mould on elevating roof

[Posset]

Hi there. I’m a newbie to the site having bought our Bongo (aka Bessie) 2 months ago and would appreciate some advise from you clever (and more experienced) Bongo nuts (I place myself proudly in that same category). The roof has been closed up for 3 weeks since our last camping trip and today, when I opened it up, I noticed early stages of mould on the material inside. We had left sleeping bags inside the roof area – could this be causing the problem? How do others keep mould from forming and any ideas on how I can treat this area now (I’ve left the roof up for the time being)? Many thanks.

[Ron Miel]

Hi there. I’m a newbie to the site having bought our Bongo (aka Bessie) 2 months ago and would appreciate some advise from you clever (and more experienced) Bongo nuts (I place myself proudly in that same category). The roof has been closed up for 3 weeks since our last camping trip and today, when I opened it up, I noticed early stages of mould on the material inside. We had left sleeping bags inside the roof area – could this be causing the problem? How do others keep mould from forming and any ideas on how I can treat this area now (I’ve left the roof up for the time being)? Many thanks.

Dilute (3-6%) hydrogen peroxide solution, asap, then rinse off and dry thoroughly - use a hair dryer. Reproof from inside, with Nikwax or similar, if water goes through it.

[haydn callow]

a few drops of "oil of cloves" (any chemist or on line) in a pint of warm water and spray inside of tent....this will shift the mould and KILL the spores. The smell of cloves will soon go away

[seventiesboy]

Also, as with any tent or awning, make sure it has plenty of time to dry if it is going to be left shut for some time. The condensation, if left, will encourage mould formation.

I would aslo suggest that the sleeping bags be properly aired too.

[Posset]

Thanks very much for this info. I'd only heard of oil of cloves in connection with toothache and peroxide in connection with peroxide blondes! I'm clearly on a steep learning curve here. I'll get the sleeping bags out now and air them in the house ready for next week's trip.

[Ron Miel]

Hydrogen peroxide solution here http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keyw ... usdl6gw1_b - or from Boots, although probably more expensive there. If you spray it on the fabric, wear a mask and protect eyes. It applying by sponge (I do), ideally use rubber gloves, although quickly rinsed hands seem OK. An alternative is Milton proprietary sterilsing fluid. Either way, leave it to work for a couple of hours before thoroughly rinsing/drying. However drying (hair dryer or not), leave side door and top front curved zip open, to get some air flow through and actually remove residual airborne moisture - do it on a dry day, of course.

[g8dhe]

Another simpler solution is the Dettol Mould and Mildew remover, it comes as a spray. Use plenty of ventilation and wipe down afterwards with a wet cloth. We have used all the other solutions above they all work, but for simplicity the spay is easiest! We haven't found a permanent solution, after three weeks away of sleeping and cooking in a Bongo with AFT the damp will gather and the spores will land (from the air) and start growing The only permanent solution is to keep is dry at all times then the spores can't grow. We haven't found a method of doing that in 4 years!

[Posset]

Thanks Geoff. Can you tell me if you've used the Dettol product as their website doesn't suggest that it's suitable for fabric? If so, did you have any problems with it eg colour patchiness?

[Ron Miel]

.........the Dettol product as their website doesn't suggest that it's suitable for fabric?

It definitely isn't - read camping forums. It works fine to kill mould, and I think Geoff has mentioned his use of it before, so he's been doing it for a while, and presumably so far had no probs.

However, it contains a strongish bleach solution and therefore weakens cotton and other natural fibres, unless it is chemically neutralised - not just rinsed in water. It's even worse on synthetics, where its effects cannot be neutralised. On the back of the Dettol (actually Dettox) container, it clearly says in red lettering, "Do not use on fabrics and clothes".

Also see http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/neutra ... arge.shtml - also note there that 3% hydrogen peroxide solution is one of the chemicals recommended to neutralise bleach if you do use it, but why do so when hydrogen peroxide itself kills mould, without the unwanted side effects?

The tent fabric in an AFT is tough old stuff but I still wouldn't want to weaken mine by leaving bleach residues in its fibres. One day, it will eventually mean small holes appearing, and a bad case could even cause a tear during a gale. You certainly won't be able to waterproof it, once there's bleach in there, as the fibre structure will keep altering, breaking any proofing bonds.

Ever got bleach on a cotton shirt or similar, and rinsed it off quickly? I have more than once, when using Dettox or similar above my head, to de-mould a mould-prone ceiling in our utility room. The shirt gets relegated to gardening use due to bleach discolouration, and then eventually gets binned when holes start appearing.

[g8dhe]

Well we are into the 4th year of using Dettol and no bad signs yet, we have also used the other methods, colour fastness is fine on both the tent fabric and the material covering the baseboards. We note all the comments and statements but it works and so far nothing has changed colour or fallen into bits - it might do so tomorrow but not today!

[mikeonb4c]

Have a search on 'Dettol AND Astonish AND clove' and that should bring up some of the many discussions there have beenvon this one. I think Astonish is the peroxide cleaner, and I'm guessing Ron is right in what he says (though anything that bleaches must have some deleterious effect I imagine ). I'm unable to source it so use Fertile.

[mikeonb4c]

Errrrrr.....for Fertile read Dettol. Curse this predictive text stuff ha ha

[Ron Miel]

........Geoff has mentioned his use of it before, so he's been doing it for a while, and presumably so far had no probs......

........so far nothing has changed colour or fallen into bits - it might do so tomorrow.......

....and my son has smoked for more than 15 years without yet falling to bits - but unfortunately there is a high probability that one day it will get him, as it did my father. No, I didn't say "certainty".

Even though you like it Geoff, why advise other people to use a bleach product when the chemistry says don't, and when there's an alternative chemical which does the job equally well and rinses out with no risk of leaving harmful residues?

I wouldn't want to be responsible for the peeps, not as careful at rinsing out the bleach as you are, who then complain that they've more rapidly damaged their AFTs by following your advice - and there will be some.

[dunslair]

Best to keep the roof hatch open and the sun roof slid open to allow air to circulate when not using the van. We take the roof matress out as soon as it gets a bit chilly to help with air circulation, and we dont keep anything stored up there. also running the climate control helps keep the humidity down on the colder days, when you have passengers in the back.

[g8dhe]

But Hydrogen Peroxide is a bleach so not quite sure what your saying ..... yes Sodium hypochlorite does also degrade fibre but given the number of times its going to be used (4 times or so a year in our case) its not like washing sheets weekly in bleach and then finding that the sheet tears after a few years.

Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach (a solution of approximately 3–6% sodium hypochlorite, NaClO), lye, oxygen bleach (which contains either hydrogen peroxide or a peroxide-releasing compound), and bleaching powder (calcium hypochlorite).

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach for more details also of course http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_peroxide
and for the Dettol type bleach see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite