mold/mildew smell

[keith meddaugh]

Hi,
We have been having a hard time getting rid of the mold/mildew smell in our pop up. We bought it used and sprayed the inside with a 50-50 fix of bleach and water. Still has that smell. The wife can't sleep , and wants to get rid of the camper. Any suggestions would be great.

[srds]

At Wally world they have a product that removes dampness from areas,I can't remember name of it but it's in the washing powder supplies.They are li'l canisters you peal top off and place in area. They work great in friends camper that had musky smell.


 P.S.
   The name product is DampRid

[austinado16]

I wonder if you're foam mattresses and/or the upholstery in the beds...or even the seats, has gotten damp at some point and picked up that smell?

Might be worth popping it up in the driveway or back yard, leaving everything unzipped, and then take all the mattresses and cushions out and let them lay in the sun and bake for a few days.  Then Fabreeze the heck out of them and put them back, and leave the camper up and unzipped for a few more days.

I guess if you wanted to really tear into it, you could take the fabric off all the cushions and mattresses and blast it all with a garden hose, spray it down with Simple Green, blast it again until it's rinsed, and then hang up to dry.

Did you guys put the canvas away wet and forget to dry it when you got home?  Or, like in my PUP, does it have a roof leak and the roof is starting to hold water and rot inside?

[keith meddaugh]

It has no leaks as far as I can see. I will take the cushions and bedding off and wash it and let it dry.  We just got back from camping and it is airing out now. We are camping again at the end of September in Door County for a week. She says she will sleep at a hotel if it still smells.

Thanks for the help

[ScouterMom]

Todd's got it right - lots of Febreeze and sunny air drying.  It might help, too if for a while, or over the winter, when you store the camper, you leave the cushions and cloth OUT - like store it in the basement or garage attic.  anything porus ( like fabric, wood, foam) will absorb smells and hold them.  the more airflow around everything, the less likely it is to hold the smells.

That's assuming that your camper just smells mildewy because of the fabric being damp at one time.  But you need to check and make sure that there is no wet WOOD or foam - if there is, no amount of febreeze or bleach is going to fix it.  you'd have to replace the rotted wood.

I have some rather severe allergies and mold and mildew are a huge triggers for me.  Yet I have only had 70's vintage campers.  So use the febreeze liberally - take EVERYTHING apart - covers off down to the bare foam - soak the foam with febreeze multiple times and let it bake in the sun.  WAsh the covers in the washing machine - you can even get Febreeze for the laundry.  Febreeze the inside of the wooden cabinets; get a few of those odor absorbing things - there are a variety of them and lots work. Some are jars of waxy/ jelly like stuff that absorb moisture as well as odors.  I found one that is 'activated charcoal' - I keep it in my van to keep the 'doggy' smell down - it absorbs odors and all you have to do is leave it out in the sun to 'recharge' every 4-6 months. When you store your camper, put one in every enclosed space.  

You can also febreeze the canvas itself.  do both sides and let it dry thouroughly. open the screens and do them inside and out, too. you may have to re- waterproof afterwards - but that's a spray, too, and easy to apply.

If all of that doesn't eliminate the smell, then you can get new cushions and fabric for the interior, or you can get plastic mattress covers for the mattresses and seal them up.  I had to take all my canvas off for other reasons, (to repair rotted roof, another mold problem) but it's not that difficult to take the canvas off, and I scrubbed the whole thing on top of the picnic table, both sides, with a scrub brush, and then soaked each section of canvas in Oxyclean ( another great, gentle, cleaning product) in a plastic kiddie pool,  and then hung the sections to dry on the line in the back yard.  



Even my mom, who has the most sensitive and critical nose I know - says my old camper smells fresh and clean - even after first opening it when it's been closed up for a few weeks.  She's impossible to please - so I KNOW it's clean!

Good luck with yours!

Laura

[keith meddaugh]

Thanks so much Laura and Todd. I took out the cushions out lastnight and opened up camper to air out. I will take off canvas after next weekend and scrub , like in your picture. We do want to replace the foam in our bedding, it is worn and not very comfortable. I will febreeze everything before our next trip and hopefully the wife can sleep alittle bit better if it doesn't smell as bad.
Thanks for all your input.

Take care
Keith

[sewserious]

Fabreeze won't permantly remove odors, it is really just a glorified air freshener!  When you do finally get everything cleaned up, remember to wash all those cushion covers and the curtains too, and you are ready to close the pup again, put some charcoal in there.  Plain old bbq charcoal will work, no instant-light kind.  Break up the briquettes into two or three pieces each and put a handful in several different plastic containers (I save the ones butter and sour cream, etc come in and wash them well) in the camper.  The charcoal will absorb odors.  

Even better than that, especially if you live where it gets humid (and that can include a lot of precipitation (snow and/or rain) not just relative humidity) use the charcoal and a dessicant.  You can find the dessicants at Wally World and such places, usually in the same area as the closet organizers.  Keeping the humidity way down will help the the musty (not musky, that is a whole different type of smell!) odors.  

The main thing is you have to get rid of the source of the odor first.

[austinado16]

....We do want to replace the foam in our bedding, it is worn and not very comfortable. Keith

Keith, 2 words.  Memory Foam.  Go to Costco, Sams, //www.overstock.com, Target, where ever and get yourselves the 3" or 4" Memory Foam Toppers.  I've got a $20 1-1/2" thick one on top of my daughter's bunk foam and that's good enough for her weight.  On ours, I've got a 3" one.  You guys will sleep better than you do at home.

You might.......before you tear the whole camper down......just try doing the foam matressess, cushions and fabric.  You may find that they were the ones storing all the odor.  Airing the canvas with the PUP open may just do the trick.   Sometimes less is more, if you know what I mean!

[vjm1639]

http://www.zeroodorstore.com/

[keith meddaugh]

Thank you all for your input. I noticed lastnight, when I removed all the cushions from pop up , it smelled alot better. We are going to wash the cushion covers for now and buy new padding. When I close up the pop up for season, we are going to make new covers and curtains.
Can't wait till next year!!

Thanks again




2003 Element
1990 Palomino Mustang
Me-47
DW-37
DD-2
DD or DS -soon to come

[LimeJeeeep]

we had the same problem and we used a clean air candle..the # is 407-5682904.we swear by it the 96 we had stunk terrible burner it inside overnight .and wahlah no more smell..i give you the # because there is no name on it..we did pick it up at the RV show last january...good luck

[ScouterMom]

Thank you all for your input. I noticed lastnight, when I removed all the cushions from pop up , it smelled alot better. We are going to wash the cushion covers for now and buy new padding. When I close up the pop up for season, we are going to make new covers and curtains.
Can't wait till next year!!

You might find, too - that once you get the smell down and your wife gets to make new covers and curtains, it will be much more 'hers' and she will like it much better.  

there's something about modifying these PUPs to your own family - you don't have to do major work - even the tiniest 'mod' like adding a curtain, installing a paper towel holder, a little paint - that 'bonds' you to the unit.  It's kinda like having a pet!   :J  


Laura

PS - come to think of it, maybe that's why we call them "PUP's" for short - because like a new Puppy, you adapt it to your lifestyle and make it a part of your family? :p

[keith meddaugh]

It was all the cushions. I took them out of the covers, washed and dried them. As for the foam, I did use Simple Green on them and they are airing out as we speak. They should be dry before our trip on Thursday.
Thanks so much for everyone and their ideas. I will post pics when we get back and let you know if the smell came back.