Florida for those sensitive to mold

[Snowman9000]

I am pretty sensitive (allergic) to mold. Over the years, I've stayed in two usually empty in-law apartments in the Keys, and a closed-all-summer park model in Winter Haven. All of them had the moldy smell and made my allergy flare up.

If you take your RV down for the winter, and bring it back up north for the summer, do you feel it gets and retains any moldiness?

If you store it all summer in FL, do you feel it retains any moldiness, and gets more so each passing year?

I know this might sound insulting or whatever. Please understand that is not my intent. We are considering snowbirding in FL next winter, and want to figure out the best approach to keeping mold at bay. (And I know, mold is everywhere, it's a natural thing. But I like to keep it out of my living quarters as much as practical.)

[John_Joey]

My in-laws stored an older Chevette just west of Daytona, FL in a garage over the summer once. When they got back in the fall the inside was all black with mold.

I store a rig in south Texas under a roof. I also put out two bags of no clumping kitty litter, two buckets of charcoal, and three buckets of damp rid.

When I get back in the fall there is an ever so slight white power on the woodwork. Those that used a furniture polish will come back to a very white fuzz.

Shortly after I pull the rig out of storage I shampoo the carpet with bleach water. It pulls back water that is slightly yellow, and the place feels amazingly clean afterwards.

[LindaD]

We've stayed in FL for winters for many years and don't leave our moho there, never have had a problem with mold.

[NanciL]

Snowman9000 wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback.
We are in AZ this winter, but are both having a lot of allergy issues which I think are from dust. I have a feeling that FL might actually be more manageable for us. Possibly not much different from our summers in IL.

We need to winter on a rock in the ocean, I guess. 🙂

The locals where we are here in Key Largo call it "the rock"

Jack L

[Snowman9000]

Thanks for all the feedback.
We are in AZ this winter, but are both having a lot of allergy issues which I think are from dust. I have a feeling that FL might actually be more manageable for us. Possibly not much different from our summers in IL.

We need to winter on a rock in the ocean, I guess. 🙂

[soren]

Fifth winter in Fl. as somebody who has occasionally severe asthma issues. What I've learned is that I would never leave a rig here in the summer without the ability to run AC and/or a dehumidifer. Even that isn't foolproof without reliable monitoring, as I have seen some pretty ugly issues with moldy units after AC failed. As for just leaving a unit in a storage lot with no power, no AC running or dehumdifier, no thanks. One year we watched a who crew of folks from up north who decided that it would be a good idea to leave 5-6 fifth wheels parked at a campground on the coast, a few hours north of Tampa. They got a great monthly rate for gravel lot storage without power. They returned to green fuzzy walls and cockroaches.

[lizzie]

I understand your problem but it seems sort of like saying you are allergic to pine cones but want advice about how to live in a pine forest. It is nearly impossible to keep mold and mildew at bay in Florida, especially in an RV. I think I would look for a drier climate and have more time to enjoy myself. lizzie

[NanciL]

We are snowbirders who leave our travel trailer in Key largo all summer long.
We heard all the bad stuff about mold, leaving the trailer ventilated, etc. etc which all is false and wrong. Our neighbors who all have been here for many years clued us.
1. Don't waste your money on "Damp Rid". it won't help a bit.
2. the RV dealers carry a mold deterrent that you place (pouches) on the floor just before leaving. There are two different brands and one is more noxious then the other.
Here is the kicker. You keep the RV as tight as possible with no ventilation. If you leave a vent open you will defeat how they work.
When you come back in the fall, you air the RV out for several hours.
It works and we along with all our neighbors don't ever get any mold or moldy smell.
And zero bugs

jack L

[tallpall888]

As a "half-timer", someone who stays in a warm place in an RV Oct 15 to Apr 15, then stores the RV at that campground for the summer months I can verify that mold can be a problem. For the first three winters in the Rio Grande Valley this was a minor challenge that was mostly handled by leaving out a couple open bags of charcoal and a couple gallons worth of DampRid. One summer overwhelmed these measures with a lot of rare rain and we had to wash down everything with Clorox cleaner.
Moved our RV to FL for a change of scenery and settled on the SW coast. This is our 6th winter. Here the summer efforts at humidity control rarely were enough to keep the 5th wheeler clear of mold. Lots of rain here, but it makes it green and that's why we moved here.
Thinking about ways to "do better next time".
The obvious solution in my mind would be to have a dehumidifier big enough to handle our size set to turn on at 50% humidity and drain into the kitchen sink. But that requires 110V and that means paying X amount to leave it on the lot and use the campground's electricity for six months of summer.
Can't justify that extra cost so in the meantime I'm trying to dream up some solar solution that will work when the unit is parked in the electricityless storage lot.

[azrving]

People who live down there told me that everything needs ac even when stored. Nothing insulting about it, it's very humid so it has to dealt with. It's no different than the noseeum issue down there. It is what it is.

[Ivylog]

I would say the above post takes things to the extreme but I'm sure it works. Mold loves high humidity which will run 95+% all summer in Fla. Currently in WPB it's 67% and rarely does it get to 90% during the winter so we don't do anything special. When its warm the vent in the bath is open but the fan may not be running during a shower. When it's cold the vent stays shut until it wars up and we do not have a mold problem. When it's fairly warm (75+) we may run the AC a couple hours in the afternoon but we do not close the windows. When it's going to be 80 we will close, up and AC for 24 hours decreasing the inside humidity to 75% or less depending on how many days.

Between the hot summer weather and the possibility of hurricanes, RVs have wheels under them for a reason... head north.

[tinstartrvlr]

I have sensitivity to mold as well, and spent most of my life in Fl.

Mold spores are everywhere due to the tropical climate. The problem comes when they have an opportunity to flourish (anything that stays wet/damp creates that opportunity).

The best thing you can do is make sure to keep the environment as dry as possible. Make sure you run the a/c, use the fan in your bathroom when showering, toss wet towels in the dryer (it takes forever for a towel to dry if it's just hanging on the towel rack), use damprid or get a dehumidifier,run a floor fan to keep air moving, etc.

Also, be vigilant with checking for leaks in your RV. Water in dark places, along with the heat, is the ideal place for mold to grow, and it can grow quickly and become a big problem.

[MDKMDK]

I wonder if a desert snowbird locale might be less likely to have the humidity and the mold issues? Like TX, NM, AZ?