How to eliminate condensation/Mould?

Fire_Fox

Harvs98 wrote: »

I have read that this is a 'lifestyle problem' and I do open windows when cooking/showering, leave windows open as much as I can, keep clothes drying to a minimum and if I do, in one room only. I also have a dehumidifier and none of the above has helped.

The dehumidifer makes a lot of noise and I am emptying it of water every few days but that's about it. I have left it on overnight once directly under a window and it was dripping wet in the morning, the same as if I had not bothered.

You seem to be under the impression that the damp air won't move around the flat?? Unless you keep all the doors shut all of the time it will. Is your dehumidifier powerful enough to dry out your whole flat? If you have damp air you should be needing to empty the dehumidifier daily to start with, then reduce usage when you notice a result.

pinkmexican

We had a problem like that with our old flat, we also got a dehumidifier but we were told to run it all the time until the problem went away ie minimal water on the windows when we woke. It took a while, but I spose with all the buildup it would take a while, but it did work.

I think it took 2 weeks to minimise the effect. After that we ran it on the normal setting or just when we were drying things etc. It does make drying clothes in the winter so much quicker!

Good luck!

HTH

Magpye

I second the suggestion of a positive pressure unit (Lofty units are fairly effective) or the installation of humidity controlled fans to areas likely to generate moisture (kitchen and bathroom usually, though if you have a particular room used for drying clothes, installing one there may be an option.)

Fire_Fox

The problem is that flats seem to have particular trouble with condensation, perhaps because they often have windows on one wall only. Since the vast majority of flats are leasehold, installing extractor fans or positive pressure units would require permission of the freeholder.

continualdiamond

Im in a ground floor flat as well and know exactly how you feel. If you can get double glazing with night locks they're fantastic. The back of my flat (2nd bedroom, bathroom and kitchen) weren't double glazed when i moved in and the bathroom window size was pathetic, i actually had to be on my tippy toes to reach it. The mold around the whole window was horrid and the wall paper was peeling away cos of how wet it was underneath.

I got the back of the flat double glazed right away and got the night lock option, i also increased my bathroom window size by bringing it downwards (if that makes sense). I stripped the wallpaper off everywhere and then painted it. Presto, no mold or condensation since.

However.......main bedroom and porch continue to be a nightmare. The front was double glazed when i bought, no night locks though.

Main bedrooms in built wardrobe were my 1st problem as the outside wall had black mold all the way down, solved this by asking upstairs to keep the bins off the wall as they were resting right up against it. Then used sugar soap to get the mold off and painted with anti mold paint, also keep that sliding wardrobe slightly open, it never came back.

But the actual main bedroom window is a constent problem. When i am home i have both windows opened really slightly, it helps the walls either side of the window as that was the main problem, it definately doesn't appear as frequent as it used too, but i always have to sugar soap the walls every now and again.

Porch is a real issue especially in winter as its just so damn freezing i keep the door leading into the lounge room closed. We actually took this door off that leads into the lounge to see if it would help, it did, the mold disappeared, but it mean't the lounge room was cold and thus having the heating on was effectively wasting it.

So we put the door back on and back came the mold. I wish they had put a little window in next to my front door as i have my front door and then 2 panels of frosted glass next to it, just a little window at the top, would of been a good idea.

Unfortunately its just something i have to put up with in winter, again just use sugar soap on the walls and then look forward to the warmer weather when i can keep the door to the lounge open as much as i like and it all goes for a few mths.

MrsE_2

phlogeston wrote: »

This cured all the damp problems and the flat warmed up much quicker once we put the heating on.

I get some condensation upstairs in the winter, when I dry clothes indoors.
I have all my trickle vents open & the heating on twice a day. Been here 3 years now & still battling it.

Does the dehumidifier work as a long term solution? Does it suck excess moisture out of the bricks/house?