Mattress platform condensation

[MrNoodly]

Here's a better link to that.<br><br>http://drivinginertia.com/272/adding-a-platform-bed-window-screens-to-our-toyota-sienna-rocky/

 

[Salida Scarlett]

<br>I used to have a gorgeous and expensive day bed. One of those that became really popular in the late 80's or 90's. It had one serious flaw...it had metal springs underneath the mattress, and was absolute torture to sleep on. As for me, I still plan to use a nice thick, good quality latex foam mattress, still light enough to flip over on a regular basis. I will keep it covered with a washable good quality mattress pad to wick away moisture and put a barrier between my body and the mattress, all supported by a plywood base. I've done this before and it worked great. Anything but metal springs or a futon. A good nights sleep, like a really good meal is one of life's precious treasures.&nbsp; Just saying.&nbsp; <br><br>

 

[Salida Scarlett]

When I bought my little motorhome, it had one of those torture chamber sleep sofas, which was killing my back. After several weeks of sleeping in a crease, and going thru hell, I found a nice CLEAN&nbsp;little combo mattress with the built in coils at a thrift shop for 15 bucks. It sounds weird, but for me it was perfect, like sleeping on a cloud instead of a rock. I was able to put it on top of the torture chamber, and it fit perfectly. But what I'd like to do is haul off the TC to the local land fill and have the son build a plywood frame to put the mattress on with some kind of storage I can use underneath for stuff we have been hauling in the trailer.

 

[yesican]

The "Hypervent" appears to be similar to the roof vent material used at the peak of a house. It prevents bugs from getting in but allows airspace.

 

[BC Guy]

I had a similar problem 40 years ago.&nbsp; My mattress was on 1" plywood.&nbsp; I solved it by drilling a 1/4" hole every 6".&nbsp; That gave enough ventilation that there was no more mildew.

 

[cygvan]

my bed platform is covered with carpeting. it supports my mattress of 6" foam/2" memory foam, wrapped in black denim.<br><br>i have two round boat hatches on either end of the platform that provide access to two small storage areas.&nbsp; i access these areas a few times a month for supplies.<br><br>i havent seen any evidence of moisture/mold/mildew.<br><br>aside from how the rest of my van is constructed/insulated/ventilated...i wonder if the fact that i carpeted it and access it occasionally has helped prevent it?<br><br>on another thread about bed slats, i posted a link to this product. amongs other benefits, it allows for air circulation under a mattress...<br><br>http://www.frolisleepsystems.com/<br><br>

 

[Navigator]

Found a solution to our mildew / condensation issue. We are full timing in Alaska and Hypervent won't ship to Alaska. I bought a Chrome shelving unit and put the shelves under the mattress. This gives us a 1.5" inch lift and air can freely move. It stays dry under there now. http://m.lowes.com/pd/Style-Selecti...Tier-Steel-Freestanding-Shelving-Unit/3473479

 

[highdesertranger]

nice navigator. that would give plenty of ventilation. but is it comfortable to sleep on those small shelves? ha ha . highdesertranger

 

[Navigator]

We have a 9" Bioposture foam mattress.   The bed feels exactly the same to sleep on.  We cannot feel the shelves. The only difference is the bed is now an inch higher. We can also still access the underbed storage.

 

[Navigator]

The shelves are touching, so there is not a gap between them. It makes a level surface for the mattress.

 

[NWShortyFord]

Trying this stuff, Let you folks know.
http://www.fisheriessupply.com/hypervent-hypervent-mattress-pads-39-50

 

[anewbiewannabe]

For years I've known that it's not a good idea to put a mattress directly on the floor. For years I've forgotten why that was. This thread reminded me, so thanks.

So, I have a couple questions to go along with the theme of this thread. First, would one of those vinyl (waterproof) backed mattress covers prevent mattress moisture? I know it would at least remove the human body moisture part of the equation.

Second, I'll probably be building one of those pull out platforms that is slatted so that if needed the bed can be full sized, so I'm wondering if the natural small gaps between the slats would be enough to prevent moisture when it's not pulled out? Opinions?

 

[Almost There]

For years I've known that it's not a good idea to put a mattress directly on the floor.  For years I've forgotten why that was.  This thread reminded me, so thanks.

So, I have a couple questions to go along with the theme of this thread. First, would one of those vinyl (waterproof) backed mattress covers prevent mattress moisture?  I know it would at least remove the human body moisture part of the equation.

Second, I'll probably be building one of those pull out platforms that is slatted so that if needed the bed can be full sized, so I'm wondering if the natural small gaps between the slats would be enough to prevent moisture when it's not pulled out? Opinions?

The slats will do the job just fine! The moisture is only going to form if the area under the bed frame becomes significantly colder than the area above ie the mattress. You'll need to leave maybe a 1/4 inch between each of the slats anyways, that should give enough ventilation to prevent any condensation issues. But if you get it, one of the easiest things to do is to put in cabinet doors for access to the storage area and then leave one or more open at least a crack.

IIWM, I wouldn't be using one of those vinyl mattress covers. Having experienced their discomfort while in the hospital, there is no way I would use one. Yuck to sleep on, all the body heat and sweat just stays right at your level and won't do anything for the condensation at the underneath of the mattress caused by warm mattress meeting cold from below the bed frame.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

IIWM, I wouldn't be using one of those vinyl mattress covers. Having experienced their discomfort while in the hospital, there is no way I would use one. Yuck to sleep on, all the body heat and sweat just stays right at your level and won't do anything for the condensation at the underneath of the mattress caused by warm mattress meeting cold from below the bed frame.

I found a nice vinyl-backed mattress pad when my daughter was little that worked really well in case of accident and wasn't the typical vinyl yuck, but I'm not fond of them myself. I have breathing issues now so low to no VOC is the way I have to go so I'm not even sure what I'll be doing for some kind of padding to sleep on.

I'll most likely have sliding doors for the permanent storage areas underneath if for no other reason than to keep things in place during travel. Depends a bit on whether I can fabricate what I want for a reasonable price. I'll be taking a page out of my dad's book and basing the doors on how he put doors on the cabinets in our old van we camped in when I was a kid.

 

[Almost There]

I found a nice vinyl-backed mattress pad when my daughter was little that worked really well in case of accident and wasn't the typical vinyl yuck, but I'm not fond of them myself. I have breathing issues now so low to no VOC is the way I have to go so I'm not even sure what I'll be doing for some kind of padding to sleep on.

I'll most likely have sliding doors for the permanent storage areas underneath if for no other reason than to keep things in place during travel.  Depends a bit on whether I can fabricate what I want for a reasonable price.  I'll be taking a page out of my dad's book and basing the doors on how he put doors on the cabinets in our old van we camped in when I was a kid.

My van came with what the owners' daughter termed a 'rustic' interior....haha, yep rustic it was.

Just as a warning - the first thing I noticed about the cupboards was that the sliding doors rattled like crazy going down the road. There's a reason that RV's come with regular cabinet doors with latches. If the sliders are loose enough to move easily, they're loose enough to rattle. If it were in a trailer you wouldn't notice it but in a van, you'll hear it every mile of the way!

The other very loud noise on the road was from the drapery track...he'd used regular household metal I channel track...the ones that you use the plastic rollers on..talk about noisy!

 

[anewbiewannabe]

I never noticed a noise from the doors Dad built, but maybe that's because the cabinet was also my seat in the van so maybe my weight kept em tight. Then again, he did the same type door for a cabinet in the family room and perhaps it was because he had the doors so tight they were challenging to open! LOL I've still got that old cabinet from the family room but it's way too big for a van.

The nice part is that the doors I'm thinking of aren't integral to any important design functions so I don't have to put them in until I can figure a way to cheaply test out my ideas. Depending on how quick I'll have to get moving when the time comes I may rely on bungees for a while. I just know I'm a nester and need to cater to that part of me to successfully live in a van. Since I can't have my rainbows and flowers on the outside I'm gonna let my my colors fly inside. (Meaning I'm so tired of living in a house painted for resale I want a bit of color in my life even if the outside of the van is white. ROFL)

 

[brightbluejim]

Slats would help, but compromise strength, depends on how you build/support the bed platform.<br><br>Think about how regular mattresses and box springs are built, &nbsp;Those little"speakers" by the mattress handles and the box spring covered in a airy fabric and open to the bottom.<br><br>http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|406|62335|61628|552832&amp;id=1818021<br><br>Too bad this stuff is so expensive for what it is. &nbsp;I bet it would still enjoy some forced air circulation.<br><br>I'm sure some thick coarse wool would help isolate the mattress from the cold platform<br><br>Unsealed plywood would absorb the moisture and mildew/mold spores.&nbsp;

I made a bed frame for a truck I lived in back in 1990 or so, out of 1x8 and 1x4 lumber. Four 1x8s screwed together using drywall screws made a basic box, then the 1x4s (about eight of them as I recall) were placed VERTICALLY between the side 1x8s. On top of this was a canvas-covered foam mattress, which was about 8" thick, so it stuck up above the top of the frame by about four inches, which was no problem. I had no issues with strength nor condensation. Best bed I ever had, in fact. I designed it with a rope-and-pulley system so I could pull it up to the ceiling during the day to use a table and chairs under it, but I ended up leaving it down (about 32" down from the ceiling) almost all of the time, since I spent very little time in it during the day.

 

[ravenbob]

I saw a note about hypervent a few posts back... We're liveaboards in the Chesapeake bay. The nights can get pretty cold, and like most boats (and RVs), we don't have much insulation. We do have shore power though, and with shore power comes an (a drum roll please)...

ELECTRIC BLANKET!!!

Oh glorious warm berth... After shivering in the salon (I exaggerate), we go into the aft cabin and slide into the pre-warmed bed and skoosh down into warm blissful sleep.

Only one problem. The blanket keeps the warm air trapped against our skin. That's its job. So where does the humidity and air actually go? Down into the mattress. And, if the mattress is resting on the cold fiberglass, it condenses into water and BANG. The cabin starts smelling like a dank mildewy basement.

We went with Den-Dry mattress underlay. It lifts our mattress about three quarters of an inch above the fiberglass, and lets the air move freely, carrying the humidity away before it can condense, and what little does condense on the fiberglass evaporates easily, because it's not soaking into the mattress.  Once we put it down, no more problems. It's like Hypervent, but stiffer, cheaper and has cross-channels for ventilation in both directions.