# Mold



## SVArgo (Oct 10, 2007)

For the first time in three years living aboard we are battling mold on the teak. It's been a rainy month here on the Chesapeake, which is probably the largest contributing factor, but am curious to see what everyone's experience is and the best way to control it. 

I also wonder if, now that we've started getting most of our produce from the farmer's market, there are natural molds, yeasts, etc. on the produce and that's why it's becoming an issue. We regularly Murphy's Oil then lemon oil the teak, so I don't think my filthy lifestyle is at issue. 

Cheers


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## PorFin (Sep 10, 2007)

SVArgo said:


> For the first time in three years living aboard we are battling mold on the teak. It's been a rainy month here on the Chesapeake, which is probably the largest contributing factor, but am curious to see what everyone's experience is and the best way to control it.
> 
> I also wonder if, now that we've started getting most of our produce from the farmer's market, there are natural molds, yeasts, etc. on the produce and that's why it's becoming an issue. We regularly Murphy's Oil then lemon oil the teak, so I don't think my filthy lifestyle is at issue.
> 
> Cheers


Ryan,

Since you talk about using Oil Soap and lemon oil, I'm assuming you're talking about mold inside the cabin.

I think you are largely correct that the record setting rainfalls in MD this year are making the situation challenging. My guess is that the increased humity has got more spores in the air than normal, and like most you've probably kept your ports and hatches closed which has cut down on the amount of air flowing through the cabin. It is possible that your produce has been the vector for some of those spores, but they are likely not the sole cause.

Increasing the ventilation will help, but until the air dries out it's still going to be less than optimal.

As far as chemical prevention, I think the lemon oil's a good option. We've also used tea tree oil (which my wife thinks is better, but I can't tell any difference.)


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## dhays (Jul 9, 2010)

If you are plugged into shore power, I would suggest a small household dehumidifier.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Water Consistency 
Sodium Tallate Cleaning Agent 
Cymbopogon nardus (citronella) oil Pleasant Scent 
Lauramidopropylamine oxide Cleaning Agent 
Tetrasodium EDTA Maintains product stability 

I'd bet the cleaning agents (aka "soap") in Murphy's count as a yummy buffet to some molds. Mold grows where it is damp, warm, and there's any excuse for food. Maybe this has been a hot & humid enough summer so that with just a little "food", the problem just bloomed for you. A good scrubbing (to remove the mold & food) and then just oils, no soap, should help. Harsh oils, maybe citrus and tea tree, not olive oil, since any food-type oils are mold food too. Maybe add some salt into the mix as well?


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## SVArgo (Oct 10, 2007)

PorFin said:


> Ryan,
> 
> Since you talk about using Oil Soap and lemon oil, I'm assuming you're talking about mold inside the cabin.


Yep, inside the cabin. The cheap lemon oil is about all I can find around here, though I prefer Amazon's.

And if it would cool off a bit, I'd fire up the Espar and dispel the miasma.


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

i use vinegar on interior and sea water on exterior ....teak gets sea water and oil. mold dies with vinegar and doesnt come back readily unless your area is enclosed with humidity. 
on the exterior i use my seawater with a green 3m pad to remove all the dirt then oil or teak will turn balck.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

We've started using a new product called Kanberra gel this year. It is reportedly made from tea tree oil. We haven't had a serious mold problem, but have found this product to notably reduce boat odors. It claims to kill not just mask. It is pricey, but the refills are much more cost effective.

You place it out like an air freshener and it claims to vaporize and access places you can't reach. Ironically, I've found it to be more effective with less ventilation.

Kanberra Gel - Nature's Activated Protection


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## zboss (Mar 26, 2006)

In the beer brewing community we use oxiclean and trisodium phosphate mixed together in equal parts. It doesn't qualify as a sanitary cleaner but it does kill and clean just about everything, including mold. It's safe to use on stainless steel (kegs). Also, it's really cheap. It does remove grease, so you should probably follow it up with an oil. 

It will not provide residual protection though.

Use about 3 tables spoons of each per 5 gallons.


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

Like you, we've got a bumper crop of mold this year! And, like Zee, we use white vinegar. We then spray the surfaces with Amazon's from MDR (the green stuff, sorry, I don't have the bandwidth to give you a link right now) and leave a light film. I think the best solution, though, would be to go south ...


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

south is good--i found, however, some black mold in my slider on companionway--is still teak and leaky--oh welll.........just another new hatch cover to make........


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

On my topside teak, unfinished including decks, I use TSP when mold or mildew starts to appear. If it becomes irritatingly frequent I treat the decks with Boracal, a mildewcide. 

Mold and mildew hasn't been a big problem below. I use Murphy's Oil Soap to clean the woodwork a couple of times each year and wipe with a Swiffer pad in between. Any growth anywhere gets hit with vinegar.


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## zz4gta (Aug 15, 2007)

Anyone use a mini dehumidifier in their boat?


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## zboss (Mar 26, 2006)

You can try and use the old road salt in a bucket trick. Just put a bucket of road salt inside another bucket making sure the bucket with the road salt in it has some holes in the bottom to let water through. This will dehumidify while the boat is closed up.

You can use smaller ones in areas normally shut off.


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## LookoutNW (Sep 24, 2011)

zz4gta said:


> Anyone use a mini dehumidifier in their boat?


Here in RAINOPOLIS.... I have one that is a 30 pint unit. It is on 24/7. I get at least 2 gallons a day easily. Columbia 45, lots of space below.
I am looking at the smaller ones that only do about 2 pints a day. 12DC, emergency back up watermaker, in case the membranes fails... Might get a couple of them. They are not too much of an energy hog.


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## Paul_L (Sep 16, 2004)

I've been using Murphy's Soap to clean on the interior. Then a wipe down with fresh water. When dry a wipe down with white vinegar. This seems to be keeping the little mold devils at bay in the tropics.


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## RobGallagher (Aug 22, 2001)

Amazon's mold cleaner took the mold off my interior teak and it has yet to return.
Their inflatable boat cleaner is also magical.
Usual disclaimers apply.


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

Mold propagates from spores ... found commonly in the atmosphere.

To control mold you must 
1. remove the mold from ALL places from where its propagating ... including all the hidden spaces, all the space UNDER and behind whats 'visible'. You have to clean/kill/remove the 'fruiting bodies' that produces the 'spores', its the spores that cause to 'spread'. 
1a. Mold has to be REMOVED not just 'killed' as successive invasive species (other species of mold, mildew, bacteria, etc.) will use the 'dead' cells as their nutrient source . Mold is 'best removed' by dissolving it using caustic products to break-up and liquify the cells. My favorite 'boat caustic' is Tuff'eNuff a sodium silicate based detergent - common in boat chandleries on the East Coast but can be special ordered from WM, etc. - EXPENSIVE!. 
Mold shouldnt ever be 'disturbed' when dry ... as that will only 'broadcast' spread the spores. You MUST wet-out the mold (spritzing, etc.) before 'disturbing'. Some mold species and spores are VERY dangerous/toxic when in contact with your respiratory tract - you MUST use a mask or respirator, and mold or mildew that is 'black' should be under extreme suspicion of being VERY DANGEROUS.

Cleaning includes the VENT of your water tank - a most ideal container for the growth of mold and its spores.

2. Prevention .... mold spores will NOT propagate on 'caustic' or alkaline surfaces. Our ancestors covered 'everything' possible in white-wash and hardly ever had a mold/mildew problem. A modern form of whitewashing is to 'spritz'/spray highly-caustic detergents on those chemically compatible (non painted / non-bare wood / non-varnished) surfaces and simply let dry.
2a. Avoid oil based wood finishes and 'soaps', etc. ... simply FOOD for mold.

3. When closing up the boat for long term storage, consider to use ParaFormaldehyde Crystals --- sprinkled into a heap on a glass plate. The crystals will develop into a
gas that will prevent spores from 'activating'. ParaF gas is also VERY toxic to human lungs ... so you need to hold your breath and thoroughly air-out the boat before removing the crystals. ParaF will certainly not be available in areas where the 'environmental' activity is high.

You can temporarily keep mold under control by wiping painted/varnished/bare wood, etc. surfaces with vinegar, clorox .... but must be repeated 'often' to keep the surface 'acid level' higher than what will produce mold/mildew growth - although molds/mildews prefer slightly acidic surfaces, etc. for accelerated growth. A good 'killer' is Tile-X but may 'bleach' some surfaces or 'raise' some paints, etc. if left in long contact.

If you want to control and prevent mold, you must return the entire boat including all the hidden and inaccessible spaces to a sanitary and 'hygienic' state (good luck with that if your boat is 'pan' or 'molded liner' construction). 
Someone mentioned oxyclean + peroxide is OK; but, there are stronger and more effective 'killers' ... but you really need chemical and chemical safety expertise to use them (mixtures of peracteic acid + peroxide, quaternary ammonium compounds, etc.) You must either know or have to remember that fungals have a quite similar cell structure to humans/animals so what kills/dissolves mold/mildew can also do the same thing to human tissue/cells, etc.

Complete 'Hygiene' is the solution - you eventually and periodically have to clean/scrub every damn inch inside the boat. Mold thrives on exfoliated human skin cells and each human body sheds 'zillions' per day.
Wear your 'mask' or respirator.

hope this helps.

;-)


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## wooden (Oct 27, 2011)

Prevention is better than cure, I have lived wooden boats for years and the last thing I want is any mold of any type, the way I combat it is ventilation when ever it has been raining, as soon as it stops I open all vents,ports,hatches,ect but leave the heating going on low, this helps lift the warm damp air out of the boat and drys it out well. 
A electric fan heater is a great form of dry heat
If you have oil lamps don't use them when the boat is shut up Kerosine, gives of a lot of water vapor when it is burned, also if you I don't know how you cook or heat the boat, but Propane also gives of water vapor.
When you are not on the boat, vent it as much as you can, as temp changes between the outside of the boat and the warm air stuck inside the boat it will condensate, and provide a great home for the mold 
I find Lysol great for mold 
Hope this helps


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

i find mold stays away when i use vinegar once per year on my overhead. love it. very easy.


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## neverknow (Feb 2, 2011)

Ozone will also kill mold/mildew. It will also eliminate odors. A complete cleaning like Rich suggested combined with a Ozone treatment for 24 hrs and your boat should be fine.


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## Seaduction (Oct 24, 2011)

White Vinegar Works. I also quit oiling the teak interior. I think the little mold buggars love the stuff.


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## LookoutNW (Sep 24, 2011)

neverknow said:


> Ozone will also kill mold/mildew. It will also eliminate odors. A complete cleaning like Rich suggested combined with a Ozone treatment for 24 hrs and your boat should be fine.


I may be wrong, but I think I read somewhere taht ozone is not good for rubber and plastics. Having this discussion before on another forum, we discussed it in depth.
It seems that OZONE generators for a 24 hour period are not too bad for the rubber and FRG but continued use is. Also 24 hours of OZONE saturation will kill all mold, mildew and pretty much all odors.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Yes, ozone rots rubber, plastics, greases, and more. Like bleach it is best used in moderation. And since it kills the crud, but doesn't remove it, the dead crud now becomes food for the next wave of live crud that comes in with fresh air. Still got to reach the inaccessible places to scrub them down.


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## LookoutNW (Sep 24, 2011)

Agreed about the scrubbing. I got everywhere I could without removal of the FRG liner. Am hoping that the dehumidifier at 45% will keep it at bay tilll I can get out of Rainopolis. Air flow will help greatly when I get to warmer drier areas. I have modified my boat to keep the airflow maximized but need to be able to open it without the water flowing in...


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## neverknow (Feb 2, 2011)

hellosailor said:


> Yes, ozone rots rubber, plastics, greases, and more. Like bleach it is best used in moderation. And since it kills the crud, but doesn't remove it, the dead crud now becomes food for the next wave of live crud that comes in with fresh air. Still got to reach the inaccessible places to scrub them down.


Ozone is a good choice for deodorizing. of coarse use it sparingly.

A good choice might be to clean all surfaces with vinegar that you can reach and than open all floor boards and cabinet doors treat with ozone. That way you get the food for the next generation plus kill any spores that might be floating around. The ozone will deodorize too. We've even used it to get rid of fuel smells. Just some ideas.


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

I just cut up another oak pallet and run it thru the wood stove.


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

Here's an example of modern 'whitewash' (caustic) that can help control mold/mildew: 3M Marine Mildew Block Spray

Mildew/fungals, etc. easily propagate on 'acidic' surfaces; 'caustics' will prevent the spores from 'activating' 3M Marine Mildew Block Spray

The use of vinegar (a weak acid) although will briefly kill fungals because of relatively high 'acid', actually 'enhances' the site for future infection. The use of 'caustics' (whitewashing, etc.) has been the remedy for 'thousands of years'.

Most the plant pathologists and 'mycologists' Ive been associated with over the years would also from time to time recommend the use of TIN (stannic) compounds ... such as found in clear 'athletes foot remedies' to solve 'problem' re-infestations. I sometimes use a drug store product called "Tinacton" (athlete foot remedy) for my 'repetitive problem areas' on the boat.


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## ardoin (Mar 8, 2008)

On the exterior, clorox and/or TSP works great.
On the interior, vinegar works okay, but the best is the old fashion Lysol in the brown bottle. You can find it at older grocery stores or older hardware stores. This is not the "lemon" or other junk sold by Lysol, you want the stuff that smells like iodine. Dilute it properly and then use it to wipe done the surfaces. Also works great on Frig seals. The stuff is great! That's why your grandmother used it! This is the best disinfectant.... a small dab on a fever blister will burn like hell, but you will be cured  It is "liquid duct tape"


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Any old timer knows the best possible remedy to mold and unnecessary filth is gramma's lye soap.As a child I helped to make this wonderful concoction.To find out more go to Grandma's Lye Soap: Good for Everything in the Home? .Be sure to sing along.It was banned for a while by religious rollers.


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

We had some stubborn mold/staining that nothing seemed to work on, including the more expensive caustic sprays and scrubbing. Then just for kicks I tried baking soda + water and the black stuff washed away just like a bad infomercial. Only thing I could figure is that there's more than one strain of mold; some hate acid environments like vinegar & lemon oil; others hate basic environments (baking soda or ammonia). Found this site which seems to confirm my theory: How to Kill & Remove Mold with Bleach, Borax, Vinegar, Ammonia


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