Do you remove moisture?

We keep an electric heater in ours all winter, set to a about 50 degrees. The hit to our electric bill is trivial, the elimination of mold in hidden places and a musty smell is priceless.

westend wrote:
In Ontario, you shouldn't need any moisture control. The relative humidity is very low in the Winter.

I was worried about elephants getting inside my trailer so I put dryer sheets in all the cabinets. I haven't had an elephant problem in 10 years. :B

X2

10 years 'closing the entire' MH up in Winter in Wisconsin and never put anything in it for moisture control.

.....haven't tried the elephant eliminator yet though! :B

Calcium chloride as mentioned by mlts22 is what dri z air and damp rid use as their main ingredient.
I used to use CC as a drying agent in our bird baths and patio stones. When we got our first TT someone suggested dri z air for the very damp Washington coast weather. When I read the ingredients I was surprised how much they charged for 2 ounces of calcium chloride compared to the 50 pound bags I bought for around $8.
I would take a small burlap sack and put a few pounds of cc into it then set the bag on a piece of heavy wire mesh over a 5 gallon bucket and it worked great. One time it worked too well and the bucket I was using was about 2 gallons and had started to overflow. You have to check it every month or so. You also have to add some to the bag once in a while.
I was able to find 50 bags at my local cement plant, now I am able to find smaller quantities at my local tractor dealer as they put it into tractor tires. They all seem to have a partial bag laying around somewhere.

We have to be careful as the wife is sensitive to molds. We run a large double boiler pot set full of 5+ lbs (bought at the local wholesaler) of Dri-Z Air and empty regularly. Also run a small electric heater on almost the lowest setting. Keeps the chill off and moves the air enough. Worked great so far and no elephants either :)

Bounce dryer sheets and moth balls will not deter mice! I had mice on two different occasions in my Sunline, and I was using moth balls and dryers sheets while stored. As it turned out, it was my fault as I left an opening for the mice to get in after replacing the hose for the fresh water tank.

The only gurantee against rodents is to maker sure there are no openings that they can get through.

And now, I'm just as glad that I'm not using mothballs! We still use dryer sheets to keep things smelling nice.

As for moisture, never needed anything for western NY winters...just kept the roof vents open very slightly....but my trailer was always stored indoors for the winter.

I keep my TT closed up tight with no precautions all the time down here since 1998 and have never had a mold issue

ghsebldr wrote:
Calcium chloride as mentioned by mlts22 is what dri z air and damp rid use as their main ingredient.
I used to use CC as a drying agent in our bird baths and patio stones. When we got our first TT someone suggested dri z air for the very damp Washington coast weather. When I read the ingredients I was surprised how much they charged for 2 ounces of calcium chloride compared to the 50 pound bags I bought for around $8.
I would take a small burlap sack and put a few pounds of cc into it then set the bag on a piece of heavy wire mesh over a 5 gallon bucket and it worked great. One time it worked too well and the bucket I was using was about 2 gallons and had started to overflow. You have to check it every month or so. You also have to add some to the bag once in a while.
I was able to find 50 bags at my local cement plant, now I am able to find smaller quantities at my local tractor dealer as they put it into tractor tires. They all seem to have a partial bag laying around somewhere.

Not only corrosive, if it gets into wood, it will always be damp, or wet.
We switched to Eva-Dry rechargeable dehumidifiers, we run two in our 33' 5er, can't spill like CC solution.

After getting some good floridian advice my first summer down here I bought a de-humidifier to assist the A/C.

Wow, air on and still that dehumidifier was filling cup after cup of water. I finally had to run the drain hose to the shower!! But like said it did make a 'big' difference how cold I could get it in the MH, parked in the sun in 98 degree Florida weather.

What I also learned is to get to the store BEFORE the snowbirds head back home. The shelves at Lowes were completely empty of de-humidifiers.
Store manager said all the Snowbirds buy them for their stored MH's, Park Models, etc. that they leave closed up for the winter.

So although not a scientific study but with all the dehumidiers sold out come May, guess most DO use a de-humidifier for stored RV's and closed up winter homes. :B

rockhillmanor wrote:
...snip...What I also learned is to get to the store BEFORE the snowbirds head back home. The shelves at Lowes were completely empty of de-humidifiers.
Store manager said all the Snowbirds buy them for stored MH's, Park Models, etc. that they leave closed up for the winter.

So although not a scientific study but with all the dehumidiers sold out come May, guess most DO use a de-humidifier for stored RV's and closed up winter homes. :B

I'll let you in on a little secret. Go to the WalMart.com website and order it there for free store pickup. They'll hold it for up to 30 days (I think.) Works like a charm. That's the only way you can be guaranteed to get Damp-Rid that time of year.

John&Joey wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:
...snip...What I also learned is to get to the store BEFORE the snowbirds head back home. The shelves at Lowes were completely empty of de-humidifiers.
Store manager said all the Snowbirds buy them for stored MH's, Park Models, etc. that they leave closed up for the winter.

So although not a scientific study but with all the dehumidiers sold out come May, guess most DO use a de-humidifier for stored RV's and closed up winter homes. :B

I'll let you in on a little secret. Go to the WalMart.com website and order it there for free store pickup. They'll hold it for up to 30 days (I think.) Works like a charm. That's the only way you can be guaranteed to get Damp-Rid that time of year.

Thanks!