Mattress ventilation?

[Vagabound]

Well, this is what I finally decided to do ...


A little closer to Swiss cheese then I first said:



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After painting:




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Dance floor for midgets under the bed. Long live disco!:




Tom

 

[Gary68]

standard twin? 3x6'2" or so

i'm going to go look at mattresses tomorrow,wish they has a long full but they do have a long twin

 

[dr_nelson]

Looks awesome, Tom! Nice color, and I like the "Swiss-ish" style and the minimal support of your bed that allows for maximum storage space.

 

[Vagabound]

Although the bed frame is screwed to the wall of the box on three sides, it only has two legs, in the middle. I had already planned to add two more legs on the unsupported side of the bed platform, and now I'm even happier about that plan now that I have drilled holes in the platform. And rather than the two new legs interfering with the storage space, they will actually facilitate the storage place. Details will be in my build-out thread where these posts of mine should have been.

I like that color, too. Otherwise, I'd be in trouble because I have a lot of it! ;-)

Tom

 

[Vagabound]

standard twin? 3x6'2" or so

i'm going to go look at mattresses tomorrow,wish they has a long full but they do have a long twin

Gary, I can't tell if you're talking to me or not. If so, yes, mine is the standard twin. The brand and price were right. It's a Sealy and it came with the truck.

Tom

 

[ZoNiE]

My RV Bed is basically a sheet of OSB plywood...I guess it's ok since I don't actually live in it.

ummm... What exacty is a "popcorn fart"?

 

[Gary68]

Gary, I can't tell if you're talking to me or not. If so, yes, mine is the standard twin. The brand and price were right. It's a Sealy and it came with the truck.

Tom

i'm going to try one tonight but have a"i just might roll off phobia" going on but my queen was wasted and have been waking up in agony for a while now

 

[wayne49]

Tom,

I went with the Hypervent Marine mat with thick, stiff strands that make an airspace between a mattress and the water proof backing. Made for marine aoplications.

It works well for me and if I don't use it there is noticeable dampness in the morning.

It was written up on this forum couple years back.

Don't build a tight frame around the mattress, the hypervent product needs air flow to do its job.

I have used mine since 2014. It is somewhat expensive, but unless improperly installed it will last forever.

-Wayne

 

[Linacruise1467]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Scout]

I was having the same problem and I installed a hypervent. It helped somewhat but I still get one spot that gets wet. It's been in the teens and I've been running my wave 3 all night.
Two possible problems I can think of is
1, I dont run my fan I just open it and crack the front windows. I can feel airflow coming in the front windows.
2. My bed platform is enclosed. Think of a bookshelf laying on it's side. It traps cold air inside, so I'm thinking about putting in some louvers to let the cold air out or heat in and maybe also drilling holes in the matress platform. Do you think this is the solution I need?

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

I know this is long settled. I'm just adding my experience to the body of knowledge. 

I was lucky enough come across a hand-crocheted "afghan" blanket. They are pretty thick and have a very open weave. I use that instead of the expensive "hypervent" things that some people put under their mattresses.

My bed consists of a board, sitting directly on top of tubs, with 3" green JoAnn's cushion foam, and a 3" memory-foam topper. (Pictures here.) The bed is only 24" wide for my torso and 18" wide for my legs. The tubs essentially seal against the bottom of the board, as far as any air circulation goes. So that acts as a bit of "insulation" keeping the bottom of the board from getting too cold. 

I take that afghan and wrap it completely around the bottom layer of foam. This provides a layer of air circulation both between the two layers of foam, and under the whole bed. Granted, it is not as if there are gonna be any breezes blowing through there. But, every time I move, it essentially pumps air back and forth through that afghan. 

For linens, I just put two layers of twin-sized fitted sheets. I use two layers because, well, I have two fitted sheets and figured, "Why not?"

I have found that it completely eliminates any moisture build up under my mattress. It worked in Austin, TX for a year. And it is working in the AZ dessert. I'll find out this summer if it works in the Pacific Northwest. 

So, a tip for people planning their move to vandwelling: Keep poking your nose in thrift stores and relatives' garages and attics to see if you can find one of these afghans. They were really popular in the 70s but have fallen out of fashion. So folks will likely be glad to have you take them off their hands. I actually got mine from my son's ex-wife, as I was cleaning out their garage for them, pending the divorce. She gave me lots of free stuff that I am still using today.

 

[regis101]

Nice tip. It's good to read real time doings.

I'm wondering if open cell vs closed cell foam helps or hinders?

 

[maki2]

Open cell foam will absorb moisture, it will end up smelling musty over time. Closed cell foam does not absorb moisture or odors, it is also mildew resistant and you can wash the surface of it.

Open cell is more breathable which means it absorbs moisture from your body as you sleep so you don't wake up as sweaty. However you can take care of that issue by using an absorbent mattress pad under your sheets.

Open cell foam can be lighter in weight and cost less. But the ones that are lighter in weight and cost less are not as dense and will deform more quickly so you will have to replace the mattress more often.

Easy solution is to tip the mattress up off the surface during the day so the underside can dry out or else use slats as a base for the bed support so that the moisture won't be trapped between the mattress and a sheet of plywood.

 

[Dingfelder]

Soft foam will sink between slats pretty quick. And most foam becomes soft foam sooner than we'd like.

That's one reason I always recommend foam as firm as you can take it -- because it generally sinks/compresses, effectively becoming as soft as a softer mattress within a year or two. And why I use a second foam mattress topper: they're cheap and can prevent pressure spots from being quite so extreme. If anything, you might toss out your topper if it flattens too much, before your main foam mattress gets too damaged.

Of course, you can always spend $4000 on a high-end foam or latex mattress and (perhaps) eliminate such problems. but if you don't, it's best to accommodate for ordinary wear and tear on quality mattresses which have, after all, become far cheaper than they ever were ... but may have reduced longevity because of it.

The definition of "quality" has shifted quite a bit in the market over the past 20 and even 10 years.

 

[Scout]

Good, I was hoping my mattress would get a little softer over time. I thought it would eventually.
I don't think my moisture issue is from my body heat. I think it's from a hot spot from my heater. I'm not 100% sure but I find is strange why it's only getting moisture on the middle front of my bed. I dont even really sleep on that part. I have it set up like a couch and I sleep towards the backrest. It is dry everywhere except the spot in the front and I can feel the heat in that area. It still should stay dry becuase i have the hypervent under it. For now I just prop it up with something in the morning.

 

[regis101]

So who’s done the math for number of and size of holes for a given sq footage? Too few and I’m wet. Too many and I’m cracking plywood.
I’ve been entertaining the idea of expanded metal .

 

[Scout]

I drilled a few today. I'm going to see what happens and if I need to, drill some more. I spaced them out pretty far also.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

So who’s done the math for number of and size of holes for a given sq footage?  Too few and I’m wet.  Too many and I’m cracking plywood.
I’ve been entertaining the idea of expanded metal .

The numbers completely depend on the strength of the plywood itself, the weight of the sleeper, and how hard they flop onto the bed. Not to mention whether or how much support structure there is under the plywood.

You gotta just make a judgement call based on your personal experience with that particular style of plywood and how easily it tends to break.

Start by putting in a few holes. See if it alleviates the dampness. Keep making holes, over time, till either the dampness goes away or you fall through to the floor. You're just out a piece of plywood and time. Drill the holes where there is the most dampness.

 

[Dingfelder]

Depends on the size of the holes, too.

I think you can do a lot to make up for any weakness you've induced by drilling lots of holes by using support planks and/or pillars underneath and/or adding braces directly to the plywood panels themselves. So all is not lost if you drill too many.

FWIW, I have a queen size thick foam mattress with a three inch topper and lots of heavy blankets, lots of pillows. I'm usually somewhere between 210 and 220, maybe a few pounds more. I was recommended 3/4 inch plywood, and it's holding up really well so far. Not a hint of bending when I lift it up with the mattress on top, etc. I was told by a friend I could go with 1/2 inch and still be fine, and also save some weight, but I wanted to be sure it was strong enough and would last a long time. A little over-building is fine with me.

 

[regis101]

Reread these pages and will search the archives. It's the little things that add up to solutions.

This link to the foam factory has info. https://www.thefoamfactory.com
They carry a DryFast foam that states it drains water fast so maybe it circa air also.

I'm liking the idea of reflectix or equal on top of the cushions/pad/bed foam. It appears that keeping the humans perspiration from entering the cushion is the main key? We had had a pop up trailer for a while. It's seat cushions were cloth on one side and vinyl on the other. i took that as wear n tear mostly but now see that if they were maybe slept on with the vinyl side up, then human moisture wouldn't penetrate the cushion.

Dunno.

I'm searching foam and needed ancillaries , if any, so that I can design and build the platform bed/couch height . Sidenote is that somewheres around 16" high should be about right with 3-4" of cushion.