Rain water got in through windows. Help!

08-22-2010, 10:45 AM

Hello all fellow TM owners.

Newbie here. Actually new to RVing. So far I have tent camped only. Just bought a used 2007 TM 3023 first of Aug. Very impressed with its capabilities and convieniences. And this forum has been very helpfull in making my decision to purchase and learning to enjoy it. Thank you all.

I got a call from wife yesterday, who took the TM out camping in Payson, AZ with our kids and a neighbors wife and kids. This is the second camping trip in 3 weeks we owned the TM. She forgot to close the windows and the roof top vent and left for some sight seeing trip and there was a heavy downpour. She says there was little water on the floor. And the cushions on the couch and mattress got soaked near the windows. And ofcourse all the curtains on the windows got soaked. I haven't seen the TM yet, because she is coming home later today and I will update if there is more info.

Please note that the first camp trip we slept through a heavy downpour as well and ofcourse all windows were closed and there was no sign of water leaks anywhere. So the TM held up very good in rain. It is just that the windows were open and rain got in. Live and learn!

Here is what I am thinking for cleanup:

Our TM has no carpet, so she mopped the floors and I think that will take care of that.
We live in Chandler, AZ so it is very dry. I think just opening up the TM when she gets home and airing it out will take care of any moisture in the TM. If you have other ideas please let me know.
For the mattress I am thinking of taking them out of the TM and leave it in the hot AZ sun for couple of hours and that should take care of that. Is the mattress removable easily?
As far as the couch I dont think the cushions comes out, so I am thinking of using a shop vac or renting a steam cleaner and suck up any moisture and clean it up. Not sure how to remove any water marks that will get left behind.
As far as the curtains I am thinking about removing them from the TM and give a COLD wash either in the washing machine or by hand, and let it air dry, so there is no shrinkage.

Sorry for the long post folks. Just wanting to state the problem and hoping to get answers quick. Any thoughts, suggestions, comments and laughs are welcome.

thank you.

08-22-2010, 12:04 PM

Think you are on the right track for everything, but the curtains. No matter how hard you try, they will shrink. Suggest you spin dry to remove as much water as possible then install in TM while damp. Close them, open the windows and allow them to dry in place. Air drying them ( uninstalled) will allow them to shrink just enough that they will be difficult to install. Also not sure which sofa you have, but much of mine is removable.

TexasCamper · 08-22-2010, 12:13 PM

I agree that you can dry the curtains in place. Set up the TM, open the windows, and close the curtains. I'm sure the dry warm weather will dry them up.

And for the sofa bed cushions, you can do what I did....my daughter spilled water on the sofa the day we were going to put it into storage. While I dried the surface up, I was worred that deep moisture would encourage mildew in storage. So I took the sofa bottom inside my house. It's a little heavy with the metal frame, but completely removable. Next time we took the camper out of storage for camping, I just put the sofa bottom back into place, no problem!

Oh, and fyi....sometimes when you close the windows, they don't click into place. And then there will be a very small opening which may allow some water to get in. Probably not a big deal when camping but it could be a big deal if you store the camper in the open. So just make sure the windows are completely closed when you store it.

-John

mcgyver210 · 08-22-2010, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brittoa

Our TM has no carpet, so she mopped the floors and I think that will take care of that.

I would just make sure you check under the furnishings etc just to make sure you got all the moisture up. TM doesn't seal the edges of linoleum.
We live in Chandler, AZ so it is very dry. I think just opening up the TM when she gets home and airing it out will take care of any moisture in the TM. If you have other ideas please let me know.

Honestly this may work but water damage can be hidden also if not dried out properly. At minimum you need to run some air movement so as to promote quick proper drying.
For the mattress I am thinking of taking them out of the TM and leave it in the hot AZ sun for couple of hours and that should take care of that. Is the mattress removable easily?

You should be able to remove easily but depending on how wet you may be better off replacing for possible health reasons since foam is very hard to dry properly unless started immediately.
As far as the couch I dont think the cushions comes out, so I am thinking of using a shop vac or renting a steam cleaner and suck up any moisture and clean it up. Not sure how to remove any water marks that will get left behind.

You seem to be talking about the jack-knife sofa. As long as it didn't stay soaked for an extended time you may be able to save it form mildew damage.
As far as the curtains I am thinking about removing them from the TM and give a COLD wash either in the washing machine or by hand, and let it air dry, so there is no shrinkage.

Curtains should be your easiest one to fix

None of what I have said is meant to scare you but you do have to be careful when taking care of a water damage since even a Clean Water Damage can rapidly evolve into a Black Water Damage. What you described was Soaking Wet which is what I am basing my opinion on.

Water Damage not dried properly can cause possible health issues.

There are three basic Classifications of Water Damage:

Clean Water

Grey Water: This would be the class of your damage most likely.

Black Water

OneMoBear · 08-22-2010, 05:08 PM

I'll head off in a slightly different direction . . . I think you were very lucky with the overhead vents. Vent covers were a must for us and now we rarely close them completely. There has been a recent post about installing them.

Malinda

mcgyver210 · 08-22-2010, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneMoBear

I'll head off in a slightly different direction . . . I think you were very lucky with the overhead vents. Vent covers were a must for us and now we rarely close them completely. There has been a recent post about installing them.

Malinda

Good advice I was going to suggest that also just forgot. We have installed two & have plans on the third but it is more expensive & harder to install so I keep putting it off.

We never really close vents with the MaxxVents in place.

08-23-2010, 10:32 PM

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and how to fix the issue. After my wife pulled in to home yesterday, I surveyed the damage and fortunately there wasn't much. Wife said it proabably rained for half hour so it wasn't an extended period of time. Also she came back to the TM as soon as she heard the thunder and rain clouds from wherever she was sight seeing. She immediately started mopping up the floor and put towels on the matress and the couch and had the kids sit on the towels to help absorb the water.

When she got home I checked the floor and behind the furniture and could not feel any moisture.

The matress was damp on one end and after 4 hours in the sun, it was dry. I opened the zipper to the cover and ran my fingers through the top of the mattress and squeezed and could not feel any dampness.

The couch cushions were dry by the time my wife pulled the TM home, but I still pulled it out and let it dry in the sun. again I opened the zipper and felt it and it is all dry.

The drapes were dry by the time the TM got home. There were no water marks and we decided on not washing them at this time.

And I let the TM opened up rest of Sunday and entire Monday. I ran the AC fan on all the time to keep air moving. Like I mentioned before the dry AZ weather eased most of my problems.

I will look into this vent covers that you guys talk about.

thanks again everyone who responded. you are all awesome.

08-24-2010, 06:35 AM

Glad it worked out OK. Don't forget to air out the kids since they soaked up all the water from the couch.