Mould in a rented house...

BrixMorta

Tenants don't have to keep windows open all of the time. Only when water vapour is being produced such as running/taking a bath or shower. Cooking etc. Possibly leaving small opening in bedroom window overnight as we breath out a litre of water during sleep. This water has to go somewhere and if there is no ventilation then it will condense on the coldest walls of the property, usually north facing outer walls.

olly300

Cookie_monster wrote: »

I'm on the upper floor of a masisonette. The mould is on two external walls and one internal wall (although behind it is a cupboard). I'll check the exterior of the property tomorrow in daylight. The roof is ancient, and I frequently hear banging if it is really windy outside...the guttering does drip onto the path so maybe it does need some structural repairs which the landlord is trying to avoid

It's possible.

While a lot of the time the problem is due to how tenants live if the roof and/or guttering is in a poor state of repair this could cause a problem. However you are likely to find particularly if it's raining a massive damp patch on the top part of one wall.

littlesnuggy

clutton wrote: »

""positive pressure unit" - i'm very interested in this - can you tell us more please ?

i also am a LL who has ocassionally found mould in properties and probably 75% of it is due to tenant lifestyle- ie not opening windows after baths, or during cooking, and drying laundry inside on the radiators - sometimes installing airbricks can help, but then tenants will stuff them up with plastic bags and negate their effect.

A positive pressure unit draws fresh air into the property (it's either installed in the roof void and draws in air from under the eaves, or it's a 'through the wall' unit, where it literally has a vent on the inside and outside of the wall). It provides continuous air exchange and draws the air in at a slightly faster rate than it is vented to the outside and naturally escapes, so this raises the air pressure of the building very slightly (an occupant would never detect any change) and this forces out the moist air through the building's weak points.

There are various models available, but the best are the heat-exchange type. Unlike extractor fans which just pump out & waste all your nicely heated air, these have a heat-exchanger in the unit which takes up to 65% of the heat out of the outgoing air and transfers this to the incoming air.

They will control the humidity to the ideal level (40-60%) and will help alleviate respiratory problems such as asthma - the dustmite is the major cause of most symptoms, and at 45% RH the dustmite cannot survive or breed.

The running costs of the unit are about the same as a (energy efficient!) light bulb.

We actually use them a lot for radon remediation (raising the internal pressure stops the gas being sucked from the soil into the building), so they have several benefits.

I don't want to get jumped on for commercial promotion, but if you want to see an example of the units I'm talking about, you can see the datasheets here (whole house) or here (single room / apartment).

Feel free to PM me if you'd like a survey arranging or advice from one of our surveyors.

stolt

were in rented and have some problems with mould and lots of condesation in our bungalow. I have a dehumidefier which we have on constantly and it does the job very well. think it cost us about 90.00. we can also dry ourclothes in doors and put them in a room and it takes 30 mins to dry them all.

tbs624

littlesnuggy wrote: »

.....I don't want to get jumped on for commercial promotion...... Feel free to PM me if you'd like a survey arranging or advice from one of our surveyors.

Your posts are interesting, but lifestyle should always be taken into consideration, as other posters have indicated, as should basic repairs issues. A joint effort on the part of both LL & T will usually sort most of this type of issue out.

I don't think Sooz was saying that a reputable firm would rip people off - it's more that DPC salesmen dressed up as "damp surveyors" come round and *surprise* - you *do* need their products. Your firm may be long-established & employ thoroughly decent people, but generally the best person to get in is someone who does independent surveys. People are able to google the type of units you mention so it's not necessary to try to flog your company's services - see above: Don't post links for personal gain. Except in the referrers section and always declare any interest

clutton_2

i asked the question about a PPU - i think he answered very fairly

littlesnuggy

clutton wrote: »

i asked the question about a PPU - i think he answered very fairly

*ahem* she! And thank you. The 'rules' are against posting for personal gain; I'm not a director of the firm & I'm not a surveyor on commission, thus it would be of no benefit to me personally, I was just offering advice on something I happen to know a little bit about.

sugarpants_2

We have same problem in our bedroom,kids bedroom, and upstiars bathroo,. Our letting agents said the same to us to keep windows open etc.. And recommended some spray from Polycell but it costs £12 to buy from B&Q!
Hubby refuses to buy it and weve emiled them to come out and clean it all for us or tell landlord he has a damp problem!
I feel for you x

sugarpants_2

ps/Emiled letting agents 3 weeks ago...They dont seem to care! !!!!!!!s!

loulou41

Daughter had the same problem with a fitted wardrobe, she had to throw £500 worth of damage. She did insist that EA sent a professional to check. The landlord did agree to pay and it was gfound to be condensation and she was advised the usual stuffs, opening windows etc and he recommends a humidifier but he said the landlord does not have to buy one. Hope this helps.