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Franklinstower
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Joined: September 21, 2006
Posts: 2010
Location: PNW
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 Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:51 pm Post subject: Mold in your Van? Try this |
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I subscribe to a sailboat forum called the $tingy $ailor. Always good tips and I always have felt a Westy is simply a sailboat on the road so why not try some of the boat tricks on the Westy.
Here is a recent article on controlling and stopping mold/mildew:
Stopping, cleaning, controlling mold:
The great myth of boat ownership—other than believing that everything takes 3 times as long and costs 4 times as much as you expect—is that mildew is ubiquitous. No matter how leak-tight, no matter how well maintained, it is always there. Well, I disagree wholeheartedly, and I challenge anyone to find any in my cabin. How have I dodged this scourge?
First, do keep the boat leak-tight. That means no water in the bilge and no leaks around deck hardware. Not that hard if you mount things right. Strong enough so they don’t move, bedded with polyurethane caulk or butyl rubber.
Second, if there is a leak that starts some growth, treat it right. In fact, I’ve learned far more at home, cleaning a basement that has fallen victim to occasional flooding, than around boats. The key is a cleaner with the following characteristics:
• Controlled alkaline pH. Mold and mildew prefer slightly acidic conditions. While vinegar has a faithful following, I was able to demonstrate in head-to-head testing that in damp conditions alkaline treatments are more effective.
• No food. Again, vinegar is a problem because it becomes mildew food when the dampness returns and can actually accelerate growth. Likewise, soaps and detergents are a problem; the mildew uses them as food.
• Can be left in place and NOT rinsed off. Or rather, the rinse must contain the inhibitor. For this reason, do NOT increase the dosage in the hope that more is better, it isn’t.
• Contains an additional agent that is toxic to mildew. In the second formula that I recommend below, borax is a powerful anti-mold agent and anti-bacterial.
• Not bleach. While bleach can be effective on the surface, it is damaging to many surfaces and then when it dries, the pH is far too high.
You could troop down to your local home improvement store and pay many dollars per gallon for pennies worth of chemical in a bottle. Plastic, shipping, markup, and paying for know-how all cost. Or you could simply brew up something at home that has proven to be more effective.
Unlike bleach, both of these formulas require some scrubbing. Some pre-soak time helps to kill the organisms and loosen the bonds. After that, add a little elbow grease. If you need to rinse, remember to re-treat to provide protection from re-infection.
Formula #1
Concrobium is a top performer in many independent tests. It is also dead simple, easily formulated from stuff you can get at stores you already go to.
DIY Concrobium knock-off formula:
• 1 quart hot water
• 1 tablespoon baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
• 2 tablespoons washing soda (sodium carbonate)
• 2 tablespoons TSP (trisodium phosphate)
This works better than all the commercial formulas on natural fibers and better than 90% of the commercial formulas on synthetics (there are a few specialty formulas based on silicone quaternary amines that are more effective on synthetics). But in head-to-head testing using canvas strips in special mildew chambers and on old PFDs I treated in strips and then left under a backyard shed, the clear winner was always a borax-based cleaner of my own formulation. Again, the key is to maintain the correct concentrations. Don’t add any detergent, which will only become mildew food and leave the final rinse of this treatment to dry in-place. For most cleaning, all that is required is to spray the area until wet, scrub vigorously, and wipe off the excess.
Formula #2
This formula has been a lifesaver on wet basement carpets. The last time we had a flood, I had injured my back and was unable to get the carpet cleaner out for several weeks. It had begun to reek of mildew. However, going over the carpet with this borax formula, once as a cleaner, and then a second time as a rinse, not only removed most of the mud and mildew, but also killed the smell and prevented all growth, even though the carpet stayed wet for a few more days. The stuff is a miracle.
Borax mildew treatment:
• 1 quart hot water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
• 2 tablespoons borax (sodium borate)
• 1 tablespoon TSP (trisodium phosphate)
[$tingy note: If you don’t understand why there’s a picture of a 20 mule team with this post, ask your parents.]
By the way, it is also very effective for cleaning mildewed drywall before painting. The mildew will be killed, it will not return, and the residue will not affect paint adhesion.
Why is this formula not sold in stores? One reason is that claiming it kills mildew would require registering it as a pesticide. So long as common chemicals like borax are sold as generic ingredients, they are exempt from regulation, but the moment you formulate and make claims, the status changes.
But the real answer is that I don’t know. I can only assume that the sellers of cleaning agents believe folks will buy a bleach based, quick cleaning product, but can’t understand the benefits of prevention. They may be right, but I think sailors can understand.
So this is my gift to you, the most effective anti-mildew cleaner available for pennies. Enjoy.
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'89 Westy - EJ25/22 Frank 4.44 5mt
'75 Miami Blue Sunroof FI Standard Bug
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dobryan 
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Joined: March 24, 2006
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Location: Brookeville, MD
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Sodo
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Joined: July 06, 2007
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Location: Western WA
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:11 pm Post subject: Re: Mold in your Van? Try this |
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excellent info!
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85Joker
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Joined: February 16, 2010
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Location: Ventura, CA
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 8:36 pm Post subject: Re: Mold in your Van? Try this |
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I wish new this when I redid my poptop fur. Bleach failed to kill the mildew/mold and I scraped it all off with a razor blade and glued in a headliner.
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ThankYouJerry
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Joined: September 01, 2012
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Location: Shakedown Street
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| Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 9:47 pm Post subject: Re: Mold in your Van? Try this |
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Great info! There is a lot of scientific info about why you should NOT use bleach to clean mold and I wholeheartedly agree!
I bought my Westy 4 years ago and the pop-top was covered in black mold. I scrubbed it with 1 cup Borax to 1 gallon water. Haven't seen a single spot of mold since.
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djkeev
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bluebus86
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Joined: September 02, 2010
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| Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 9:55 am Post subject: Re: Mold in your Van? Try this |
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ill give it a go on a white car that always has black mold growing on the paint. The car has black pokadots all over of mold. bleach works for a while, but it always comes back.
ps I use baking soda powderto demold musty old books. put book in a plastic bag, add the soda, get it between the pages then let it set for a week. this greatly reduces the old book odor and it high pH as suggested. baking soda is also good to use on plants that have powdery meldew. mix up a solution of backing soda in water and spray on the afflicted plants. the plant mold does not like the high pH that this solution provides.
dont ignore mold, when on cloth, the mold actually destroys the cloth over time, or at least it does to some clothc (ie mouse fuzz headliners)
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