Condensation on the floor

[SkiBumEric]

Hello everyone!

I've built a teardrop over the last year and its been great! Ive run across a problem with my interior though. I live in Florida and humidity is obviously everpresent. I keep having moisture developing on the floor of the cabin, which develops into mildew under the mattress. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to prevent/mitigate this? I’m thinking of trying just adding a chunk of foam insulation under the mattress, but I'm not optomistic about it. The area that develops the most condensation is actually the part of my floor that is insulated. I have under floor storage on part of the floor that doesnt cause me any issues. Thanks in advance for your help!

-Eric

[mary and bob]

Look into Hypervent Marine condensation matting. I know of a couple people that use and like it, but have no experience with it myself.

[tony.latham]

Eric:

I don't have the answer since I live and camp where the humidity commonly gets down around 10%.

But out of curiousity, how think is your mattress?

T

[SkiBumEric]

The mattress is about 5 inches thick. I have a plastic cover around it to protect from the mildew. Its a pretty snug fit, so not much air movement underneath. I’ve looked into the Hypervent matting, but am hoping to find an option that doesn’t cost $140 to cover the area.

[desertmoose]

While in storage, could you lift the mattress and poke a couple of boxes/ blocks/ anything that would let the air circulate under the mattress?

Sam

[KennethW]

The mattress is about 5 inches thick. I have a plastic cover around it to protect from the mildew. Its a pretty snug fit, so not much air movement underneath. I’ve looked into the Hypervent matting, but am hoping to find an option that doesn’t cost $140 to cover the area.

How about getting some firing strips and make a pallet like rack under the bed.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[pchast]

https://www.amazon.com/Interlocking-Per ... B006QQFQ5G
http://www.americanfloormats.com/duragrid-deck-matting/
http://www.americanfloormats.com/free-f ... age-tiles/

There are other companies. I filled a 4x8 with similar for under a 100$.....

[working on it]

from another thread

I used re-purposed Keter plastic shelving for an under-mattress spacer/waterbarrier on my last trip. (Formerly used as garage shelving, now just piled in a corner, I have lots of 'em, so why not use them? I've been carrying a couple for camping use, since they are waterproof and easily stored.) I arranged several for best fit, tie-wrapped them to one another, and put the mattress(s) on top. Gives about 2 inches of airspace. I recommend them for thicker mattresses, only.

shelving.jpg (45.58 KiB) Viewed 507 times

I've probably slept on these underlying shelves>water shield>vapor dissipators for total of 11 nights in all, over 1.25 years (I think), and they really don't seem to be noticeable. At first, I was using 2x Ikea 4" thick foam mattresses, but now I m only using a single firm 4" quarter-folding mattress (with a thick, waterproof, upholstered cover on it) and a single sleeping bag, and I've never been uncomfortable or felt the plastic shelves below me. And, there is sufficient airflow under the mattress and the floor covering ( commercial rubber-backed carpeted mat, that I am able to just leave the mattress in place between trips, instead of periodically rising one side or the other off the floor, to prevent mildew (I don't know why, but I've never had to separate the mat from the polyurethaned floor; there's never been any moisture build-up between them). If you might have something similar just laying around, why not re-purpose them, and try my method?

[halfdome, Danny]

Hello everyone!

I've built a teardrop over the last year and its been great! Ive run across a problem with my interior though. I live in Florida and humidity is obviously everpresent. I keep having moisture developing on the floor of the cabin, which develops into mildew under the mattress. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to prevent/mitigate this? I’m thinking of trying just adding a chunk of foam insulation under the mattress, but I'm not optomistic about it. The area that develops the most condensation is actually the part of my floor that is insulated. I have under floor storage on part of the floor that doesnt cause me any issues. Thanks in advance for your help!

-Eric

We have in the past put some 1/2" foam insulation with the white plastic covering under the mattress to insulate between a cold exterior and a warm interior. It worked quite well but still got some mildew on just the foam.
I duck taped the raw edges with white duct tape.
I always cover my floor with plastic laminate to help keep moisture at bay.
Once in awhile, In warm weather, I'll remove the mattress, spray the under side with straight bleach and let it air dry in the sun.
The mattress was purchased in 2008 from the now defunked Knox Foam and it's still in great shape, considering it's been in 5 of our teardrops. Danny

[halfdome, Danny]

Hello everyone!

I've built a teardrop over the last year and its been great! Ive run across a problem with my interior though. I live in Florida and humidity is obviously everpresent. I keep having moisture developing on the floor of the cabin, which develops into mildew under the mattress. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to prevent/mitigate this? I’m thinking of trying just adding a chunk of foam insulation under the mattress, but I'm not optomistic about it. The area that develops the most condensation is actually the part of my floor that is insulated. I have under floor storage on part of the floor that doesnt cause me any issues. Thanks in advance for your help!

-Eric

We have in the past put some 1/2" foam insulation with the white plastic covering under the mattress to insulate between a cold exterior and a warm interior. It worked quite well but still got some mildew on just the foam mattress.
I duck taped the raw edges with white duct tape.
I always cover my floor with plastic laminate to help keep moisture at bay.
Once in awhile, In warm weather, I'll remove the mattress, spray the under side with straight bleach and let it air dry in the sun.
The mattress was purchased in 2008 from the now defunked Knox Foam and it's still in great shape, considering it's been in 5 of our teardrops. Danny

[coyote]

Leaving the vent open a bit, helps ME some on condensation.