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Old 10-19-2016, 06:33 AM   #1
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Name: Ralph
Trailer: Scamp 16
Georgia
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Mildew Smell

Hi....I'm a brand new owner of a 1998 Scamp 16 which has been sitting idly in a neighbors yard for the last 7 years (parked on grass). Aside from scraping loose pint and a bit of rust and re-coating the frame, I need to address the moderate interior mildew aroma. The floor walls and ceiling are carpeted and I am hoping I don't have to replace it because its in good shape. The Scamp is bare bones with one closet, the bottom 25% houses an a/c, a full bed aft and twin bunks (I will be removing) forward. I plan on doing some mods but first need to address the mildew smell...any product recommendations or advice appreciated...thanks, Ralph
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Old 10-19-2016, 07:31 AM   #2
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Trailer: Scamp 19 ft 5th Wheel
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Mold Control is what I use to clean an treat suspected mold. No real odor, does not bleach material and it prevents mold from coming back. Do not try to cover the odor up with Fabreze, you will then have to deal with another odor. Amazon also sells bags of charcoal to eliminate odors in confined spaces.
Eddie
http://concrobium.com/
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Old 10-19-2016, 11:17 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dosrios View Post
Hi....I'm a brand new owner of a 1998 Scamp 16 which has been sitting idly in a neighbors yard for the last 7 years (parked on grass). Aside from scraping loose pint and a bit of rust and re-coating the frame, I need to address the moderate interior mildew aroma. The floor walls and ceiling are carpeted and I am hoping I don't have to replace it because its in good shape. The Scamp is bare bones with one closet, the bottom 25% houses an a/c, a full bed aft and twin bunks (I will be removing) forward. I plan on doing some mods but first need to address the mildew smell...any product recommendations or advice appreciated...thanks, Ralph
Start by opening up the camper and thoroughly airing it out, then take your vacuum to everything. Address mildew where you actually find it.
The good news is that your Scamp only has carpet on the floor.
The walls are covered with a marine grade fabric which is easily cleaned and not prone to hold moisture or host mildew.
Remove your cushions and open all compartments when airing the trailer, treat them as a separate cleaning project if needed.
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Old 10-19-2016, 11:27 AM   #4
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Name: John
Trailer: 1979 Boler 1700
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Dealing with mold and mildew

We've had to deal with mold and mildew in all 3 of our FG campers. First we had to find the mold/mildew and then find and fix the cause, usually a water leak. To treat mold/mildew, we use diluted bleach and Scrubbing Bubbles with bleach. To permanently eradicate it, once dry, we apply Concrobium. Concrobium can be applied to any surface, including hard surfaces, fabric and carpeting.

Edit: I should mention that when using Concrobium after bleach, directions state:
"If you’ve already treated a moldy area with bleach in the past, you should first wipe the area down with warm water and detergent to remove the layer. Once the area is dry, apply Concrobium Mold Control as recommended in the usage instructions."
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:31 PM   #5
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Name: Tom
Trailer: 1999 Casita Spirit Deluxe
South Carolina
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I've got a similar issue with my Casita. Just curious, when you say you treated the mildew with diluted bleach/scrubbing bubbles....was this on the carpet? cushions? I have found the worse problem with the cushion. I have just taken the covers off the cushions (hope I'll be able to get them back on!)... do you have recommendations as to how to clean? I would guess no bleach on the covers... Then the Concrobium after that?

Any advice would be appreciated!

-tom
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:39 PM   #6
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Trailer: Former 13’Scamp, now Snoozy
Arizona
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To get your cushions back into the covers, I used dry cleaning plastic bags placed over the foam....just slips right in and you can either leave the plastic in place or tear them off in pieces. I have never tried adding a vacuum cleaner hose to suck the air out of the bag, thus collapsing the foam to make placing them in the covers easy.
Dave & Paula
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Old 01-29-2017, 09:59 PM   #7
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Name: Kelly
Trailer: Trails West
Oregon
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Originally Posted by GerthT View Post
I've got a similar issue with my Casita. Just curious, when you say you treated the mildew with diluted bleach/scrubbing bubbles....was this on the carpet? cushions? I have found the worse problem with the cushion. I have just taken the covers off the cushions (hope I'll be able to get them back on!)... do you have recommendations as to how to clean? I would guess no bleach on the covers... Then the Concrobium after that?

Any advice would be appreciated!

-tom
If you can find one to buy or rent... get an ionizing air cleaner as it will kill the mildew spores that are on the materials. Just plug it in and leave the door and windows closed for a few days to a week. It can irritate your breathing to be in a small enclosed space with that type of air filter running so don't be in there while it is doing its thing. Very amazing little machines for getting rid of musty smells. Harder to find them nowadays vs a few years ago as California banned them. Check for them on craigslist if your budget is tight.

If you are going to wash cushion covers, curtains, throw rugs, etc in your washing machine I have found that putting some Lysol disinfecting cleaner into the wash load does an excellent job at removing odor in fabrics. It kills the mildew and bacteria as well as the musty odors more effectively than bleach. But DO NOT pour it (or spray it) directly onto fabric. Instead follow your machines instructions for adding bleach to the wash and put it in that way as otherwise you might get some spotting on some types of fabrics. For those of you who travel with dogs, this stuff is great for getting that dirty wet dog smell out of rugs and blankets when you wash them.

Washing in cold water and keeping your dryer on the low heat setting is also an important thing to do. You won't know if those fabrics were pre-shrunk so you do need to cold water wash and cool cycle dry them.

concobrium amounts to keeping things ventilated to keep moisture under control. If you are not using the trailer but do have a plug in for power you can run the ionizing air cleaner now and again to kill any spores before they start a major colonizing action.

Borates are mold preventative. It is easy to wash omany surfaces with some Borax laundry powder additive in the washing solution. The pressure treated wood is nowadays treated with borates. They add it to blown in recycled insulation in attics to help prevent mold. You can use it for steam cleaning carpets. Here is a link for those instructions. https://www.20muleteamlaundry.com/us...ets-with-borax
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Old 01-30-2017, 05:57 AM   #8
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Trailer: Boler 13 ft / Casita FD
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[QUOTE=k corbin;625326]If you can find one to buy or rent... get an ionizing air cleaner as it will kill the mildew spores that are on the materials. Just plug it in and leave the door and windows closed for a few days to a week. It can irritate your breathing to be in a small enclosed space with that type of air filter running so don't be in there while it is doing its thing. Very amazing little machines for getting rid of musty smells. Harder to find them nowadays vs a few years ago as California banned them. Check for them on craigslist if your budget is tight.

so Corbin, from you post I assume that this Ionizer will actually eliminate the odor over a period of time and will not come back. I question that.
While working in campground, one of the workers had a motor home and ran one of these Ionized air cleaners but he had to run it all the time, otherwise the oder would be back in a few days.
I have seen these units at camp shows and asked this of the sales reps and they said if you can ELIMINATE the mold/mildew then run the machine it will get the odors out but until you can get 100% of that taken care of the odor will come back.
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Old 01-30-2017, 08:15 AM   #9
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Try this
Kanberra Gel - Tea Tree Oil Airborne
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