Condensation in Cabinets

[cardwellmarty]

I have condensation in cabinets above the bed and behind the headboard of the bed, it's at the front of the trailer where there is a hard plastic endcap, foam insulation is cut and placeed between framing, the rest of the TT is pressed foam with filon exterior and luan interior. There is no other condensation in the TT, l just have no idea how to stop it, insulation in the endcap is not consistent, when l had the window out at the head of the bed resealing it, early spring, l could see in the endcap but not really anyway to fix it without taking the endcap off. My thought is that lack of proper insulation with air pockets is what l believe that is causing the problem. We full time in our TT , l use electric heat only, and did not have this problem in the summer using the air conditioner. Any ideas of how to fix the problem?

[Cypressloser]

You need a dehumidifier, we have a small 28pint unit for our 43' trailer. Also, maintain an airspace between the mattress and the exterior wall and leave the cabinet doors ajar. Good air circulation inside the trailer makes a big difference and if you do find wet spots wipe them dry asap.

[cardwellmarty]

What brand of dehumidifier do you use, and do you like the way it performs?

[Cypressloser]

It's a Noma, to me they seem to look all they same 'made in China you get what you pay for kind a deal'. It works and when it dies in a year or 5 we get a new one.
We don't open the vents or run the exhaust fans in the trailer, the vents are sealed with insulation to keep some of the cold out, not even the windows fog up in sub zero (Fahrenheit) weather, but our trailer is probably better insulated than most.

Pay attention to black spots, if there are any wipe them away with Javex, you do not want black mold inside your home.

[benchmarks]

All cabinet doors should be left open during storage.

[cardwellmarty]

Thanks for the advice and 10-4 on the black mold, after you post earlier l went and put two screws on each cabinet door above the bed and made door stops a good half inch on each door and made sure there is at least a two inch air space between the wall and anything in the cabinet. Also the have plenty of space above anything in the cabinet. I am going to remodify the headboard tomorrow, l was able to get about and inch of air space behind it tonight and also made sure the blind did not

[cardwellmarty]

Did not touch the headboard to give and air space for circulation.

[Cypressloser]

Try running a box fan or similar in the bedroom during the day to move as much air around as possible.
Regarding the mattress, we religiously maintain that 2" - 3" air space to the exterior wall.
Here is a pic of our dehumdifier, we are not having any difficulty maintaining 25% - 30% humidity.

Shoot, sideways :-(

[cardwellmarty]

I will look on Amazon for the dehumidifier, thanks.

[Rich5117]

Agree you need a dehumidifier. We use one year round. Might I suggest the Eva dry 4000 it does not use a compressor, therefore less power. And it certainly is a lot quieter.

[cardwellmarty]

I have gotten all but one cabinet resolved from condensation, it is the cabinet above the water heater, which is under the kitchen sink, there are no leaks with the sink of plumbing drain pipes, it only puddles on the cabinet shelf just above the water heater when the water heater is in use, so it is condensation. Have any of you had this to happen? I understand about dehumidifiers, but is there any other resolution, damprid is another alternative, but is there a constructive fix?

[cardwellmarty]

l

[cardwellmarty]

I did some cut outs in the cabinets above the couch and dining table, l am going to place screen behind the cut outs after I do a little paint touch up. It has allowed the cabinets to breath, so far a fix for the condensation in these two cabinets.

[Rich5117]

Your Ventilation will help. Have you checked to see what the actual humidity is inside your unit. If you are not controlling the humidity, such as you noted with your air conditioning in summer, just two adults going about everyday normal living will add well above 4 liters of moisture vapor a day just buy breathing and a process called transpiration, this does not include cooking bathing etc. The only way to remove this is thru ventilation or dehumidification. Damp Rid is good but you will put more moisture into the air then the Damp Rid can remove in a days time as it is a passive removal not a mechanical type.

[Cypressloser]

The vent holes in the cabinet are a good way to add circulation and they look nice.
In my experience only a compressor type dehumidifier (we have a 50 pint unit) can remove enough water from the air in a short period of time because of the small space where the r.h. can really jump up quickly. We have the humidity level back to normal (25% - 30%) within 10 minutes after a shower with the bathroom vent closed.
Unfortunately, in a S&B home you can have 40% -50% humidity and everything is just fine but in an rv because of the small space and lower insulation value the optimal relative humidity level is usually somewhat lower.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Rich5117

Your Ventilation will help. Have you checked to see what the actual humidity is inside your unit. If you are not controlling the humidity, such as you noted with your air conditioning in summer, just two adults going about everyday normal living will add well above 4 liters of moisture vapor a day just buy breathing and a process called transpiration, this does not include cooking bathing etc. The only way to remove this is thru ventilation or dehumidification. Damp Rid is good but you will put more moisture into the air then the Damp Rid can remove in a days time as it is a passive removal not a mechanical type.

No l have not checked the actual humidity, during summer and the fall l had no condensation problems, and now only when the temperature is close to freezing, at that time of day the water that is being heated is very cold, , so l am supposing that is what is causing it, also l do not leave the water heater on all the time, the puddle on the shelf above the water heater will be 1/16 of and inch by 8 inches square, first made me think it was a leak from the kitchen sink or plumbing ( l ckecked the plumbing well ). Other than inside few cabinets the TT does not sweat. I have set the TT up total electric so there is no gas heat, we are also full timers.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

The vent holes in the cabinet are a good way to add circulation and they look nice.
In my experience only a compressor type dehumidifier (we have a 50 pint unit) can remove enough water from the air in a short period of time because of the small space where the r.h. can really jump up quickly. We have the humidity level back to normal (25% - 30%) within 10 minutes after a shower with the bathroom vent closed.
Unfortunately, in a S&B home you can have 40% -50% humidity and everything is just fine but in an rv because of the small space and lower insulation value the optimal relative humidity level is usually somewhat lower.

Thanks Cypressloser, l try to think outside the box and look for constructive fixes, but this one may require a dehumidifier, more than just sweaty cabinets. The bad thing about the dehumidifier is finding a good place for it , our TT is 30 foot long with 2 slide outs, roughly 350 sq. ft. So you know most useful spaces are occupied, lol. But where would the best loction be for a dehumidifier or is there one.

[cardwellmarty]

More like 325 square feet instead of 350.

[Rich5117]

Do you find that this happens more at night? Many times the temperature is allowed to go down at night, us included, better sleeping and less energy. The problem with doing this is the humidity will rise around 2% for every 2 degrees the temperature falls.

This is especially relevant to what Cypressloser has talked about. The smaller space and low insulation values can allow for micro environments to happen in unusually cold areas, thus the condensation issue on Windows and in closed cabinets.

Was a Mold Inspector and did other environmental work during my off shifts from the fire dept.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by Rich5117

Do you find that this happens more at night? Many times the temperature is allowed to go down at night, us included, better sleeping and less energy. The problem with doing this is the humidity will rise around 2% for every 2 degrees the temperature falls.

This is especially relevant to what Cypressloser has talked about. The smaller space and low insulation values can allow for micro environments to happen in unusually cold areas, thus the condensation issue on Windows and in closed cabinets.

Was a Mold Inspector and did other environmental work during my off shifts from the fire dept.

Yes it mostly at night, but on cold nights especially. But we don't normally turn the water heater on till about 2 or 3 pm for bathes and wash dishes then the water heater is turned off. I reckon l am searching constructive way to fix the problem, but l do not totally understand humidity, lol, but l am getting educated. The condensation does not appear with each use, just when the temperature outside is just right to cause condensation, middle Alabama weather is crazy.