Mildew preventer for cabin......

j_k_bisson

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Oct 6, 2010
Messages
1,082
Looking for som advice from you guys that have your boats always in the water. You must get mildew build up due to having water in you bilages all the time. Spent 2 hours last night wiping everything down in the cabin of my Trophy. Even in the storage compartment wals and lids. Even cleaned the monkey fur on the wals before they got bad. I have found a product that really cleans that stuff up.

But back to me question, what do you guys use to reduce the moisture in your boats? What is the product. I do have a few leaks that I am slowly fixing as I determine them. But the forward bilage always has water in it after a day on the water. I trailer my boat so this issue should not be a big of a problem as some of your guys that keep your boats in the water.

So what do you use??? All advice is welcome, even home remidies........
 

Grand Larsony

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2008
Messages
221
Re: Mildew preventer for cabin......

Clean the boat 2-3x per year. Nothing will stop moisture when boat is on water, but I do try to open up the boat as much as possible (almost every day, and for days at a time when it's nice). Always allow for air circulation & venting, keep lockers & storage areas open, etc. I have no issues with mildew or mold.

Over the winter is when real problems can start. Try to store indoors if at all possible, or shrinkwrap outdoors if necessary. Provide plenty of venting but don't allow water to enter. Use commercial products like Damp-Rid and\or lump charcoal in plastic bins. Clean thoroughly before and after storage.

And then let it go. It's a boat and boats don't need to be sanitary. You gonna eat off your bilge?
 

Grand Larsony

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 13, 2008
Messages
221
Re: Mildew preventer for cabin......

And it's not the bilge water that usually causes interior mildew (although it doesn't help)... it's condensation from the boat getting warm\cool repeatedly. Moisture naturally forms like droplets on your beer can.
 

Thalasso

Commander
Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
2,879
Re: Mildew preventer for cabin......

Spray Lysol on everything before storing. you will have no mold
 

Boobie Trap

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 21, 2011
Messages
122
Re: Mildew preventer for cabin......

Do you have onboard A/C? Look at the manual and see if you have a humidity setting.

We have by turning the a/c on. Then pressing the on/off switch and colder switch at the same time. The read out window will show something like HU 1.

They also have electric de-humidifiers for boats. Works great also.
 

RogersJetboat454

Commander
Joined
Jul 9, 2010
Messages
2,964
Re: Mildew preventer for cabin......

Cheapest and easiest thing to do is get desiccant bags/cups from your favorite local big box store.

Brand that comes to mind is DampRid. Wally world has big boxes of this for cheap. Has a scent built in, kinda like an air freshener to keep things smelling better than mildew.

http://www.walmart.com/search/searc...ind=Find&_ta=1&search_query=damprid&_tt=Dampr

Or....

http://www.lowes.com/SearchCatalogDisplay?Ntt=damprid&langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&N=0

Or....

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZf4/h_d2/Navigation?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
 

25thmustang

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
1,849
Re: Mildew preventer for cabin......

I have one of those small damp rid buckets in the head (due to it being closed off). The rest of the boat I leave the portholes open. 100% of the time, 24/7/365 I leave them open. Have yet to get any water into the boat from them, and I have to imagine it does some to keep the moisture down. I don't recall ever having mold in the boat.
 
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