Foretravel Owners' Forum

After our last trip we noticed some stains on our ceiling (2004 U270) which we had not noticed previously.  We ran the AC the entire trip and did not hit any rain.
I inspected the roof front to back a couple of times and could find no possible entry points for moisture.
Any ideas as to what the stains might be caused by?

Thanks Woody

I have the same type of stains on my roof...mostly close to the AC outlets.  I just presumed these were from faulty air filters (replaced recently) in the AC units.
Not only do i want to know whre there originated, but WHAT is the best product to clean them without leaving an evident "white" spot

Our spots were from the AC fans blowing airborne dust into the ceiling fabric.  I used Folex Carpet Cleaner to remove them.  Spray, dab, spray, dab, finish with water and dab.

Amazon.com: FOLEX Instant Carpet Spot Remover, 32oz : Health & Household (https://www.amazon.com/Folex-Carpet-Spot-Remover-32/dp/B001B0V5GG)

For reference the fabric is Ozite. We steam cleaned ours as we had the same stains from the AC vents. Looks like new.

Most likely that is black mold. Even without visible leaks condensation and the temperature swings that occur in storage can cause enough moisture to accumulate and start that growth. There are spray on products that will kill the mold on contact, but they may bleach the carpet. I would try a good rug/upholstery shampoo from spray cans or maybe have a service come in with the "machine" and plan to do the whole thing. Even though it is overhead you will be surprised how dirty the ceiling is.

Suggestion:  If storing a coach with temperatures above 40 degrees F, AND with shore power (even 15 amps works fine), put a small/30 amp house-type dehumidifier in the coach along with a small fan to move air around.  Set it to 55%.

Set the dehumidifier either on the kitchen counter (draining into the sink) or in the shower.

Never any mold, but not dry enough to harm the wood.

Did that on every one of our coaches and sailboats.  Never a musty smell.

Our understanding is the ceiling of some coaches with inside drop ceiling is made of two sheets of wood joined in center of coach with an unsealed joint running front to rear. Ceiling fabric is glued to the wood. Air flow inside the drop ceiling can flow into joint, and over time leave a trace of dirt that shows up on the inside ceiling fabric along the wood joint. Some of the air flow was from the outside roof and side refrigerator vents. Your photos did not have a wide enough view to see if your ceiling has these marks. Assume that as the years went by, Foretravel sealed the wood joint to eliminate that dirt mark.

We get those marks by the front vents too, seem to show up whenever we get into dusty/pollen areas, so I assume it's sucked in by the AC units.
Cleaning the AC unit and fins is good maintenance, and gives you a chance to check on the unit every 6 months.
Steam cleaning the ceiling carpet seems to work great at removing those marks.

Jeff.  What type of steam cleaner cleaner did you use. I've been looking at them.  And soap or no soap. I'd be interested in the details. 

I had a carpet cleaning company do it. They used normal cleaner for Ozite. When they finished it was all bright white, looked brand new.

Cool. I wondered if I could get carpet cleaners to do that.  Wasn't looking forward to holding some machine up to the ceiling.  Leave that for the young bucks.

I used a carpet cleaner to clean mine 4 years ago. I was fortunate to be able to hire a man to swap out with " the hose" in other words when one became tired of the overhead work the other would take over and keep it moving. It turned out ok with some extra effort near the AC's. It looked much better but not "new". It needs it again and I may opt for a steam type cleaner in hopes of a better result and hopefully an easier job. Overhead alone makes it more tiresome to do.

For those who have not heard about it yet...
This is the most remarkable carpet cleaner I've used by a long way. It removed an oil stain and a coffee stain from very light tan carpet, leaving no trace of them. Works great on ceiling stains too.

https://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Cleaner-Stain-Remover-Deodorizer/dp/B073WDKQW6

Dub's comment about maybe using steam type cleaner on ceiling fabric, brings up the risk of some cleaning methods could loosen the glue that hold fabric to ceiling structure, something not easily fixed.