Smell of mold and must

[Sammyboy101]

From day of delivery we have had an ordor of mold and a musty smell . It permeates every thing. From clothing to our food and everything else. Whatever we put in the RV comes out smelling like mold. It takes several washing of our cloths to get the Odor out. We have opened cereal and crackes that have tasted of the odor. We have to throw any food that has been there away as even the labels on canned foods smell and it gets into my pantry at home. We have taken it back to the dealership and they said they did a mold test and didn't turn up anything. We put down 3 test dishes one in each room and they all showed mold. All the dealer came up with was that the vent pipe in the holding tank was not in right. They corrected that and said they could t find anything else. We still had the odor. The service department manager told us it should go back to Forest River that they couldn't address the issue any further. I spoke to Forest River many times and they told me they are not in the business of taking them back. I was told by a women there to wash down the inside with vinegar and water and to put carpet deodorizer on the carpet. Stupid me tried that and it masked the odor for a few days and was back again. PLEASE HELP!!! Does anyone have any ideas. We don't know what to do anymore. We are at our wits end and about ready to give up camping which would be very devastating for us as we love camping so much.
Thank you LD

[radio_flyer]

Park it outside the dealer, with yellow balloons tied to it. That will get them to fix it!

[ArticFox_676]

Biocide works great on many smells. Check out their web site. We did two applications to rid our unit of the smell following a small roof leak. Worked like a charm.

[Pineapple_Kid]

I would check the work on the vent pipe that was not installed correct.
Was the work done correct? Was the liquids splashed up and penetrated the floor
where the smell could still be noticed? Was the vent pipe sealed to the tank
( they can't be glued because you would not me able to ever drop the tank )
Just some thoughts

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Something I would try while it's cold: warm the interior, and then using an infrared thermometer (looks like a gun, shoots a laser pointer at a spot and takes its temperature. About $25-35 at Amazon) Theoretically, a place that is wet won't insulate as well - so you should be able to simply stand in one spot and take temps at various spots in the RV. A reading that's a few degrees colder than anyplace else needs to be investigated. Granted, it might just be a void in the wall - but the IR gun is a cheap way to check insulation.

[Sammyboy101]

Just wanted to say thanks to all that responded to our issue of the smell of mold and must. Special thanks to scbwr, You nailed it. We did get the unit new. It was delivered to us by the dealership to our campground. I smelled it the minute I went in. And as one of the responders said about it being the smell of a new RV. That's what my friends said when they came in the day that it was delivered that it probably was from all the new materials that were used to build it . I had spoke to the dealership and they said give it time it would go away. We tried that but to no avail. I called the dealership and even drove the 2 1/2 hrs to speak to them in person when I got no where with them over the phone. When that didn't work we had many many calls to Forest River with no avail I have spent many hours on the phone with some very arrogant people especially with one very nasty person named George Oliver who told me he was not in the business of taking them back or they would go out of business. That was after I cried to him out of frustration and asked if they would take it back to the factory to try to figure it out. The service manager had told us at the dealership that we took it back to that it should be going to the factory. Not to them.The owner and the salesman told us they didn't smell it and the mold test was negative that they took.They had it all winter and said they didn't smell it. We even took groceries and clothing that smelled and they claimed they couldn't smell it even the service manager who said he smelled it when we took it back suddenly couldn't smell it, so what does that tell you about them. I could just go on and on but I'm sure I'm boring everyone by now. We
have plans to have it tested by a environmental co. In the spring as it is closed up for the winter and at that point our attorney will see where we go next By the way, My husband spoke to the warranty person at FR two weeks ago by suggestion of a dealer we met at a show that he was going to have someone do the test,That person at FR told my husband they do not except those test.Our attorney said we would see about that. We have been fighting this and using the RV for 2 1/2 seasons as it was a very expensive unit and what can we do. We were told by a Dr. And an environmental engineer this fall that we should not even be using it. Thanks to all LG

[myredracer]

Could it be formaldehyde off-gassing and not mold/must? RVs have a lot of materials that have formaldehyde in them and some have more materials with formaldehyde in them than others. Some people are more sensitive to the odor and off-gassing can cause various symptoms such as eye, nose, throat, and skin irritation, coughing, wheezing, and allergic reactions. The level of formaldehyde will dissipate over time and in the meantime you should ventilate the interior well.

Before deciding what to do, perhaps testing would be in order so you know what the cause is. If there is mold, I would think that would indicate a major water leak(s) that would need to be addressed and there could be hidden damage.

[2gypsies1]

It's hard to believe that your problem is mold. You're just noticing odors. Are you actually seeing mold? Are you seeing water damage?

Since you bought it new I'm guessing the odors are from all the new plastics and fabrics used in the RV emitting the odor. I've heard of this happening.

[westend]

The thing about mold is that once one of the three things it needs to grow are eliminated, it won't be present. It needs the right humidity, the right temperature, and a source of "food". After that it becomes a matter of cleanup.

Those mold test kits measure for spore presence. A mold spore is so small and lightweight that one hundred will fit through a screen opening. It also takes around 24 hrs. for a spore dropped from ceiling height to fall to the floor. The test kits are very inaccurate.

As was posted, one of the best odor eliminators is an ozone generator. It would be best to tent the RV and let the generator run for some days. Beware that certain materials, notably plastics, can be harmed by ozone.

There are also fire recovery products that will mask odors and organic based odor eliminators that are applied like topical sprays.

Good luck with your smell issues.

[midnightsadie]

X2 do it, or you,ll never no.

[scbwr]

If you bought the unit new, I would be informing Forest Rive that I was going to pursue help from wherever I could, including the attorney general's office for the state you live in, and any media personnel that do reports on consumer's issues. If the unit was new, then I would definitely be suspecting some water leak(s) and subsequent damage. Prepare a detailed document every communication and contact with Forest River and the dealership.

Was the smell evident when you first picked up the camper at the dealership? If so, then the dealership should have known there was a problem. If you purchased a used unit, you may be out of luck, but it certainly would reflect a dealership that didn't care what they sell.

[gbopp]

bdpreece wrote:
You might want to try an ozone generator. Ozone will kill mold, remove all kinds of odors. We purchase one similar to this one Ozone generatorand have been pleased with the results. Hotels and motels use them to keep their rooms smelling fresh.

x2. I used one after I had a major leak in our Southwind. It did a great job removing the odor.
I bought one recommended by another member, newman fulltimer. I'm very pleased with the unit and the results.

[mikim]

https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-moisture-meters?id=bng

You might try one of these and see what it shows on the walls. You might call and independent company that deals with water damage and have them test the interior for mold in the air. And then proceed from there.

[bdpreece]

You might want to try an ozone generator. Ozone will kill mold, remove all kinds of odors. We purchase one similar to this one Ozone generatorand have been pleased with the results. Hotels and motels use them to keep their rooms smelling fresh.

[Sammyboy101]

Cedar Creek