Help! mold, headliner, what is it?

[Captned]

Greetings all,
I’ve been a live aboard in Miami Beach for the last 4 years on a 1978 46' Convertible. I have noticed for the last year or so, when I go to bed at night, I become congested in a short amount of time and make the Admiral mad with my snoring. It seems when I travel, or sleep off the boat I have no problems at all. I have started to suspect the 26 year old air handler in my stateroom; I also suspect the original headliner and the 4 year old carpet. I do clean the interior, wash bedding and wipe down stuff weekly. I also long ago ordered Electro static air filters and wash them out weekly. I also clean the fins on the air intakes where I can reach. Has anyone had similar sinus problems? Does anyone have suggestions for replacing the headliner? Has anyone pulled an air handler and cleaned it? When the condensation drain line clogs and I clear them, nasty stuff does come out. I fear this is starting to affect my health. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the medicinal scotch I am forced to consume in the evenings!

Thanks all, Captned - Hatt Attack

 

[Passages]

Sounds like you are on the right path. Mold/mildew will take up residence in warm, moist recesses of the boat. You just got to get in there and check it out.

Your symptoms seem to match those of acute exposure to spores but I will leave any discussion on that to our esteemed Dr. Jim.

 

[Banshee36]

If your headliner is the one with all the little holes, I can guarntee the inside of your headliner is black with nasty stuff. It could be your culprit.
JW

 

[Captned]

Yes it is! The 26 year old headliner with the holes. Suggestions? Thanks, Ned

 

[Genesis]

There is no solution to that problem other than to take it down and replace it, if indeed it has mold growing in/on the back side of it.

See if you can get access to any part of the "inside" of it (e.g. behind an electrical box, etc) and see what 'ya got. You won't like the amount of work - or the cost - involved in replacing this.

 

[mike]

Has anyone replaced their headliner with a wood in-lay or a similar material?

 

[67hat34c]

I pulled my home ac evaporator and cleaned it. used an acid/detergent solution that can be purchased from home depot in the A/C area. Dont need to pull them to clean unless realy bad. Recommend you clean it in place and if not satisfied then hire ac guy to pull it. you can use a pump up sprayer with water to rinse and use shop vac, be careful not to bend the fins, if damaged you can get an ac fin comb to repair them.

Mold can be killed by treating with alcohol. also drying it up. must first stop its source of moisture.

 

[Banshee36]

Headliners are expensive, but shop around. A lot of places are really busy and throw out ridiculos estimates, but I have found cash gets the best price.
I suppose you could make a headliner out of 1/4 inch plywood and cover it with vinal. Sounds like a lot of work. Good luck.
JW

 

[MikeP]

One 53MY we looked at had all the headliners and the rear deck ceiling redone in some sort of thin hard plastic. It looked nice and if I hadn't known that oem was the perforated vinyl stuff, it wouldn't have occured to me that the headliner wasn't original.

I don't know anything at all about what the material was and we rejected the boat for other considerations, but it would be a possibility if it is necessary to rip out the old to eliminate the mold.

 

[SeaEric]

If the "electrostatic air filter" you mentioned is one of those things that creates ozone, IT MAY BE YOUR PROBLEM. They are not healthy in a small enclosed space, like a boat cabin. Remove that device immediately. As far as the headliner, there are a number of new materials available. A product called Whisper Wall is one. You attach tracks to the ceiling, then a fabric pushes in to grooves to hold it tightly in place. A local yacht interior lady here at kent Island MD. installs is. She tells me that it is used in the newer Bertrams and looks great. Perhaps she can direct you to someone in Fl. Carolyn at Island Yacht Interiors may be reached at 410-643-9594. I had a mold problem in a former boat. I chased it for a year and then sold the boat.

 

[Captned]

Electrostatic air filters are just those fancy ones you order to size and give you the ability to wash them out. They work really good even though I have to duct tape them in place. I don't think they are active (produce ozone) in anyway. Thanks for all the info so far. I got access to see behind the original headliner in the salon, and it looks fine. I would hope I don't have to replace it as it still looks great throughout the whole boat. Still suspect the airhandler, when the weather cools in the next month or so, I'll get a AC guy to help me pull my air handler and give it a bath.

 

[Genesis]

If its the air handler its easily taken care of.

Go over to Home Depot and get a can of coil cleaner. Its a foamy cleaner.

Spray the evaporator liberally until it is covered in the white foamy stuff.

Turn on the AC unit and set to COOL to cause condensate to form.

The gunk - including the mold - will be flushed off the coils.

If the ductwork is involved (it probably is) you need to pull and REPLACE that. There is no way around that one, and if you don't, the problem will come right back.