Forum Discussion

_1Flyboy's avatar
_1Flyboy
Explorer
Jan 25, 2020

Moisture under mattress solutions please

... Good morning... Got a AF TC and just noticed moisture under the mattress; we have a layer of Reflectix under the mattress for insulation purposes and moisture is on the Reflectix & bottom of the mattress.... What did you do to solve this issue???....TIA....
  • We keep Reflectix under our mattress and don’t have a problem with condensation under our mattress. We didn’t do “testing”, but DW and I both noticed less cold air around the edges of the mattress after adding Reflectix.

    Try using a mattress pad (water resistant or water proof) if you aren’t already. Just an idea.
  • When I had a boat the recommendation was for a cross fiber material used for filters. I think it is available at the big box hardware stores in large sizes. Cut it to fit and put it under the mattress.

    There are also solutions made for boats but they are more expensive.
  • We do have several topics about the issue. Some members are using special mats design for boats, so boating forum might give better responses.
    I had the moisture issue when we full timed in camper during the wettest California winter in last 50 years.
    My solution was to get two 4" plastic pipes used for irrigation, drill lot of big holes in them and stick under head side of the mattress.
    That was giving air flow in critical area and occasionally I would move the pipe to different part of bed, sticking small electric heater on the side.
  • BTW, Reflectix does a great job handling radiant heat, but it has low R value and does very little good for handling conductive heat transfer which occurs under a mattress. I would remove it since it might be contributing to the condensation.
  • I lift up the mattress, hold it up with a foot stool and let my fan dry out the area under the mattress. In cold, damp weather I might need to do that every couple of weeks or so. In hot, dry conditions I can skip it entirely. Regardless of conditions I check for dampness under the mattress every few weeks.

    The area under my mattress was raw plywood. I greatly decreased the condensation problem when I applied several coats of paint.