Inherited a 1999 Fleetwood travel trailer with water damage. Hubby is busy pulling out rotted parts of walls and floors to get it ready to live in while he travels for work. Wondering if I should replace all cushions and mattresses just because they sat in that atmosphere for years. Dust, mold could be in them, but I don't want to waste money. Any opinions?
Inherited travel trailer
- Thread starter KathyDoo
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DearMissMermaid
Well-known member
Put everything out in the fresh air and bright sunshine.
This will improve them immensely and give you a chance to assess their quality and condition.
When I bought my old motorhome it had a musty smell, so first thing I did was haul out everything removable for bright sunshine and fresh air.
I flipped it all over the next day to do it again. I brought everything in at night, then put it back out the next day.
I also vacuumed everything thoroughly with a HEPA filter vac before it all went back inside.
Haven't smelled a musty thing since then. ;D
This will improve them immensely and give you a chance to assess their quality and condition.
When I bought my old motorhome it had a musty smell, so first thing I did was haul out everything removable for bright sunshine and fresh air.
I flipped it all over the next day to do it again. I brought everything in at night, then put it back out the next day.
I also vacuumed everything thoroughly with a HEPA filter vac before it all went back inside.
Haven't smelled a musty thing since then. ;D
denmarc
Well-known member
Agree with MissMermaid. Assuming that this venture is being done with a limited budget, drying out the interior is of high priority!
Was the source of the water damage fixed?
If not, that issue needs to be addressed first.
Was the source of the water damage fixed?
If not, that issue needs to be addressed first.
ArdraF
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2006
- Posts
- 10,695
Because you know there was water damage (not just "musty" from being closed up), evaluate anything with fabric very carefully. Any item that has obvious mold or rust should be discarded. For example, a moldy mattress can cause breathing problems and/or allergies so you don't want to be sleeping on anything moldy. Wash whatever you can such as curtains or drapes (trying not to shrink them!) or throw pillows. Check anything wood that may have been sitting in water. We just went through a flood in our stick and brick and learned that particle board absorbs water like crazy so all the furniture and cabinets made of it had to be discarded because they had mold and also had swollen so the glues came apart. We didn't know some of the furniture was particle board but one dresser in particular was in very bad shape and had to be discarded. When I lamented its loss to the furniture repair guy he said it had way too much mold in it and we wouldn't want it in our home. We also had a sofa bed with a moldy mattress and rusty springs that also was discarded. In other words, select items judiciously.
ArdraF
ArdraF
