatch. In the C Dory 25, I had to also remove the hatch, route out a little wet core, fill with epoxy, properly bed with 4200 the hatch, and also some filling of the edge of the cut out.

If any question, remove the hatch, and check under--at the very least bed it properly.
 
Hi Dr. Bob!

What you say makes, but I think might be a bit beyond my skills. I have a friend who would not bat an eye at that task, so I'll enlist him to help out.

In the meantime, it appears my water issue may be greater than I imagined. Since it is a new topic, I'll start a new thread on the matter.

As always, thanks to you and everyone else for the help!

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mike
 
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