Damp.

[Gerry underwood]

We have a bit of an issue with stuff stored under beds getting a bit damp. We do not have radiators and our sole source of heat is the wood burner. Any good prevention ideas??

 

[Alan de Enfield]

We use vacuum bags if not using the 'stored stuff' frequently (or 'shutting up for winter')

Plastic bags with a valve, fill bag with 'stuff', close bag' attach vacuum cleaner, suck out all the air, stuff goes 'very flat' and remains dry & mould free all Winter.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Alan de Enfield]

The bags from Poundland don't work very well as within a week air has leaked back in. Pay 'decent' money for a 'decent' bag.

[Gerry underwood]

We made the mistake of getting cheap ones.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

Just now, Gerry underwood said:

We made the mistake of getting cheap ones.

 

That's how I know !!!!

The ones at £4-£5 each seem OK and say 'vacuumed'

 

"Buy right and buy once"

Should have learned that long ago.

[Chris Lowe]

You could also try using camping dry sacks.

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

The bags from Poundland don't work very well as within a week air has leaked back in. Pay 'decent' money for a 'decent' bag.

If you can point me to a reliable make I would appreciate it, you can also buy expensive crap.

[Chris Lowe]

They all leak air in the end but the JML ones aren't too bad.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

If you can point me to a reliable make I would appreciate it, you can also buy expensive crap.

I'm not sure, the Finance Director ended up buying them - I'm of the mind they were from Argos and £10 for 2x Extra large.

They seem to stay air-tight over Winter.

[Boater Sam]

Ventilation will avoid damp providing you are not reintroducing water vapour by drying clothes or breathing.

[blackrose]

Yes, if you pack stuff away tightly in unventilated spaces it can act as a cold mass and attract condensation. Either don't store so much stuff under there or ventilate the space, or preferably both.

[Drayke]

On 28/12/2019 at 14:54, Gerry underwood said:

We have a bit of an issue with stuff stored under beds getting a bit damp. We do not have radiators and our sole source of heat is the wood burner. Any good prevention ideas??

 

We had this same problem so put some carpet on the floor under the bed curing the problem. 

[haggis]

having tried several cheaper vacuum bags which didn't work very well, we bought a couple from Lakeland and they were great - for a while! We use the bags for taking stuff to and from the boat but after a few trips, the bags start to reinflate. Contacted lakeland who told us that the bags are designed for a few uses and not for the way we were using them. The lakeland bags sat inside a fabric box shape which zipped shut and there were straps inside for tightening when the bag was deflated. With the straps on and the bag zipped, even if the vacuum bag leaked it couldn't get much bigger so it was still useful for our purpose.

 

haggis

 

Just looked at the Lakeland web site and they have some good offers on vacuum bags just now. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by haggis

[Stilllearning]

On 28/12/2019 at 15:54, Gerry underwood said:

We have a bit of an issue with stuff stored under beds getting a bit damp. We do not have radiators and our sole source of heat is the wood burner. Any good prevention ideas??

 

Improve the ventilation perhaps with an eco fan or equivalent, and look at fitting radiators in the future, it was the only real solution I ever found.

A stove with backboiler will transform the boat, and your comfort too. The problem you have at the moment is the differing temperatures in the boat, and damp will always congregate where the temperature is lowest. Even warmth throughout is the answer, easy to say not so easy to accomplish.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Stilllearning

[Gerry underwood]

Cheers for the great replays. Would a small electric heater help cure the problem?

 

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Gerry underwood said:

Cheers for the great replays. Would a small electric heater help cure the problem?

 

Are you connected to mains electric / shoreline ?

 

If so - I have a couple of 375w greenhouse heaters on timers with one on most of the time and at the coldest parts of the night both come on. They are principally to stop the water systems freezing up.

Cost £1.08 per day to run

[Gerry underwood]

We have a shore line. I was thinking of getting a 400watt heater with a timer for the master bedroom.

[Alan de Enfield]

11 minutes ago, Gerry underwood said:

We have a shore line. I was thinking of getting a 400watt heater with a timer for the master bedroom.

One year I tried a 500w oil filled radiator but found that in fact it was insufficient to actually generate any 'heat' in the boat as the heat losses must have been 500w or greater so it was running but 'leaking' the heat out of the boat via windows, doors, vents etc.

 

I'm not sure that it would help a great deal with getting the boat warm enough to reduce condensation, and, if it did, as soon as the timer clicked 'off' the air would cool and you'd be back to warm air cooling and condensing on the windows etc.

 

The answer is try it and see - it may do what you want.

[nicknorman]

Our boat stays in the marina with no-one on board for a fair bit of the winter. First year, we just ventilated it well, but things got damp, cupboard doors etc swelled. So we got a dehumidifier (desiccant type) and now leave that on (draining into the sink), closing all windows and taping up vents, leaving cupboard doors ajar. Works really well, everything is bone dry in the spring. The device has a “humidistat” so that when the relative humidity falls to 50%, it shuts off and doesn’t come back on until the RH rises again. So it uses about £3 of electricity per week.

 

Your situation is slight different I think, in that you are on the boat all year? But even so, it might be better to extract the water vapour rather that heating to prevent that vapour from condensing on the cold spots.

[Stilllearning]

Since you are on shore power, you have options. Either, as Nick says, use a dehumidifier or as you suggest, use a small electric heater. It will come down to a decision based on your preferences and lifestyle. Having said that, in my experience warmth and dryness trumps any worries over cost, because once one thinks of all that condensation sitting on the expensive steelwork, then the need to dry the boat thoroughly and permanently becomes an overriding concern.

[Gerry underwood]

1 hour ago, nicknorman said:

Our boat stays in the marina with no-one on board for a fair bit of the winter. First year, we just ventilated it well, but things got damp, cupboard doors etc swelled. So we got a dehumidifier (desiccant type) and now leave that on (draining into the sink), closing all windows and taping up vents, leaving cupboard doors ajar. Works really well, everything is bone dry in the spring. The device has a “humidistat” so that when the relative humidity falls to 50%, it shuts off and doesn’t come back on until the RH rises again. So it uses about £3 of electricity per week.

 

Your situation is slight different I think, in that you are on the boat all year? But even so, it might be better to extract the water vapour rather that heating to prevent that vapour from condensing on the cold spots.

We are not indeed on board all year. We will be looking at ways to extract vapour 

[Machpoint005]

22 hours ago, Stilllearning said:

On 28/12/2019 at 14:54, Gerry underwood said:

 

Improve the ventilation perhaps with an eco fan

 

ROFL!

[Gerry underwood]

43 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

Since you are on shore power, you have options. Either, as Nick says, use a dehumidifier or as you suggest, use a small electric heater. It will come down to a decision based on your preferences and lifestyle. Having said that, in my experience warmth and dryness trumps any worries over cost, because once one thinks of all that condensation sitting on the expensive steelwork, then the need to dry the boat thoroughly and permanently becomes an overriding concern.

A small heater will be ordered. Piece of mind is a valuable thing.

[Richard10002]

32 minutes ago, Gerry underwood said:

A small heater will be ordered. Piece of mind is a valuable thing.

I have a computer fan at the front of the boat which sucks air from the cabin into the bilge, and a similar fan under the fridge which sucks air from the bilge. The fans are connected to the water pump and fridge supply so are on 24/7 when on board. i am presuming that this keeps a flow going all the time, as well as cooling the area around the fridge a bit.

[Vanessa1402]

On 30/12/2019 at 09:41, haggis said:

having tried several cheaper vacuum bags which didn't work very well, we bought a couple from Lakeland and they were great - for a while! We use the bags for taking stuff to and from the boat but after a few trips, the bags start to reinflate. Contacted lakeland who told us that the bags are designed for a few uses and not for the way we were using them. The lakeland bags sat inside a fabric box shape which zipped shut and there were straps inside for tightening when the bag was deflated. With the straps on and the bag zipped, even if the vacuum bag leaked it couldn't get much bigger so it was still useful for our purpose.

 

haggis

 

Just looked at the Lakeland web site and they have some good offers on vacuum bags just now. 

Do things come out terribly creased? Noticed they do hanging bags that would be great in the wardrobe but not very convenient if things come out needing tons of ironing.