Motorhome Mildew
We live in North Carolina, and when storing our motorhome, even for a short time, we get a lot of mildew on it, especially the north side. What is the best way to remove the mildew?
Larry Erdmann, F401103
Maple Hill, North Carolina
Living in Arizona, I don’t have a lot of experience with mildew, but after a quick Internet search, I realized that this is a significant problem for those living in other areas of North America.
I’ve asked “RV Doctor” Gary Bunzer, who writes FMC’s “House Calls” column, to weigh in:
“Your best bet may be to use a mixture of simple household bleach and hot water with a soft, nonabrasive Scotch-Brite pad. You’ll have to adjust the ratio of water and bleach to account for how stubborn the mildew is and how much it has set in. There are many “home brews” on the Internet. Do not mix bleach and vinegar. These two in combination create chlorine gas.
“Whenever you use a product other than mild soap on your motorhome’s exterior, it’s important to consider the type of material used to make the exterior sidewalls. Try an assortment of Scotch pads and bleach and water combinations on inconspicuous portions of the motorhome’s exterior to determine the best approach for either aluminum or fiberglass siding.
“I’ve heard good things about Duragloss Marine & RV Cleaner with Mildew Buster, which includes sodium hypochlorite; in other words, bleach. If you’d rather not use a bleach-type product, RvLIFE (www.rvlifeproducts.com) offers a chlorine-free and acid-free Mildew Remover. A couple of other over-the-counter products that might work include Zep and Tilex. Again, try them first in an inconspicuous spot.
“Keep in mind that using any type of abrasive — soaps, cleaners, Scotch pads, etc. — may remove protective waxes from the coach finish. Be sure to go back and rewax and/or rebuff those areas after you’ve removed the mildew.”
Perhaps readers of FMC have discovered tried-and-true methods for removing mildew that they would like to share with other motorhome owners. If so, solutions can be sent to techtalk@fmca.com.
Mineral Oil In Batteries
With the kind of batteries I run in my motorhome (six house batteries), and no automatic water refill system, keeping water in them at the right level can sometimes be iffy if I forget to check them. It was suggested that I put approximately 3 ounces of mineral oil in each cell (once the water level is low enough in them). The idea is that the oil, which is going to float on the water, will help decrease water evaporation, because it basically “seals” the water from being able to rise above this oil. Is there any truth to this? As stated, I am aware that oil will float on water, so it sounds logical, but I think that your experiences may be a bit more tested.
Mary Ann Humphrey-Keever, F370527
Portland, Oregon
This was the first time I’d ever heard of this suggestion, so I forwarded your question to Bill Hendrix and also went looking for some information on the Internet. What I gleaned from a pair of Web sources is that this is NOT a good idea! Several reasons for not using this process were given, including the oil becoming too well mixed with the electrolyte and coating the batteries’ plates, overfilling the cells, and others.
The following is Bill’s answer, and I agree with him.
“I have not heard of this, and I am sure that if you ask a battery manufacturer they would tell you not to do this. The fluid in the battery is not water; it is electrolyte — sulfuric acid and water — and acid will react with the oil, causing it to oxidize.”
I wouldn’t add mineral oil to MY batteries. A better suggestion would be to replace your current batteries with maintenance-free batteries or glass-mat batteries so that you wouldn’t have to worry about adding distilled water in the future.
Hard-Wired Charging
I’m writing in regard to the “Battery Charging” letter that appeared in the July 2013 issue (page 18). What I did was to hard wire a Battery Tender Junior to the chassis batteries and plug it into a coach receptacle that is located in an outside compartment. However, you need to be sure that the current the chassis battery draws is less than the output of the Battery Tender.
I discovered this issue when the motorhome was less than two months old. I was parked in an RV park and plugged in, so I figured there was no need to throw the chassis disconnect relay, which was reported to disconnect the load from the chassis battery. Seven days later, when I went to start the coach, it would not start, not even when using the battery boost switch that connects the house batteries to the chassis battery. A call to the dealer revealed that the chassis battery is indeed not chargeable when the motorhome is plugged in. I was told that the only way to charge the chassis battery was by running the engine and having the alternator provide the charging power. Also, if the chassis battery voltage falls below a certain voltage level, the battery booster switch will not work. I ended up using my towed vehicle and jumper cables to fool the booster switch into thinking there was enough power in the chassis battery for the booster to work (the car’s battery could not start the diesel in the coach by itself).
By running some tests, I was able to determine that it takes just three days for the chassis batteries to draw down to a point that the booster switch will not work if the chassis battery disconnect switch is not thrown. By using that switch, I gain seven more days before the chassis batteries are too low to use the booster switch. The funny part is that the owners manual recommends you start the coach every 30 days, but as designed it will not start without outside help after 10 days.
One of the loads that is disconnected when the chassis disconnect relay is used is the front shade. Thus, whenever I wanted to raise or lower the shade I would have to throw the disconnect relay, raise or lower the shade, and then throw the disconnect switch again. It is the one load I found that I believe should not be disabled when the chassis battery disconnect relay is used, despite finding several loads that should be disconnected, including the stair step light. I did not chase all the wiring, but I am sure that the rationale for this has something to do with the shade automatically raising when the engine is started. To remedy this issue, I installed a spring-loaded switch that allows me to direct house battery voltage to the shade when the chassis disconnect relay is on. Since it is spring-loaded, the shade operates as originally designed unless I have my hand on the spring-loaded switch.
Rick Coleman, F411801
Weaverville, California
Thank you for sharing this information.
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