Damp and mildewy in my pop top roof

[Winchweight]

The top is fibre glass with a flock lining, but the area over the bed is constantly damp and mildewy. Even if I fully ventilate and dry the van so the canvas is bone dry, the top remains damp and horrible.

Can I insulate it with foam and reflective foil, or carpet? What have you done to prevent it?

[infidel]

then I would suggest there is a leak.

mines an `83 permanently stood outside and is dry as a bone.

[keith]

the westy flock lining does suffer from a damp feel.

most people treat periodically with a Milton sterilising / weak bleach solution applied with a cloth or soft brush. (don't get it on the painted roof parts)

doesn't cure the "feel" but makes it a non-issue.

[PetenAli]

Ours gets this problem every so often although it is dry as a bone and completely leak free. I think once the mould spores are there it is hard to fully get rid of them and so in winter time we can get a recurrence of mould appearing.

We have recently used Dettol Mould & Mildew Remover which seems to do a good job and keep the mould away for up to two years. Miltons is probably just as good though.

See also our post on this topic about half way down the first page of this thread: http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=91858" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good luck with it!

[lloydy]

Mines pretty much dry, but some people seem to suffer from it. They even have the roof dripping on them! Yuk..

[Winchweight]

Pretty sure there's no leak. I think its condensation as we've been away over Christmas in it. It's limited to the area over the bed where the air doesn't circulate so well, not the kitchen area.

Has anyone lined theirs?

[jpennington]

I take the matress out of the upper bed in my Joker over winter. It just allows a bit more air flow under the roof. Also pop the roof up for an hour or two whenever there is a sunny & dry day.
It still gets a bit damp, just due to condensation.
The flock is covered with grey/black patches, but they have been there for years and are not getting any worse. I did once try a mildew remover, with little success.
I am very wary of strong cleaners: many years ago we had a Citroen Dyane and the wife cleaned the fabric roof with bleach - a few months later the roof disintegrated.

[PetenAli]

I am very wary of strong cleaners: many years ago we had a Citroen Dyane and the wife cleaned the fabric roof with bleach - a few months later the roof disintegrated.

Citroens as opposed to Volkswagons??!!

[PetenAli]

Has anyone lined theirs?

I think you would have to remove the flock and it would be hard to get any replacement. There are lots of Westy poptops still working pretty well as they were first constructed. They just need a bit of maintenance every so often. Not too much work...

[Winchweight]

Fair point I suppose. I'll have to think about it a bit more.

[keith]

Breeze is the answer....

[trucker]

Breeze is the answer....

^^WHS^^

Ours can get a little damp with four of us breathing this time of year, we just open a window and the skylight in the morning or if we're cooking.

Milton fluid cleaned ours up lovely

[Winchweight]

Rights, thanks. We didn't open ours much during the gales as we wanted to keep it!

[lloydy]

Squirreled away somewhere I have details of a company that will reflock the ceiling, he was dressed as Austin powers at Busfest

[andypandy1930]

Lloydy I would be very interested in the re-flock mans details as well if you come across them