Everything's better when wet

[907KHAM687]

I end up doing everything I do twice.  My cargo vans's interior is spartan, piece of plywood on the floor, and a bed off the floor, a partition in the back, and the last foot and a half is going to be accessed from the outside.  Cooking and storage.  I polyurethaned the top of hardwood plywood on the floor and screwed it down, and the bed is another piece of the same plywood. I didn't seal the plywood for the bed.  First try I built the bed high, figured more storage space.  Ordered a twin memory foam mattress off amazon, (FREE SHIPPING TO ALASKA OMG) and I've been sleeping in it for a month and a half.  I'm not on the road yet, but the mattress is comfortable.   I realized that I needed enough headroom to sit on the bed.  Also realized that I make a lot of water.  Been a mild winter so far in south central AK so far, only a few frosty mornings.  I got some real good thinking done watching ice melt into water drops 10 inches from my face.  

So two problems.  One is simple, rebuild the bed lower.  I pull all the bedding off, and flip the mattress up.  There is a black shadow the shape of my torso on the top of the plywood and on the bottom of the mattress.  Its not a lot of mold, but its a hell of a lot more mold than I wanted to see.  And its only in the center, where the majority of my weight is.  Might just be my sweat, might be the condensation, but its probably both.  Didn't feel wet under the mattress, but I'm not going to argue with the mold.

So I pulled the plywood,  sanded it down and kilzed it, which solves the mold eating the wood problem, moisture is still getting there.  My first solution was to put a wool army blanket over the painted plywood, thinking that it will wick out.  Like I said, I end up doing everything twice.  I don't think kilz and wool blanket are going to be the final solution.

Obviously my condensation control method needs improvement.   That said there are going to be wet days and things have to be able to dry out.  I'll have time to think on it as I watch the ice melt.  30 inches from my face.


Hank

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

This is a HUGE problem on boats, as you can imagine.  Many boaters now use the Froli Sleep System to solve this problem.

On the other hand, at least one person here successfully dealt with this problem by cutting a large number of holes in the plywood support, so the moisture could escape.

Regards
John

 

[Lostinspace]

Get a "buddy board", the kind used on bunk beds. I posted a pic last year of what it looks like. It allows the mattress to breathe. If the moisture has no place to escape it will just build up till you have the mold back.

Slats work just as well. Someone mentioned IKEA as a source for bed slat system.

Good luck.

 

[Theadyn]

Kinda thought this was going to be a perverted thread... lol

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Kinda thought this was going to be a perverted thread... lol  

He said "bed slats", not "bed sluts".  Sheessh, get your mind out of the gutter . . .

Regards
John

 

[GrantRobertson]

I've seen some stuff that looks kinda like a green scrubby pad, writ large, and with no abrasive. I think it was in the garden dept. of a home store. Maybe it was here. I've been thinking about getting some to put between my memory foam and my air mattress. I'm starting to get tiby black dots there too. Of course, I also need to remember to use that Lysol I bought several months ago.

 

[Almost There]

I've seen some stuff that looks kinda like a green scrubby pad, writ large, and with no abrasive. I think it was in the garden dept. of a home store. Maybe it was here. I've been thinking about getting some to put between my memory foam and my air mattress. I'm starting to get tiby black dots there too. Of course, I also need to remember to use that Lysol I bought several months ago.

Lysol will help but unless you fix the problem of condensation between the air mattress (which doesn't breath) and the memory foam you'll have a problem for ever and ever.

While it's certainly tedious, prevention of mold growth should include separating the memory foam from the air mattress and allowing both full exposure to the air so that they can dry out each day.

I'm not sure what that green stuff is that you mentioned but it's not going to do much of anything. If it's porous, the moisture will still go through to the level at which it condenses which is the top of the air mattress. If it's a barrier, then the moisture will be trapped between it and the foam, just moving the point of condensation and mold growth.

There's probably at least a pint of liquid going through the foam mattress each night and condensing where it hits the cold surface of the air mattress.

 

[GrantRobertson]

Right now, I love in a room in my son's house. The air mattress is on carpet over concrete, over Texas clay. The floor doesn't feet too cold. But you are right about the sweat. I learned to use a blanket "system" that keeps me warm without trapping the moisture in.

The material I am thinking of is black, I think. It just has an internal structure like a green scrubby but is more resistant to compression. I think it is originally meant to lay under mulch to let water flow through while keeping the mulch from sliding around. I'll have to hunt some down one day.

When I build out whatever vehicle I get, I plan to see up separate fabric bag-like covers for the mattress and the foam. Then put snaps or straps on the foam bag so I can easily hang up one side to allow things to dry out. Still got some more stewing to go on this solution.

 

[dhawktx]

I'm currently using the $10 bed slats from Ikea in my twin frame. I intend to repurpose it for my bed when I finally get my van.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60079788/

 

[GotSmart]

Kinda thought this was going to be a perverted thread... lol  

When I saw tis in the "Insulation" section~~~ I did not know what to think!   :huh:

I went with a hammock

 

[Almost There]

When I saw this in the "Insulation" section~~~ I did not know what to think!   :huh:

I went with a hammock

You'll still need bottom insulation to prevent CBS (Cold Butt Syndrome) at temps usually below 60F.

And you can still end up with condensation that has to be dealt with although inside a van you may be able to avoid most of it.

 

[BigT]

Not sure it's a complete solution, but someone on this site once suggested taking kitty litter (not the clumping kind) and placing it inside of a sock (or 2 or 3 or 4).
From what they said it worked wonders on removing the moisture from the air and eliminated the condensation in the van.
Of course you have to change the litter every once in a while, but it sounded like it worked pretty darn well.

 

[Almost There]

Not sure it's a complete solution, but someone on this site once suggested taking kitty litter (not the clumping kind) and placing it inside of a sock (or 2 or 3 or 4).
From what they said it worked wonders on removing the moisture from the air and eliminated the condensation in the van.  
Of course you have to change the litter every once in a while, but it sounded like it worked pretty darn well.

It's not the condensation in the van that we're talking about here, that's a whole nother story!

It's the condensation that occurs when the warmth and moisture exuded from a sleeping body meets the cold be it an air mattress, a piece of plywood or the concrete floor without having a way to dissipate.

When I slept in the hammock in 32F weather with a silnylon underquilt protector in place to try to trap more warmth I had condensation between it and the underquilt the next morning. Had I not been using the silnylon UQP there would have been no problem because the moisture would not have been trapped.

In warm temperatures the underside of the bed remains within range of the sleeping body and no condensation is formed. When the impermeable layer meets with moisture at the right temperature (which varies), then it gets wet.

Science rules and all we can do is to try to mitigate it - that's where the Froli system or slats or holes drilled in the plywood come in. There is no cure for it when you're using an air mattress except constant vigilance and airing out of the foam and AM so that it gets a chance to dry out each day.

 

[compassrose]

prevention of mold growth should include separating the memory foam from the air mattress and allowing both full exposure to the air so that they can dry out each day... There's probably at least a pint of liquid going through the foam mattress each night and condensing where it hits the cold surface of the air mattress.

I had that problem. I sleep on a memory foam topper on top of an air mattress. But I don't think it will work for vandwellers. It's not practical for "off-grid". Sorry.

 

[GrantRobertson]

I had that problem. I sleep on a memory foam topper on top of an air mattress. But I don't think it will work for vandwellers. It's not practical for "off-grid". Sorry.

I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[SoulRaven]

My quick and easy bed solution is to use a futon sofa/bed, and just extend the legs high enough to clear the fender wells.



These seem to eliminate any bed moisture problems.

 

[highdesertranger]

you need to have air circulation under your sleeping arrangement or moisture will build up. there are many ways to do this, slats, holes in the plywood, those little plastic thingy's. highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

I have a method to lift my mattress and let it air out, but Of course this requires I remember to do so.

There are some products available which allow the mattress to breathe from below:

http://www.defender.com/product3.jsp?path=-1|2276179|2276186&id=1818021

 

[rvpopeye]

I put my memory foam in a heavy duty plastic mattress cover, the sleeping bag is the only thing that gets any moisture and it all seems to evaporate during the day.
No Mold.

Living in the rig in Maine (the east coast Alaska) with a propane heater , ,,,,,,I can really relate to the ice forming (and melting) indoors ! Mine is mostly on the inside of the windshield and a little on the walls.

Wish I was headed to the desert for RTR like so many of the tribe.

 

[highdesertranger]

popeye if you leave today I think you could make it in plenty of time. lol highdesertranger