O.T.T. or a bad idea.

Sep 10, 2014
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At the end of March my wife had a bad fall which has prevented us using the van at all until next year at the earliest.

I emptied it of all things bar the seating, back rests and cushions, opened all doors and fridge, and covered the seating etc: with blankets, and put in de-humidifiers.

Last week we were out buying a new mattress for her bed and in the process were given 3 large plastic mattress bags.

My plan is to put all the seating, back rests and cushions in these bags to keep damp at bay as well as continuing with the de-humidifiers.

Am I being over protective, or being foolish, the van won't be used again until next year at the earliest.
 

Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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Won’t plastic bags trap any existing moisture against the cushions? My vote would be to move the cushions so there is plenty of room for air to circulate. If possible periodically hook up the van to electric and put the heating on with ventilation ( windows open) on a dry day to encourage air circulation.
If by dehumidifier you mean an electric plug in sort, then great. Not sure that those powder/crystal ones will achieve much.
Most importantly, sorry to hear of your wife’s fall. Hope she is better soon and you can get back to vanning..
Mel
 
Mar 14, 2005
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pensioner said:
....Am I being over protective, or being foolish, ....

Over protective possibly, Foolish no- misguided perhaps...

When air gets warmer, it can generally absorb more moisture, but equally when it cools down it has to get rid of some of that moisture, and that's why you get condensation on cooler surfaces. Similar things happen with soft furnishings, and also wood.

When you use a caravan, you tend to make it a little warmer, and this means allows the air and furnishings will absorb more moisture than the things outside the caravan. Whilst you use the caravan its not a problem becasue you tend to keep it a bit warmer, especially in cool weather conditions, so you won't notice all the moisture held in the warm materials.

But when you put the caravan into storage, its usually going to cool down and stay cooler, and that's when all the excess moisture will start to appear. The moisture level in the fabric of the caravan will fall as long as the ambient air has a lower moisture content. Once it matches the ambient air no further transition of moisture will occur. Caravans should be allowed to breath through their fixed ventilation, which should never be blocked.

It may be helpful to use a dehumidifier for the first couple of days of putting a caravan into storage, but long term its pointless becasue the caravans air will naturally exchange with the external air, so at evry exchange you will be bringing in more ambient moisture, and effectively you will be trying to dry out the world's atmosphere!!!

Preventing soft furnishings from breathing by sealing them in bags is more likely to seal in excess moisture, and create a breeding ground for mould.

The only practical solution is to allow the whole caravan to breathe naturally and that way the levels of moisture will fall and then stay at the ambients level. Putting a fan in the caravan to encourage proper circulation into all spaces may help, but there is no point in spending money on long term dehumidification.

If you have a damp problem, then it's almost certainly a leak thats letting water in.
 
Oct 17, 2010
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You don't say if you keep the van at home or in storage. If at home as prof says vent the van naturally. You've opened all the cupboard doors, good, forget about the plastic and the humidifiers, I always feel that after a point they start drawing moisture from out side. Even in the winter on dry day I open my van up.
Unless I'm away it, that is.
 
Sep 10, 2014
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Ah well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I'll just continue as I have in the past and continue to ventilate and open up from time to time.

Anyone want some large plastic mattress covers. LOL.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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pensioner said:
Ah well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I'll just continue as I have in the past and continue to ventilate and open up from time to time.

Anyone want some large plastic mattress covers. LOL.

Good luck anyone want a 10 inch thick, memory foam mattress for a Coachman 560 , side bed. Haven't found out how to use the market place on here yet. Any hints please.
 

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