Air Quality for Liveaboards

[Kettlewell]

Don't know about mold, but I breathe much better on the boat and snore less, according to my wife. I sleep like a baby onboard and never feel better. Sea air agrees with me.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Richhh

Sean -
I prefer detergents containing sodium silicates. Good for dissolving mold/mildew cells. I started using such for cleaning dacron sails (follwed with an oxalic bleaching). I got to notice that the sodium silicate was the 'bomb' on releasing 'artillery fungus' (teen black specks) from sails. I noticed that I had artillery fuingus under seat lockers and it worked so well on those places that I now use it for just about all mold/mildew - because it dissolves it.
BTW - Such detergents can be obtained from janitorial supplies, WEST MARINE used to carry it - the brand was called Tuff-eNuff.
BTW - Im also get involved in the disinfection of bio-pharm clean rooms where we 'dry-fog' with micronic sized aerosols of 1% peracetic acid and Hydrogen peroxide .... which is the probably the best 'killer' for all microorganisms - viruses, bacteria, fungals, etc. etc. On my boat I kill all the hidden spaces with peracetic +H2O2 and then dissolve the rest with sodium silicates. I'll use TSP tri-sodium phosphate (hardware store stuff) if I cant find the others.
I say again, you have to clean it after you kill it ... or you'll just wind up with an infection of yet another species.
I was a volunteer paramedic for 25+ years and well know the results of stochybatris, aspergillus, etc. .... the super dangerous black crap that lives on cellar walls.

I know this is a reply to an old post - but if you are lookin' - What can I put on my stinky AVON life raft to kill the critters and that I can leave on it to keep them generally dead without harm to the raft while its packed away?

[hellosailor]

There are a whole family of "Tuff-e-Nuff" cleaners but the primary one does not list sodium silicate as an ingredient:

Dimethyl Glutarate (1119-40-0)
Dimethyl Adipate (627-93-0)
Dimethyl Succinate (106-65-0)
Soy Methyl Esters (67784-80-9)
Ethyl Lactate (97-64-3)
Soybean Oil (8001-22-7)
Aloe Vera (No CAS#)
Italian Pumice (1332-09-08)
Cocoamidopropyl Betaine (61789-40-0)
Bentonite (68953-58-2)

PCMX Antiseptic (No CAS)

Sodium silicate, aka "waterglass", readily forms a white glassly crystalline coating. It is used for antileak coolant and fireproofing match stems. I wouldn't use it to clean anything. The abrasives in tuff-e-nuff would also seem to make it less than ideal for a life raft.

TSP is also commonly banned because of concerns with phosphates getting into the water. Spic-n-Span was reformulated 20? years ago because of that, IIRC. TSP is a good cleaner, if you can still get it.

Perhaps Rich was thinking of another chemical, or a different cleaner?

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

There are a whole family of "Tuff-e-Nuff" cleaners but the primary one does not list sodium silicate as an ingredient:

Dimethyl Glutarate (1119-40-0)
Dimethyl Adipate (627-93-0)
Dimethyl Succinate (106-65-0)
Soy Methyl Esters (67784-80-9)
Ethyl Lactate (97-64-3)
Soybean Oil (8001-22-7)
Aloe Vera (No CAS#)
Italian Pumice (1332-09-08)
Cocoamidopropyl Betaine (61789-40-0)
Bentonite (68953-58-2)

PCMX Antiseptic (No CAS)

Sodium silicate, aka "waterglass", readily forms a white glassly crystalline coating. It is used for antileak coolant and fireproofing match stems. I wouldn't use it to clean anything. The abrasives in tuff-e-nuff would also seem to make it less than ideal for a life raft.

TSP is also commonly banned because of concerns with phosphates getting into the water. Spic-n-Span was reformulated 20? years ago because of that, IIRC. TSP is a good cleaner, if you can still get it.

Perhaps Rich was thinking of another chemical, or a different cleaner?

TSP is readily available from Home Depot. I bought Concrodium there last weekend and spritzed the whole raft. It helped but still stinks. What makes servicing a life raft difficult is that the material generally needed seem to be only sold through servicers - who will not sell to you. Same seems to be true for the knowledge base.

[hellosailor]

Apparently there are or were some 16 states that banned a number of products with certain levels of tsp, like dishwasher detergent, but the laws vary. Home Depot sells several "TSP" products but the fine print on all of them here says:
{phosphate free} TSP {substitute}

Concrodium says:
"The unique, tri-salt polymer dries on moldy surfaces to crush existing mold spores and remains on the substrate to provide ongoing mold protection.
Note: The phosphate content in Concrobium Mold Control is less than 0.5%, making it an ecologically responsible solution."

So, it is relying on leaving a powder on the material to prevent new mold (possibly by shifting the ph) and it gets past the TSP bans because it has so little TSP in it. It has 99.5% less TSP in it, than real TSP does. Almost qualifies as a homeopathic medicine.<G>


What kind of smell does your raft stink from again?

Have you tried calling a few of the pros, like 3M and ArmorAll, about cleaners? 3M makes all sorts of unexpected things, and their hotline can and will connect you to a product engineer, not just a script reader, for any product they make, at any location they may be based in.

It pobably would help if you know exactly what the raft was made of (rubber, urethane, etc.) and whether it is glued or welded construction.

If fungus has gotten into something porous or microtextured, it can be difficult to get out but it always is possible. And I'd bet the repack station uses what is either cheap or "authorized" not necessarily the best product.

[Nicholson58]

[QUOTE=hellosailor;1202307]Apparently there are or were some 16 states that banned a number of products with certain levels of tsp, like dishwasher detergent, but the laws vary. Home Depot sells several "TSP" products but the fine print on all of them here says:
{phosphate free} TSP {substitute}

Concrodium says:
"The unique, tri-salt polymer dries on moldy surfaces to crush existing mold spores and remains on the substrate to provide ongoing mold protection.
Note: The phosphate content in Concrobium Mold Control is less than 0.5%, making it an ecologically responsible solution."

So, it is relying on leaving a powder on the material to prevent new mold (possibly by shifting the ph) and it gets past the TSP bans because it has so little TSP in it. It has 99.5% less TSP in it, than real TSP does. Almost qualifies as a homeopathic medicine.<G>


What kind of smell does your raft stink from again?

QUOTE]

Our Home depot sells two TSP solutions. One is eco-friendly and the other is the real deal accompanied with multiple environmental warnings. The notable use is to scrub a pool lining before recoating with new epoxy paint, etc.

The raft smells like a WWII army surpluss ruberized poncho from the musty back room of the local surpluss store. If a coating of straight TSP is the right stuff, I can make it happen. The raft is a 1984 vintage rubberized fabric AVON. Its in the livingroom and makes pressure test. No cracks in the rubber or joints. It has held pressure now for almost 10 days.

[ardoin]

Ignoring life rafts. I use vinegar and water to wipe down the boat interior twice a year. In addition I use lemon oil on the exposed wood after the wipe down. The only remaining problem is the seals on the refrig and the boards under the beds. On these I use diluted Lysol (the stuff in the brown bottle that your grandmother used). I also have hypervent under the beds and that helps to keep the foam dry event when there is condensation on the boards.
Now for dust bunnies! I have more of a problem with dust than mold.

[JanetGroene]

This was a big issue in the travel trailers moved into New Orleans after Katrina. The new building materials, from carpeting to wall coverings, gassed off, supposedly making people sick. Does anyone know what air filters work for mold and/or these chemical toxins?

[zeehag]

when i was in port of lost angeles i used a wonderful air cleaner--non ionic, as ionic is bad for asthma. it even filtered out the diesel fumes within 8 minutes for the entire saloon of my boat, right next door to the exhaust of the running diesel engine.
was a box, less than 10 inches square, and i forget the name of the distributor.
i have noticed that everywhere boats are anchored,moored or docked are the dirtiest places on earth--flying dirt and dust, sawdust, bugs, everything, so become used to it. my asthma is cough variant, so it is noticed when air is bad. instantaneously.
at sea--life rocks and asthma is nonexistent. lovin' my life.

[hellosailor]

Janet, AFAIK you need particle filters to pull out airborne critters (like mold and fungus) but only active charcoal/carbon filters will pull out any toxic chemicals. The usual advice is either bring in lots of fresh outside air & exhaust the contaminates outside, or evacuate the area. There's no safe way to stay in a trailer that is actively emitting formaldehyde, except if you're wearing a moon suit.