HELP - Mouldy walls in bedroom.

Hi Nicki,
We had a similar problem with mould. One day I was making the bed and pulled it back from the wall to find massive mould spores! It definitely caused me chest problems, I had several infections over a few months and had one when I discovered it. That night I slept in the spare room and my infection dramatically improved. We bleached the area clean and then painted some mould resistant paint on top. Also pulled back the bed two inches from the wall to let air circulate.
We have since redecorated and had no problems at all.
I would suggest that condensation caused the problem, just opening the window all night would have prevented this (something we cant do because our window opens too wide brrr). So if you are drying clothes, open the windows. We bought a dehumidifier and use it every night in the bedroom and it extracts two pints of water from the air!!!
I would hope some other MSE can help as this may not be the cause of your mould, perhaps related to the wall itself but I just thought I'd share my experience.
Mould spores really do cause health problems, since that 'incident' I've never had a problems with coughs or my chest again. Also in a flat we stayed in before we had mould around the window frames in the bedroom, my partner had a terrible cough (next to his side of bed!) which vanished when we moved.
I hope this helps!
Cat

Warm air holds more moisture than colder air. When warm air comes into contact with a cold surface - and that one wall may be colder than the other walls for a variety of reasons, it will condense, and form water. I used to live in Macclesfield in an old mill building and I had this problem. To sort it out you need to stop the air condensing on that wall. What sort of windows do you have fitted? Do you have double glazing? Are there any vents in that room? Also why is that single wall colder than the others? - Which directin does it face? Have you checked out the damp proof course on that wall for rising damp as this can also cause the wall to be colder and as a result cause more water to condense.

As Orainswear said, It does sound like condensation. It will show behind cupboards and wardrobes where there's no air circulating.
Basically' to reduce condensation 3 areas need addresssing;

1) improve heat
2) improve ventilation
3) improve insulation
Is it ground floor?

Mould prevention Has a list of things you can do to reduce the chance of it happening again.

Do check that it is condensation from the inside rather than water coming in from the outside. Blocked or leaking guttering can be a source of damp in one place. Poor pointing may be another source.

Improving your ventilation by using extractor fans or opening windows whenever the weather is suitable will help. Getting a dehumidifier and keeping that running when you are stuck with having to dry clothes indoors will also help.

Your Mum is probably right. It could well be condensation.

You need ventilation and/or a Dehumidifier.