I have a new to me 1978 Scamp that my parents bought used 20 years ago. It has always had a musty smell. My parents replaced the carpet thinking that would help. It didn't. I cannot sleep in my Scamp until I get this fixed. I believe I have read every post about this and I still have a questions. I plan to use Zinsner mildew paint to seal in the smell. Here is my question. Do I need to take out all of the builtins before I start painting? I don't want to add to all the work that needs to be done, but I don't want to skimp and then still have the smell. Can someone help me?
Thu, 07/30/2015 - 15:07
#1
Getting rid of the musty smell
I would take out everything if you want to make sure it gets done completely. I did leave my closet in place and taped and painted around it because it's probably not a huge source of the odors. The benches are not horribly difficult to remove, the kitchen and the overhead cabinets above the kitchen cabinet require drilling out the rivets to remove, but since this is where the odors are usually very prevalent I would remove them to allow thorough cleaning and sealing with the Zinsser. I highly recommend you remove any flooring material and seal the sub-floor with the Zinsser as well. Flooring, depending on what type it is normally is a big culprit in odors.
Very possible it's been wet inside and you might have mold issues that need to be remediated. Removing most of the cabinetry/benches will reveal that. Once exposed the hide needs a thorough cleaning with a 409 type cleaner and soft bristle brush before sealing with the Zinsser.
I know it is a lot of labor, but it will pay huge dividends in the years ahead to make sure it is thoroughly cleaned and sealed. When you expose everything you will most likely find a number of other issues that need to be remediated before putting the Scamp back together.
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If you have rot in your floors it will cause a funky odor. I have stripped trailers down and cleaned and painted the walls like Greg suggest and found floor rot. Once the floor sections were replaced, besides the structual improvements the new wood and resin gave the trailer a new trailer smell.
Eddie
I would recommend you try an Ozonator first.
Ozone will take the smell out and will kill the mold/mildew which is causing the mildew smell.
The Ozonator listed below is very reasonably priced and can save you a ton of work!
I would recommend running the Ozonator for a couple of hours with all cabinet doors and hatches open, use a box fan to circulate the ozone throughout the Scamp.
After a couple of days the scent from the Ozone will dissipate and you should have a nice, fresh, unscented Scamp.
Here is the link to my original posting which has the link to order the Ozonator:
http://www.scampcamper.com/forums/odor-removal
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
I have been leaning towards pulling everything out anyway, so I will just get started. It will feel better to start fresh. It is so great to have a panel of experts on hand. Maybe I will even be the one with the answers some day.
Gail