winter dampness

M

marcshall

Member
here on the north west cost the dampness causes mold .I have my cars In a barn with car covers . would like to make or buy a heater of some sort to keep the dampness down, maybe light bulb in a can , store bought heaters?would like to see what you guys with this problem came up with ? photos would be great thanks:)
 
I have a boat and what I do for that in winter is put about 4-5 paper bowels (like paper plate) of baking soda in cabin. I buy big bag at SAMs club and same w bowls add and it's good for winter - never had problem with mold or moister.

I'll also add any heater you risk a fire.
 
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Unless you are willing to insulate and install a suitable furnace to heat the area where your "cars" are I doubt any small heater will provide enough heat to reduce the relative humidity.
Perhaps a couple of de-humidifiers might do the trick.
 
Here in Nebraska I have to run a dehumidifier in my car storage garage year round. Dump it every 2-3 days.
 
Put some plywood or something down on the floor under it. I stored my car for years in my garage with the old carpet from the house on the floor and no mold or mildew. Transmission leaked all over it so I took it out, now on bare concrete and have been rewarded with a mess of mildew. Not saying it will work for sure but seems strange it did for me.
 
Do a Google search for Kats Heaters, and Zero-start heaters. these 2 company's manufacture eng heaters and electric automotive interior heaters. I used to use them up here in Alaska to keep the interior warm in the winter before I had a garage. the are thermostatically controlled so they turn off and on to maintain what ever heat setting you put it on. these heaters usually used to mount under the dash .\, and can be removed in the summer. just an option.------Jim
 
Check out a "Golden Rod", they use them in gun safes to keep moisture, low voltage heat rod and they have their own leg stand, plug in and shut door. I used one year in my car under a carport before I had a garage.
 
Marcshall: Go to a musical instrument sales store, and tell them you want a piano heater / dehumidifier: they fit inside the piano and keep moisture from warping the sounding board. I have used one for years in my Baby Grand with excellent results. Also have them in the convertible cars which are stored in an unheated garage, and have had no issue with moisture or mildew.
 
5851a said:
Put some plywood or something down on the floor under it. I stored my car for years in my garage with the old carpet from the house on the floor and no mold or mildew. Transmission leaked all over it so I took it out, now on bare concrete and have been rewarded with a mess of mildew. Not saying it will work for sure but seems strange it did for me.
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In addition to all the good ideas already posted, I like to add a 'moisture barrier', on the floor. Simply, a plastic drop cloth. I have one garage stall which tends to have moisture come up through the cement floor. I also like the 'old rug' idea. Ive used it under a couple cars, simply to soak up the leaks.
I wish a plastic barrier was used when the garage floor was poured, like I've seen done for slab-floor houses. Neither me or the contractor thought of it.
 
A combination of BobH and OhioRick will do it at minimal expense. The problem isn't the winter as the colder the air gets outside the dryer it get's and that will be your friend. It's the dampness from the dirt floor in most barns. The sufficiently thick plastic sheet on the floor covering as much of the area under and around the car as you can and a couple of window fans pulling fresh air in and pushing damp air out ( or one if you can close things up relatively tight with a fan pulling the air out and a fresh air in vent / window somewhere in an opposite location in the barn. Fans can be small as they need to run 24 - 7, 8" dia. type that fit in a double sash window or jury rig something.
 
I was thinking of a light bulb maybe a 20 watt in an ammo box on passenger side floor, window down a bit with the car cover on
 
In them old days we covered the car with several wool horse blankets and put a 100 watt bulb inside. Now I use cold storage and 6 mil plastic underneath.
 
I have two electric heaters, made by Ouellet, Quebec, Canada.....which has a built in thermostat, which I have set at 55*F .....small & compact.....exactly what I want to keep the garage temperature well above freezing.....model: OEA5000T
 
Before I heated my shop garage I would park my stored vehicle on 4 sheets of 4'x 8' x 2'' sheets of the hard pink styrofoam insulation butted together. It was amazing how this reduced the humidity, It really helps. I never had any moisture when I did this on the vehicle frame etc.

Pat
 
A number of good ideas above, but one missed is that depending on the car cover you're using, they may be part of the problem. Some car covers come down to nearly the floor and in that case trap the moisture emitted from floors lacking a vapor barrier. If those are your type of cover consider hiking them up with spring clips or clothes pins to the level of the running boards or the center of the wheels. In concert with creating air movement or heat, that will ensure that air beneath the cars circulates and discourages the formation of moisture and mold which is dependent on that moisture.

The problem in most venues that have real winters is not the dead of winter as stated above, but rather the late winter and early spring when the dew points are close to the ambient temperature. If your cars are near the B.C. coast, those conditions could exist all winter long given that winters are relatively mild.

It also should be noted that most dehumidifiers do not operate well at temperatures below 60 degrees. At that temperature their coils start to form ice.
 
The plastic sheet is great idea. In boats, a desiccant is very effective in removing moisture in the interior.
 
If you're only concerned about the interior of the car I'd suggest a small fan on the floor pointed toward the roof and one container of desiccant on each seat. In your climate, if you use heat like a light bulb, the heat will rise to the roof along with any humidity then collide with the cold metal causing condensation and rust. Keeping the moist air moving and trapping it with desiccant is the way to go. Desiccant is usually on the bottom shelf near cleaning products in supermarkets. Here's a common product in the U.S. Hopefully you have something similar.

http://www.damprid.com/

Lonnie

PS: Check the containers in the car often.
 
Don't use carpet the critters like to use it for nesting material, plastics sounds like a good idea, I also buy the oblong damprid type product from the dollar store.
 
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