How to heat a one bed (damp) flat?! baby due in 4wks!!!!

sammiebmouse

Hi there,

We are privately renting a one bed flat-and it has a bit of damp in the bedroom. We have got on to the landlord-who has bought a sealant? type paint to minimise it, and is going to paint the room for us also next week.

There is a bit of damp around all of the windows in the flat too, and I was wondering if there is anything we could buy to try insulate it a bit more? I think I saw in another thread where you can buy plastic sheeting? (obviously this is not ideal but as today is so cold, I have been FREEEZING sitting in on maternity leave-and have had the electric heater on whilst watching t.v- but the bedroom (where little one will share with us) is soo cold.
If it was just me and OH-I would just get over it-but am so worried that she will be cold, esp as her crib is beside the only heater in the room (a big old storage heater, which never really worked properly), so we will knock this off completely. But how will we keep the room warm enough for her without spending hundreds per month on heating (which incidentally is on a pre-payment meter):mad:

Any help/ideas would be great

Thanks

Sammie xx

angelavdavis

Not sure just pasting sealant (presumably PVA or something similar) is going to do much about the underlying problem causing the dampness.

If you have no alternative than to stay put, I would suggest you pick up a disposable dehumidifier from somewhere like Wilkinson's for less than £1 but that will need replacing every couple of months, but it will only remove a little damp in the air and prevent mould developing which can lead to health problems

In addition, the use of an electric radiator on a low setting might help keep the chill down.

I have previously pasted polystyrene sheeting on external walls (you get it in rolls from B&Q or similar places) and papered over the top. This will help insulate but it depends if the landlord will allow this to be done.

I would also pick up some really heavy curtains from the charity shop, or alternatively, stitch a blanket onto the inside of existing ones to help insulate and ensure they are closed at dusk to stop any residual heat in the room from going out through the glass.

You can get plastic that you can use a a cheapy version of secondary glazing but I have never personally used this.

Bottomline though, if the cause of the damp isn't treated, it will eventually seep through whatever you do.

There are some tips on the Old Style board on how to keep warm in winter - might be worth taking a look there too.

spankymonkey_2

i think i would get the landlord to do more than paint it as mould spores can cause problems with breathing. not just your new baby but you also.......cant the landlord look at the heater too?

penguine

You might want to look into a portable (electric) dehumidifier. These have come down a lot in price over the past few years and Argos sells quite a few for around £100 or less I think. We have a 6-year-old one which does wonders for getting rid of moisture in the air but also gives off a bit of heat and from what I've heard they don't use that much electricity to run.

If the mould in the bedroom isn't really bad, you might be able to clear it by washing the walls and windows with a mixture of bleach and water (ideally as you're pregnant get your OH to do this for you and stay out of the room until the fumes have dissipated). We have oldish double glazing and get a lot of condensation in the winter. I have seen Lakeland sells some things (like long cloth tubes) that you can put along windowsills to help absorb the moisture. I haven't tried them so don't know if they work but might be worth a try.

If the problem is just condensation (which it's likely to be if you keep the heating low and especially in the bedroom where you're breathing all night long) then DIY measures should help clear it. If it's a more serious damp problem then you might want to try to get a damp company to have a look at it and ask your landlord to remedy the problem. Lots of damp companies offer free inspections, there are people who say they do it to get the business even when it's not needed, but we found a company recently who gave us a free damp inspection and didn't find anything wrong.

Regarding the heating in the bedroom once your baby arrives, I think Mothercare do wall thermometers which will check that it's the right temperature for your baby. The ideal temp for a baby is surprisingly low, it's in fact supposed to be a cot death risk if babies' rooms are kept too warm.

martindow

I think you need to find the cause of the damp. To my mind the LL's solution is treating the symptom. If it is condensation caused by the room being unheated and not well ventilated you can solve the problem by opening the window sometimes and keeping it a bit warmer with some additional heating. If it is something else like guttering problems or rising damp, with damp coming through the wall then the landlord needs to deal with it properly - PVA is not going to work.

As has been said mould is not good for anyone especially bad for babies. If damp pesists so will mould spores. I think I would speak to Shelter if I were in your situation.

CharlotteandEden

Hi Sammie, I had a baby a year ago and it was really cold then. I can't really comment on types of heating as I have a combi boiler but the room should be between 16 and 20 degrees which I found was easy to maintain and although didn't feel warm to me, my daughter was absolutely fine. She has a sleeping bag which was brilliant as she didn't kick the covers off in the night and wake up crying because she was cold. I also bought a grobag thermometer which was brilliant to keep an eye on the temperature in the room. I hope you get it all sorted out and good luck with your bundle of joy. I hope this helps at all.
Charley and Eden xx

olly300

Every single local council has advice on damp and condensation. Here is one link-
http://www.woking.gov.uk/housing/tenants/repairs/damp

As everyone has stated you really need to find out whether the cause is actually damp. A lot of what looks like damp is actually condensation.

You don't state what kind of frames your windows have and if they are double glazed but I've lived in houses and flats with single glazed windows with both metal and wood frames. If I didn't bother to take measures to wipe down the windows virtually every day, open the window even when it was very cold or collect the water produced I would be left with black mould growing around the window.

Inactive

As others have said, ventilate the room, ask the landlord to replace the storage heater, have it on as high as it will go.

Poppycat

You need to get the landlord to urgently get this problem sorted. It is not very good for anyone let alone a baby if it is damp you could have spores in the air that could effect you and the baby and this could bring on asthma or bronchitis. I have been there and the later did that to me, black mold growing in the flat when I was younger, I was always ill turned out it was the flat and in the end it the council condemned it.

If mold has growing under a window it is possibly it could be condensation. If you get that on the window in the morning that would back that up.

Put that polystyrene warmaline on the wall it will help I tend to put this on out outside walls in properties I live in now as it does seem to cure it, if its only condensation.

To alleviate condensation to have to look at the ways you live there

1. Drying clothes
2. inadequate ventilation (air bricks or window on trickle vent)
3. Heating (the warmer a room the more water vapours it can hold, that why condensation tends to get worse morning when heating goes off at night and temperature drops)
4. A Dehumidifier helps absorb water in the atmosphere

If it is damp though the problem needs addressing by a specialist injecting damp proof chemicals into the bricks