How to get rid of mold/mildew smell in basement compartment

[Blaise]

This spring we discovered that one of the basement compartment doors had a small leak. But it sat this way over the winter. I emptied out the compartment and had the leaky door fixed. But now the compartment - and all the stuff that was in it - smells musty or like mold or mildew (I don't really know the difference between these types of odors).

The compartment is still empty.

What's a good way to get rid of these odors? I've googled, and there are a bunch of ways folks suggest - some seem a bit alarming!
- spay/wipe down the walls with a vinegar solution
- ditto with a chlorine solution (can't that damage stuff? strip paint?)
- charcoal
- OdorXit AQM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Spf0VD0FTXs
- ozone generator

... and many others. Kind of dizzying ...

I'd like to know what some more experienced RVers have to say about it.

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[way2roll]

Blaise wrote:
I just so happen to be able to get my hands on an ozone generator, so I'll give that a shot. If that doesn't work, I'll try the Simple Green.

thanks guys!

Just be careful with an ozone generator and follow the instructions. Ozone generators add an extra oxygen molecule to make O3 which can damage lung tissue. That's how it works. Organic life needs O2 and the generator creates O3 which kills anything in contact with it depending on exposure time and the size of the organism. O3 is very unstable though so the half life is like 15 minutes and dissipates quickly, but you want to put it on a timer and open the bin about 30 minutes after the time is up to make sure it's all gone. Most machines have timers built in for that purpose.

[Blaise]

I just so happen to be able to get my hands on an ozone generator, so I'll give that a shot. If that doesn't work, I'll try the Simple Green.

thanks guys!

[MountainAir05]

We use Simple green and scrub it after It set for a while. Mold and smell gone. Any spots we sanded and prime and repainted. The ozone generator, should work also, but you still have to clean up any mold and get rid of it.

Good luck. Just some elbow work and watch for it on your next trip on other bays. We had it happen also.

[Bruce_Brown]

I like the ozone generator, enough that we own one.

Every year when we open our camp we run it for an hour, seems to work well.