Cleaning mildew on canvas

[RocktheCasbah]

We have a very new yurt and already we have a mildew problem. We're addressing the humidity issue (we live in the Pacific NW so it's a major concern), but once that's done I need to clean the mildew that has grown in the folds of the fabric where the rafters meet the fabric wall. We have 100% cotton canvas walls (Sunforger Marine Boat Shrunk) and they say to wash with soap and warm water but I really don't want this problem to get out of hand. We live in a rain forest where mold and fungus flourish!

Any advice on how to approach the cleanup is most most welcome!

[Bob Rowlands]

A dilute solution of bleach and water will kill the mold. Too strong and it will eat the canvas as well. What the percentage is I don't know, but I'll bet you could find out online. Try calling Davis tent in Denver Colorado and ask them. Or alternately Montana tent Co. I don't even know if the big dogs that sponsor this site offer a 100% canvas cover, because they degrade so quickly in wet environments.

My cover is 100% cotton canvas, and was treated with water repellent equivalent to Sunforger. My canvas cover is nearly four years old, and it is in need of either replacement, or being painted. I wouldn't bleach it. My yurt is in CO, a semi arid country. I hate to say it but canvas is a poor cover in a wet humid environment. Good luck.

[HawaiiYurts]

Vinegar is superior to bleach for actually killing mold. Bleach is better for taking out stains, but it doesn't kill a lot of molds. Are you having this issue on the interior or the exterior? If interior, did you get an

insulation

kit and have you properly ventilated (opening

dome

, plenty of windows, 2 doors that can open)?

[Yurtman]

We recommend a cleaner by iosso. You can buy it as a concentrate to mix with water. They also sell a proofing chemical too.
I have not used it personally, but several of our customers who had our yurts set up for long periods in really damp climates have used it to great success.
I had an outdoor school who were about to buy new covers for several yurts because they packed them away damp and when they took them out in the spring, they were covered in mold. After using the mold remover, they didn't have the buy new.
Check them out. www.iosso.com

[Wintergreen282]

Great tip! Thanks! Personally I've been lucky, but mold is such a huge issue for some. Nice to hear something positive.

[Bob Rowlands]

Thanks for the info folks.

[RocktheCasbah]

Hi! Thanks for the advice. It's a brand new yurt, just five months old and yes we have the

dome

cracked every day and lots of windows and doors, I air it out at least once/day with all the doors and windows open (even in the freezing cold), but still, we live in it full time and are bathing/cooking/living with a family of four and we create a lot of

moisture

I guess. Our humidity level seems to be at 50 all the time...normal for the Pacific Northwest I think. I can see actually condensation in the corners sometimes, so that's a lot of water!

[Nicholas Russell]

Hello All,

I thought I'd revive this thread as we've just experienced the exact same problem and seemed to have treated it with success.

We had some spots of mold on the interior cotton liner where the end of our log rafters meet the cotton.

We successfully removed all the spots with a 75% water 25% bleach solution. I mixed it in a spray bottle and sprayed the areas. The smaller spots I used a Q-tip.

This looks to have killed all mold and taken away the staining, too.

Our cotton is natural and off-white.

Our family of 4 lives full-time in a 24'

Yurtz by Design

in Southern Ontario, Canada.