My mattress is wet. Why?

[Adventurous]

I have a bed built into the bow. Decided to treat myself to a new mattress. Now I change my sheets weekly, duvet cover too. 
So the new mattress comes Thursday. To my horror, on changing my sheets tonight my mattress is wet, as are the sheets and duvet, at the bottom of the bed. I checked under the bed, all dry. Well seemingly. I have a block type storage system the mattress sits on. Fist sized holes in it, so plenty of ventilation. 
Half the mattress is wet, how can this be? 
I left the bow doors open because I have really strong cratch covers on it. Because the boat itself I think has poor ventilation. It’s a half wooden boat. I checked the walls, the skylight, all dry.

What is going on?

I’ve been moored on shoreline for 3 months. I’ve never turned the bilge pump on ever. Could there be a build up of water somewhere? 
Thank you in advance.

[Melita]

A photo would be useful, but you obviously have a small leak, it doesn't have to be much, even an egg cup full of water could spread to half of your mattress - assuming you've had rain like we have, there's a lot of chance for it to get through.

 

I suggest you get some dry cardboard and put this on top of the mattress, you'll soon be able to see the discolouration and be able to see where the water is coming in from. If the rain stops, use a hosepipe (assuming you haven't got a ban) and have a good look.

[LadyG]

I dont know, is the answer, but it is a worry. 

You say the boat is part wooden, is it GRP or a steel narrowboat type. If it is not well insulated it's possible that condensation is forming all day, and running down the walls.

Obviously the shower creates moisture, as do people breathing, and boiling kettles etc.

Keep the windows cracked open to create air flow. Open front and back doors if you can, not when it's raining, obviously.

Do you have your heating on, a stove perhaps, or radiators, that will be the way to dry everything out, are the fabrics damp or mouldy black? They need to be washed and dried in a launderette. I use hand towels rather than bath towels, they are easier to dry., for hand washing, I use paper towels, though this is for hygiene

It's unfortunate that the rain is biblical at the moment as you want to fully air the boat.

Have a look in the bilges to see if the dampness is coming up from there.

The other place could be a cratch which is retaining damp air, try wiping all surfaces with kitchen towel, do this on the windows every morning.

You will be getting rid of the old mattress, but what you can do is assume the new one it is going to get damp, so  roll back the duvet to expose the mattress top every day lift the mattress off the base, every day, leaving it to air underneath all day,  turn it every week. 

I got a new single mattress which I found much easier to swivel every month, but has a sort of base which is supposed to help sweating.so it does not flip over.

Lift all cushions to dry out, every day!

My bed base is solid, though it is located mid boat and the boat is always warm and dry, I have a back-boiler.stove so copper pipes run throughout the boat which I think is the reason for it being dry. I have my stove on 24/7 when it is raining.

You could buy those crystals which trap moisture several to be placed around the boat. 

LIDL have a mattress topper this week, might be worth it.

I sleep on a bath sheet (large towel) in summer, this helps keeping sheets clean and matress dry

I run my bilge pump every day, why not? Check the outlet every so often.

Check the shower waste is going outside, and not under the tray.

Personally I would buy a small heater,  and use the electricity rather than suffer dampness.

Edited September 17 by LadyG

[Tonka]

33 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I dont know, is the answer, but it is a worry. 

You say the boat is part wooden, is it GRP or a steel narrowboat type. If it is not well insulated it's possible that condensation is forming all day, and running down the walls.

Obviously the shower creates moisture, as do people breathing, and boiling kettles etc.

Keep the windows cracked open to create air flow. Open front and back doors if you can, not when it's raining, obviously.

Do you have your heating on, a stove perhaps, or radiators, that will be the way to dry everything out, are the fabrics damp or mouldy black? They need to be washed and dried in a launderette. I use hand towels rather than bath towels, they are easier to dry., for hand washing, I use paper towels, though this is for hygiene

It's unfortunate that the rain is biblical at the moment as you want to fully air the boat.

Have a look in the bilges to see if the dampness is coming up from there.

The other place could be a cratch which is retaining damp air, try wiping all surfaces with kitchen towel, do this on the windows every morning.

You will be getting rid of the old mattress, but what you can do is assume the new one it is going to get damp, so  roll back the duvet to expose the mattress top every day lift the mattress off the base, every day, leaving it to air underneath all day,  turn it every week. 

I got a new single mattress which I found much easier to swivel every month, but has a sort of base which is supposed to help sweating.so it does not flip over.

Lift all cushions to dry out, every day!

My bed base is solid, though it is located mid boat and the boat is always warm and dry, I have a back-boiler.stove so copper pipes run throughout the boat which I think is the reason for it being dry. I have my stove on 24/7 when it is raining.

You could buy those crystals which trap moisture several to be placed around the boat. 

LIDL have a mattress topper this week, might be worth it.

I run my bilge pump every day, why not? Check the outlet every so often.

Personally I would buy a small heater,  and use the electricity rather than suffer dampness.

Can I ask why on earth do you need to run your bilge pump every day.

[MrsM]

We used to find our mattress felt damp at times until we used shipshape under mattress protector. It helped the mattress breathe by allowing air to circulate underneath.

https://shipshapebedding.co.uk/shop/category/dry-mat/?_gl=1*1640hf7*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjA0NDA3MTc2NC4xNzU4MDk0NTY0*_ga_KLM28YHZC6*czE3NTgwOTQ1NjMkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTgwOTQ1NjMkajYwJGwwJGgw

Edited September 17 by MrsM

[Alan de Enfield]

 

Are you incontinent ?

 

We lift our mattress every couple of days and prop-it-up for a couple of hours. to ventilate it.

It has been remarkedly warm at night for the last few days/weeks.

 

It is surprising how much condensation is formed by a by a hot body hitting the cold 'box' that the mattress is sitting on. We tried 'holes' in the bed-box but it still got damp beteen the holes as the mattress couldn't breath when it was squashed onto the bed-box.

 

Found that the next best thing was bed-slats that go all the way across the bed box and lift the mattress off the bed-box allowing air to flow from under the mattress.

 

Available at Ikea and many DIY shops.

 

Example - you can cut to fit if you bed is an odd size.

 

LURÖY slatted bed base, 70x160 cm - IKEA

 

 

Edited September 17 by Alan de Enfield

[Tam & Di]

You seem to be talking about the new mattress and the implication is that the old mattress never suffered in this way. If that is so, what else have you done recently that might account for it? What might cause a new leak?

 

I see now that you only bought the boat recently - is this the first time you have been on it as Autumn approaches and rain is torrential?

Edited September 17 by Tam & Di

[LadyG]

10 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

You seem to be talking about the new mattress and the implication is that the old mattress never suffered in this way. If that is so, what else have you done recently that might account for it? What might cause a new leak?

 

I see now that you only bought the boat recently - is this the first time you have been on it as Autumn approaches and rain is torrential?

I think the new mattress has yet to be delivered

[MrsM]

I would put 50p on it being due to condensation and lack of air flow around the mattress. Our boat was warm and well-ventilated with the hopper windows left open all year round and yet our mattress would feel damp underneath. (For clarity nothing especially steamy was happening to cause it!) 😄

[nicknorman]

I think condensation will only manifest itself as wetness between the mattress and solid surfaces (the bed base or cabin sides). And the cure for that has already been posted. But the OP mentions the duvet is wet. If this is the top of the duvet and not just where it’s tucked down the sides, then surely it has to be a leak.

[MrsM]

True. I don't think I read the OP carefully enough. My apologies to the poster.

[LadyG]

I think it sounds like the location might be the cause of the problem, so try all the otber things, but just elevating the mattress eg with cushions on a daily basis is bound to help.

Remove the duvet and find the source of dampness.

Edited September 17 by LadyG

[IanD]

6 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I think it sounds like the location might be the cause of the problem, so try all the otber things, but just elevating the mattress eg with cushions on a daily basis is bound to help.

Remove the duvet and find the source of dampness.

How is elevating the mattress going to help when the water is coming in from above?

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, IanD said:

How is elevating the mattress going to help when the water is coming in from above?

 

It gets it nearer to the source of the leak.

[Russ T]

Could there be a link with your grinding growling suspect water pump/tank?

Is this a water bed that has sprung a leak?

Have you got a pet?

[cuthound]

3 hours ago, MrsM said:

We used to find our mattress felt damp at times until we used shipshape under mattress protector. It helped the mattress breathe by allowing air to circulate underneath.

https://shipshapebedding.co.uk/shop/category/dry-mat/?_gl=1*1640hf7*_up*MQ..*_ga*MjA0NDA3MTc2NC4xNzU4MDk0NTY0*_ga_KLM28YHZC6*czE3NTgwOTQ1NjMkbzEkZzAkdDE3NTgwOTQ1NjMkajYwJGwwJGgw

 

We have something similar which allows air to circulate under the mattress. It looks a bit like a huge, course Scotchbrite pad only its brown, nor green!

 

However the OP says the sheets are wet, so is the bed under a Houdini Hatch or similar, which can drip with condensation unless fitted with secondary glazing?

Edited September 17 by cuthound
Clarification

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, Tonka said:

Can I ask why on earth do you need to run your bilge pump every day.

I dont have to, but its only for five seconds to make sure it is working and remove any water from that propshaft  compartment rather than ever letting it overflow in to the drip tray, where there is no bilge pump [ related to my engine hole design.].

i just do it at the same time I am starting the engine to top up batteries. Its awkward to access to check visually. There is a layer of grease floating on top of the water, doing it regularly, i think the water going in to the cansl is less greasy.

I dont do it if the engine has not been running. 

Edited September 17 by LadyG

[Peanut]

Are you are sleeping with your feet at the narrow end of the bed, towards the front of the boat? Then I think the dampness on the sheet, and duvet, at the end of the bed, might well be condensation dripping from the roof lining. You can check this easily, In the morning, just feel with your fingers, or use a piece of dry tissue to wipe the roof above the end of the bed. It would be worth the check, particularly now as the nights are getting cooler, dampness in the air, and your breath, will condense there. You may also get black spot mould develop there as well.

Edited September 17 by Peanut
grammmer

[Arthur Marshall]

if it's suddenly wet where it wasn't, then you've got a leak. It's not condensation, because that wouldn't suddenly start unless you've changed the heating system. I'd check round the windows.

Alternatively, if you mean the new mattress came Thursday (it's a bit ambiguous the way it's written) and is the one that's wet and the change was immediate, what kind of mattress is it? Cheap memory foam ones can get damp because they don't breathe like sprung ones and can create amazing amounts of condensation all by themselves (well, with a body included, obviously).

[Mike Hurley]

Is this a steel hull with a wooden top on it? They are known to leak same as GRP tops.

[Tenzin]

3 hours ago, Mike Hurley said:

Is this a steel hull with a wooden top on it? They are known to leak same as GRP tops.

Yes it is steel hull wooden top. 
I think I might throw a tarp over it.

Im doing the cardboard test as we speak. 
Today I have the heating on full to bake out any wall water. 
There is no smell. On the mattress on the sheets. It’s like someone opened a bottle of water on it. 

[Ianws]

Could it be down to the rain and wind associated with storm Amy finding its way through gaps that normal rain usually doesn't?

[JoeC]

I use a Ship Shape under mattress protector. I also use some anti-slip floor tiles (Non-slip | Versatile Non Slip Flooring | England) between the side of the mattress and the outside wall to keep it away from the moisture that occurs in the colder months.

[MrsM]

28 minutes ago, JoeC said:

I use a Ship Shape under mattress protector. I also use some anti-slip floor tiles (Non-slip | Versatile Non Slip Flooring | England) between the side of the mattress and the outside wall to keep it away from the moisture that occurs in the colder months.

We had those tiles in our cratch. They were great as they didn't damage the paint at all and were easy to clean.

[IanD]

1 hour ago, MrsM said:

We had those tiles in our cratch. They were great as they didn't damage the paint at all and were easy to clean.

I have those on my stern, same advantages, and protect the deck paint. Also a little softer underfoot than steel when you're standing up all day... 😉 

Edited September 18 by IanD