Removing musty smell

[Senny]

Our water heater relief value failed, resulting in it blowing.
We were sitting enjoying an evening I was reading a book, DH was in bedroom on his laptop. We heard a noise and I jumped ran toward back. Heard something in bathroom, opened door to a face full of steam. Slammed door and we proceed to run around like a chicken with its head off. Finally got it under control. Like off.
We got home, used a wet/dry vac, had heater on. Well, I guess I missed something.
I opened RV up this week end and wow it had that musty smell. I couldn't get under the wall so sure some of smell is there.
Water was on outside bathroom door, flowing into the kitchen. under the bench seat. We cleaned we thought but must of missed a lot.
Now my question is how do we get rid of the smell. We are sure we got outside bins that had water in them cleaned up, took the rug material out.

Any ideas will be welcome.

[carl.swoyer]

Places a dehumidifier in the camper.
Some have drain pumps with a 1/4 " hose to allow for draining into a sink or shower. Cost about 150 but worth it.

[DonR]

setting out bowls of vinegar will help with the smell especially if you can get some air moving across it.

[Trapper2022]

Originally Posted by carl.swoyer

Places a dehumidifier in the camper.
Some have drain pumps with a 1/4 " hose to allow for draining into a sink or shower. Cost about 150 but worth it.

X2
They really work. Use one whenever rig is in storage.

Enjoy the journey

[wolfe10]

Originally Posted by trapper2020

X2
They really work. Use one whenever rig is in storage.

Enjoy the journey

GOOD ANSWER. 30 pint home dehumidifiers (most box stores) are NOT expensive and do a great job.

[fagnaml]

When not in use, I keep my motorhome in covered storage about 15 miles from my home. Being in the Houston area, moisture (i.e. humidity) and air temperature are both always high which easily leads to "muggy and musty" inside an RV (or house) that sits idle without A/C. Since my motorhome is miles away, I am fearful of having a 110 volt powered de-humidifier running unattended.

So, I place a couple of buckets of Damprid in my motorhome (one in the kitchen sink for the front half of the motorhome) and one in the master bathroom located in the rear of my motorhome. The "dessicant" (calcium chloride) in these buckets dose a remarkable job of absorbing moisture and preventing a musty odor. I replace the Damprid buckets when they have absorbed as much moisture as possible (i.e. replace ~once per year). Here is a link to the Damprid website for more info --> https://damprid.com/product/hi-capac...free-4-lb-tub/

Damprid also manufactures a combination dessicant / odor absorber that may be useful to remove your musty odor --> https://damprid.com/product/disposab...-charcoal-rvs/

Hope this info is useful !!

[Persistent]

Once mold has established itself, it will continue to be a problem. It may take less than 24 hours of being warm and wet to establish itself. A dehumidifier will lower the humidity enough to stop growth and the smell will abate slowly.

From now on, you will probably need to keep the inside at a low humidity to keep the smell from coming back. The lower, the better.

In freezing weather, an electric space heater will keep the humidity low. In mild or hot weather a dehumidifier will keep the humidity low.

You may be able to switch to chemical dehumidifiers after the coach has been thoroughly dry for a while. The weather will determine if chemical dehumidifiers will be adequate.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[Busskipper]

Originally Posted by Senny

Our water heater relief value failed, resulting in it blowing.
We were sitting enjoying an evening I was reading a book, DH was in bedroom on his laptop. We heard a noise and I jumped ran toward back. Heard something in bathroom, opened door to a face full of steam. Slammed door and we proceed to run around like a chicken with its head off. Finally got it under control. Like off.
We got home, used a wet/dry vac, had heater on. Well, I guess I missed something.
I opened RV up this week end and wow it had that musty smell. I couldn't get under the wall so sure some of smell is there.
Water was on outside bathroom door, flowing into the kitchen. under the bench seat. We cleaned we thought but must of missed a lot.
Now my question is how do we get rid of the smell. We are sure we got outside bins that had water in them cleaned up, took the rug material out.

Any ideas will be welcome.

Vinegar and Oxy - Clean - Clean - Clean.............then if the smell is driving you crazy try activated charcol to remove the SMELL - https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Bamboo+Ch...ref=nb_sb_noss

It WORKS..

JMHO,

[Bob_C]

Damprid can be reused....dry it out in an oven.....

[wolfe10]

Originally Posted by fagnaml

Since my motorhome is miles away, I am fearful of having a 110 volt powered de-humidifier running unattended.

Not sure I understand the concern-- we leave a 30 pint house-type dehumidifier on in motorhomes and also the sail boat and have for several decades. We even do this over the summer/fall on the boat which is on the hard 1,000 miles from here.


Only caution-- I would not plug it into an inverter-powered outlet with the inverter turned on. A loss of power would drain the batteries. So, either a non-inverter powered outlet or inverter turned OFF.


Either securely on the kitchen counter draining into the sink/gray tank OR in the shower-- pretty bomb-proof.

[Bobby F]

I've handled many moisture-damaged rooms here in Minnesota (where pipes seem to freeze and burst too frequently.)

Best bet is to buy an ozone generator ( https://www.amazon.com/Airthereal-MA...4b0d38_p_3_i_p ) for about $80 through Amazon, and run it several times for an hour each time.

Kills all smells, and also kills mold. You need to run it for a long time, as the ozone has to seep into areas not open to air flow, but it does kill off the mold and all odors.


(Read and obey the safety precautions that come with it.)

[Ray,IN]

Get everything dried completely, then use a Mold-Bomb.

[Jay D.]

a dehumidifier is the ONLY way your going to get it dry. turn the dehumidifier on and close all the windows and vents open all closets cupboards and drawers.
Jay D.