I live in a small 1985 trailer. We noticed that in our bedroom closet the wall is wet. I had to remove all the blankets I had stacked in it. There is not enough insulation. And how do I fix it?
Step 1
Look and make sure the home is on a concrete slab.
Step 2
If it is not, put a plastic sheet under the trailer. Hold it down with rocks.
Step 3
Remove a piece of panelling , the plastic should be visible.
Step 4
If your home does not have a plastic barrier, install one.
Step 5
Check for roof vents you need air circulating properly.
Step 6
Stop using a humidifier, as it creates moisture in the air.
You are going to need to buy insulation and install this in the back of your closet behind the paneling. You can either do this from the outside of the trailer or inside the closet itself. You might want to look first at the closet paneling and see if it is easy to remove or not.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My daughter heats her little trailer with a gas heater on the wall. This causes moisture to form on walls and windows and is causing mold or mildew. She can't afford another heater right now. What can we do to fix this problem. Just want you to know this is my favorite site to visit. Thank you.
By ruthie from OK
I live in a mobile home, too, and we sometimes get condensation on the windows...but it's not from the heater. It's caused by windows that aren't completely shut. Double-check to make sure all the windows are tightly closed. If this doesn't work, there is an air leak somewhere.
There's a great forum for mobile home questions:
www.mobilehomerepair.com/
I found out about that site right here on ThriftyFun.com, and it's been an invaluable resource for me. I hope it will help you out, as well!
Condensation in your daughters trailer has nothing to do with windows that are not completely shut or leaking somewhere.
The trailer is very tight, which is good because it saves heating fuel. But it is also bad because water vapor is building up in the house with no place to escape, so it condenses on the cool windows. There is nothing wrong with the windows, either. A humidifier? That will make everything worse.
What you can do: Open the windows for five minutes in the morning and five minutes in the afternoon to release that water vapor. Install a dehumidifier.
I've gotten rid of condensation on the window by covering them with shrink wrap plastic made for windows. You can buy it at the dollar store. I agree that a dehumidifier will help, but if you can't afford one, you could try running your vents in the bathroom and kitchen several times a day. Mold is a hazard and can cause many health problems. Make sure she cleans it with a good mold killer, and have her wear latex gloves and some kind of face covering or mask while she's cleaning it.
The is dessicant (drying material) that you can get from the hardware store. It's used in basements - You can spray the mold with disinfectant spray to kill it.
Your heater is probably not the problem.
It is the lack of insulation. To avoid tearing up your little trailer, the best insulation is blown in. Check your hardware store they may rent the necessary equipment very inexpensively. A dry form( use cellulose will fireproof also) or expanding type (use soy) Both will work about the same so check around and get the best price for the insulation.
If you don't want to do it yourself, have an insulation company do it for you. It should not be very expensive.
After you have insulated use a drying agent to remove the old moisture. To remove any mold wipe the area with a cloth soaked in white vinegar. Let it air dry.
Now open all your windows and give your trailer a good dose of fresh air. In about 2 hours your trailer will smell like 'new'.
To be sure you now have no leaks check with a candle near any opening. If the light moves, you have an air leak....mostly at windows or doors. Seal with caulk any windows or door that still leak.
Add storm windows or plastic storm windows to all your windows. When you have it all sealed I think you will find you no longer need a new heater. As with any gas heater, be sure it is vented.
It sounds like a lot of work, but should take just a couple of days over a weekend.
You should check to see if she is heating the trailer safely. Perhaps the gas heater needs to be vented to the outside. Best to be safe.
I used a unvented kerosene heater one winter and left a window half open and until I quit using the unvented heater I started having green mold in all my shoes in my closets. HUD says never use an vented heater in a mobile home, it will cause one gallon of water (moisture in walls for every gallon of fuel used. A electrician said a lady had purchased a double wide, called complaining. Her lights were flickering. When checked she had unvented kerosene heater burning. Th e electric panel was dripping with water when checked. She was told never to use any type of unvented heater in a mobile home, because it builds condensation in the walls. Also told she was lucky it had not caused a fire.
I cut off my gas heat &used elect. Heat no more water on windows
How do I get to condensation to quit dripping in my trailer
How do I prevent condensation on the inside of a metal mobile home roof in very hot weather?
Are you saying just the roof area has moisture and no condensation on the walls?
Keep the air circulating by placing a fan in the window to pull the air from the inside out. Or use a dehumidifier but this is expensive. Line the inside of the roof with bubble wrap. That will prevent the inside air from condensing on the cooler roof. Good luck.
My mobile home roof is leaking water how do I fix it? There is no water on the outside of the roof. Could it be condensation?
The rubber around the vent pipe may be rotting. Check that first.
It is possible that you are suffering a leak, especially if it occurs after rain. According to this site, "It is important to realize that the source of a mobile home roof leak may not be located directly next to wet spots. A hole in the roof, ceiling or floor may actually allow rain or other water and debris to travel a fair distance to the final area where moisture will collect." www.yourbestroof.com/
But it is also probable you are suffering from a trailer condensation problem. Due to the nature of mobile homes, especially if you lack adequate insulation, condensation can occur. An easy fix for this is to install a dehumidifier, or purchase Damp Rid packets, or twice a day air out the trailer. Also make sure not to use the sort of heater that exacerbate condensation problems in a structure already, due to poor insulation, prone to condensation.
there's actually an old thriftyfun thread that discusses this issue at length: www.thriftyfun.com/
The leak could be coming form anywhere on the roof. The water can run under and show up on the inside far away from the source and for days after. You will need to reseal the entire roof and flashing. Also remove and replace any wood or insulation that got wet or you will be getting mold problems.
How long have you lived in this home and/or how long has this been a problem? Do you also have condensation (and mold maybe) on your windows or other parts of your home? What is the age of the mobile home?
You do not say what part of the country your mobile home is located or if there has been resent cold weather or snow. Also, the age of the home will be a factor as older homes may not still have proper insulation to stop condensation/moisture from getting into your home.
Whatever is causing this to happen (condensation or leak) should be taken care of as soon as possible as you will soon have mold and this can be very dangerous to your health. You may already have mold in your walls as water marks on your ceiling usually means the moisture is also in your walls.
If you are renting, then you should contact your landlord to fix this problem quickly.
Most likely you are the owner so your next step should be to find someone qualified in mobile home repairs and at least get an estimate of cost of repairs. They may give you some ideas of what it will take to do the repairs and you can decide if you may qualified to do some of it yourself.
Once you think you know what is causing the problem - there are a lot of helpful guides on the internet (especially U-Tube) that will help you fix your home.
My closet is behind the AC unit in my house, and right now during the summer it gets hot in my closet and the back wall sweats and causes dampness through the room.
Install a plastic barrier between the wall and the insulation. If the home is not on a concrete slab, put a plastic barrier under the home and weigh it down with bricks. Lastly, make sure that there is enough venting in the roof.
This is normally caused by too much humidity in your home. Your A/C could be short cycling and not dehumidifying your home. You should check the setting on your thermostat and see if it is set too low. This will make your A/C run constantly. Also check the condensation lines on your A/C to see if they are clogged. If they are clogged this doesn't allow your humidity collector on the evaporator to drain outside of your home.
You will need to remove the paneling in your closet and install a layer of plastic and replace the layer of insulation. Put the paneling back up in the closet. Also make sure to check your A/C unit for evaporator drainage problems.
Its not plastic you need to install, but a vapor shield. It is similar to plastic but there is a huge difference in how it works. if this is not corrected, you will be getting mold. Until it gets fixed, stop using the AC unless absolutely necessary and use fans and get a dehumidifier.
Check your condensation lines on your AC to make sure they are removing the condensation to the outside of the house. How old is the AC unit? It may need maintenance to make sure it is working properly. If this is the only unit in the house it may be overworked for the area it covers and a larger unit is needed or another unit elsewhere in the house.
You do not say if you own the house or if you are renting but if the latter is true then you should discuss this problem with the landlord before making any changes to the structure of the house. The landlord should be responsible for fixing this problem.
Your first consideration should be to remove this moisture as quickly as possible (most likely your clothes are also damp and may also have mildew) and keep it from building up again until the AC is dealt with and that can only be done with a dehumidifier.
A dehumidifier can be bought at most big box stores (Walmart, Target, Lowe's, Home Depot, and more or on line at Amazon or others). The cost will will start at about $130 and go up to thousands so check out several before you buy.
Here is a link that explains about how a dehumidifier works and also a link showing several models for sale.
www.consumerreports.org/
www.homedepot.com/
mobile homes are famous for these humidity problems, it's the soda can effect: you have a metal structure with little insulation, and vast temperature differences between the outside and inside
www.huduser.gov/
Before you go to too much trouble and a lot more expense, try this simple solution.
Purchase some of the generic "dryZair" containers from the dollar tree. They draw in the moisture into the beads and trap it down in the bottom. If this is a problem in the summer only, this might keep it at bay. Hope that helps.
We have lived in a trailer for 2 years and every winter we have been here the outside walls in the closet area and now to the front of the mobile is wet and showing small signs of mold. It only does it as it gets cold. The windows also steam up and get some black on them as well. The bathroom ceiling also gets small yellow spots on it.
I have this problem also. I just moved in to our trailer and all the outside walls are wet..... The carpet in my bedroom also have a "wet" feel to it too.
Someone said that it is because the house is really "sealed" and the moisture from your warm interior and the cold of the poorly insulated walls dont mix.
You have a moisture problem. The warm humid air is collecting on a cold surface. Just like a wetness on the outside of a cold glass on a warm summer day. You have to open the window for 10 minutes a day to see if that helps or buy a dehumidifier.
I, too, live in a trailer Never, never vent your dryer under the trailer for the very reasons you stated. Moisture will build up and cause problems. You need to install a vent on the side (even if it routes through the underside. Double check often to make sure that once it actually is vented to the outside, that the connection doesn't loosen. Lots of problems solved.
I also keep my closet doors ajar, as they are on outside walls and get very cold in them without circulation from the house. Visit a store that specializes in mobile home items, etc. They can offer a great deal of advice and help you install proper vents, etc. Good luck.
I used to live in a trailer as well and we always had problems, especially with the windows. I live in Minnesota so it was always bad. The problem is definately moisture and lack of proper air circulation. The warm air hits the cold walls/windows/whatever and it condensates. When this sits for too long then it will start to mold. My window frames were completely rotten in the place we lived and the walls were paneling with very little if any insulation in them. We had problems in our closets as well as anything up against an outside wall that would start to mold during the winter.
You can try covering your windows in plastic which should help with the window problem.
As for the bathroom do you have a ventilation fan in the ceiling or wall that pulls all the humid air out of there? Hot steamy showers are the culprit but unless you want a cold shower there isn't much you can do except keep the door open when you shower.
As for the closets you may want to either consistently keep the doors closed so the temperature is cooler in there or if not make sure you don't have a lot of stuff stacked on the floors so the air circulates.
I now live in a house and we moved our dresser in our bedroom to paint after it had been in the same spot (outside wall) for 3 years. We had black mold growing on the sheet rock behind the dresser because of moisture and lack of air movement.
Condensation on the inside of your walls, since they are cold metal. All that water runs down and pools under your floor. Eventually it turns your particle-board subflooring to mush and you step through it to the ground. The only solution is to insulat it, but to do enough insulation to work, you need wider studs for thicker walls. Dern it. I know whereof I speak.
What can I do to stop and get rid of condensation under my mobile home. The windows, walls, and floors get damp and I'm worried about mold building up and the wood starting to rot.
Please advise.I would like to know where I can go to get these vents put in thank you in advance
We have a dreadful problem with condensation in our trailer roof. We have pulled down the ceiling, removed the insulation, and cleaned it up. We need to know now, how to fix it the right way. I am wondering if creating a "transition" (air pocket) like the one that exists in a wood attic, ie. "drop ceiling" like situation to create a larger air transition area would work.
Insulate right on top of that lowered ceiling. Rubber the inside, underside of the metal roof, to ensure against leaks, and top inhibit further condensation, as metal is a better temperature conduit than rubber. Will this work? We need to save this old trailer, on a budget.By Betty
Well consider two options.
Use an insulation product like celotex on your ceiling, say 75 mm it maybe thicker than your old insulation but will give greater value.
The other way is to put another covering over the roof ( if that is acceptable to where you have it located) making sure that there is a through air movement from the top cover to the lower( existing ) cover ( roof)
I have stains all over this year, on my ceiling; I have a mobile home. The weather this year has been cold, to warm, and back to really cold. The way my house is, that one side gets the direct sunlight. The other side does not get it on the back end and that is where our ceiling is having a problem this year.
I first thought it was a leak in the roof, but this is all along the edges of my ceiling from my living room, to kitchen, and then my bedroom. My bedroom I know has a lot of moisture issues with even the walls and windows. I know they needed to taken out and recaulked; that hopefully will help that issue. This is the first year we have not had a heater in our bedroom. I think that played a part in it too. We have only one exhaust fan in house above stove so what can we do?
By popcorn from Middletown, DE
Because the problem is along one side of your home, at the edge, my guess is that the ceiling stains might be caused by the guttering. Mobile homes usually have very narrow guttering. Cleaning out the gutters and downspouts might take care of that problem.
Moisture in the walls can lead to mold and other problems. Every few years the old caulk should be scraped away from around windows and doors and replaced with new caulking.
Mobile homes are often not as insulated or moisture proof as a conventional home. This can cause mold and mildew to grow inside walls or in bathrooms or kitchen areas.
