Condensation or water leak?

[RiverGirl]

Over the past week, my double wide trailer has begun stinking like rat or cat pee. So bad, I couldn't breathe. It had mice when I bought it 2 years ago, but I got rid of them, and no more signs. Last night I decided to go under there and check, and all the underbelly on the front half of the trailer was covered with tiny drops of water, like heavy condensate. My underbelly is like a black cloth. Well, not exactly "all" of it was wet.... Starting about 8 ft from where my kitchen sink starts, all the way across the living room, all of that was wet. And a bit of the underbelly on the other side of the beam that runs down the center of the trailer had these drops on it. I made a long slit under the living room, but nothing came out, and the insulation didn't feel particularly wet. Nowhere seemed wetter than anywhere else, but there were drops of water everywhere, probably covering at least a 15x20 foot area.

I was under there last fall, and every thing was dry, including the ground. Now the ground is damp all over.

So last night I ran the central air and/or fan, which I don't normally do. And the dehumidifier. And put a fan under the house. This morning, there is no smell, or maybe I should say it is greatly reduced to where it is barely noticeable. I'll continue running all the fans and dehumidifier 24 hours a day for the next week or so. There is no mildew odor, and hoping to keep it that way.

It does get damp inside, I'm by a river, and leave my windows open in the daytime. When the humidity inside gets to about 80, or gets close to the temperature (like 75 degrees and 72 percent humidity) I run the dehumidifier until the moisture drops to the mid 50's.

I keep the heat at about 45-50 degrees in the winter (I'm not here in the winter), but we had a cold winter here in Alabama. Last fall I had a new faucet put in the kitchen, and he wanted to put shut off valves under there. I noticed he was a bit rough with moving the pipes around while doing it, but he said it would be ok. It's a 1999 Fleetwood Stoneridge with PVC water pipes.

My plan is to let it continue drying out for a few days, then crawl back under to see if anything is still wet. Regardless, I'm going to cut the underbelly under the kitchen sink and pull out the insulation. That's where the mice were getting in, so I've been very distressed that there might be a mouse house or bathroom under my kitchen sink, so that would at least ease my mind. Plus I need to repair that gash under the living room where I was testing for water.

Could this be condensation forming from the outside? It's hot here, and cool under the trailer. I have Mark's book, but it doesn't say anything about underbelly condensation, so I'm not sure that can even happen on cloth. Or is it most likely a small water leak?

Can anyone give me some guidance here? Thanks.

[RiverGirl]

Here is what I see.

water-drops_7081-sm.jpg

[Greg]

What do you have for ventilation in the skirting? The general rule is 1sq foot of ventilation per every 100sq foot of floor space. You may want to open up the skirting and put a screen in for a day or two.

Greg

[RiverGirl]

I have the white skirting with the small slits in it. Actually, I think I figured out what happened. Last fall a cat was getting in. One of the skirting pieces was off, and the hole was large enough for me to climb under the trailer. The cat tore a hole in my underbelly, so I taped up the hole, and put the skirting back on. Apparently that was providing the ventilation. I took it back off and that's where I put my fan. The odor is mostly gone now. It's amazing how fast my dehumidifier is filling up. I'll find a screen to use instead of putting the skirting back on.

Another possible problem. After I covered the holes, I never saw the cat again. It was a ferel, stray cat that I had been feeding. Figured the dog ran him off since he had no place to hide with the hole sealed. Now I'm wondering if I closed him up in the trailer and he couldn't get back out. In one place, there is a heavy lump when I push up, like "something" laying on the insulation. Not looking forward to cutting that part out.

When things dry out under there, I'm taking a UV light to shine on the belly, see if anything shows up as a "bad spot".

[Greg]

That is the reason you should NEVER feed stray cats, Plus you never have any idea what diseases they may have. Personally I have a problem with the laws regarding Feral cats. Wild dogs (Coy & coyote) have hunting seasons, but take a shot at a cat and the law will be all over you. I also feel cats should be licensed just like dogs have to be.

OK, I'll put the soap box back in the closet now. Greg