High humidity and condensation

ixwood

coralred wrote: »

The problem is the bucket gets full within a 6 to 8 hour period. Its never turned itself off other than when the bucket gets full. Its never taken two days to get full so i would like to know how i can solve the humidity levels in my flat.

You need to find where all that water is coming from. check gutters, drain pipes, drains, internal pipes, soil level, sloping patio towards the house etc?

Next time it's chucking it down , go outside and inspect everything.

Fire_Fox

coralred wrote: »

The problem is the bucket gets full within a 6 to 8 hour period. Its never turned itself off other than when the bucket gets full. Its never taken two days to get full so i would like to know how i can solve the humidity levels in my flat.

Purchase a timer-plug from a pound shop; if you know the bucket gets full in six hours set the dehumidifier to run for four hours.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for the replies. Ive already checked the outside of the flats and theres nothing untoward. I just think its a naturally damp area, the flats in a corner and has a north facing wall so i expect that doesnt help. The flat above me had teriible problems and talking to all the resident all the flats have these issues. Ive taken all the precautions i can and the only one left is to add trickle vents to the three large windows that havnt got them. Like i said i think its due to lack of ventilation and the fact that the storage heaters arnt controllable. The flat also hasnt any air bricks so im going to ask the owners of the building ( i own the flat but im not allowed to touch the building as its leasehold) if these would help, Ive read David Aldreds post and i agree that this flat was probably not as air tight as it was built in the 1970s when it had wooden windows. As for putting the dehumidifier on a timer i was going to do that but the instructions said it musnt be plugged into any other devices ie extension plugs, timers and other such devices. Just to add i think if most of the other flats have got the same problems it must be due to lack of ventilation rather than a problem with the building. So i suppose the only way forward is to try and ventilate it during the time its unoccupied.

dampdaveski

ixwood wrote: »

I think you've got the wrong end of the stick. I read it as a a rant on shoddy damp companies, not you.

Good point ixwood, but I run a preservation company, it's the generalising that's annoying. for instance All double glazing salesman are scum etc, true a lot of them are, but there are also lots of decent double glazing companies out there.
Or all independant 'damp' surveyors are 1 man bands because they've gone bust as a preservation company or don't have what it takes to run a company and offer 'solutions' which involves putting your money where your mouth is (i.e. guaranteeing your work)
- (that wasn't aimed at you David, but it's awfully easy to generalise and offend people you didn't mean to isnt it;))
Anyway rant over, peace to all men and so on and so forth:D
DD

naepace

skiTTish wrote: »

Our last house we had a terrible damp/condensation problem ,we had those positive pressure fans (bloody awful things blowing cold air and keeping you awake with the noise all night )and roof vents and still we had mould and damp ,the house had cavity wall insulation and lots of loft insulation.

For the benefit of others could you name the model of PPV fan you had. As my drimaster heat is almost inaudible & as it is a the 'heat' model I can set it to blow warm air into the house when the temp in the loft drops below whatever I set the unit at. The condensation problem whilst not eradicated completely (I doubt that would be possible in my house with the endless rounds of showers & hair drying :rolleyes:) however, it has improved significantly & is now at an acceptable level.

Many thanks to dampdaveski, you are a legend.
:T

David_Aldred

Hi Dampdaveski,
I certainly know there are good and bad contractors just as much as there are good and bad independent surveyors, indeed I have seen the latter defend contractors who were simply cowboys just to secure a fee on more than one occasion. I haven't had and therefore have not gone bust as a preservation company though I was offered one once but swiftly declined. I put in far more hours for far more stress working for myself than I ever did working for anybody else. Fortunately having designed and built my own house undertaking every trade myself I don't have a mortgage and am therefore financially secure enough to play about with independent remedial treatment surveying as a bolt on to other things that are more financially lucrative.

In my own case I took up independent surveying not to make a fortune, because there really isn't any money in it all when competing with contractors and their free surveys but because I knew that in general the current system of recommending damp proof courses on the back of high conductivity meter readings to the base of walls and looking at woodworm holes saying you need an insecticide spray was morally wrong. This is especially so when many of the folk doing the inspections are paid on comission with the pressure from their boss to find work to keep the lads and office staff employed week in week out.

I realise being akin to a magician who tells everyone the tricks of the trade won't make me popular in the magic circle but the comments are certainly not aimed at the very good contractors who regualrly sit down with their client and explain the mould is condensation related.

The comments simply expose the cowboys who regularly inject a fourth damp proof course into a house already built with one and who spray without even removing the debris and loft insulation, long lasting chemicals just because they see holes in the wood, when that house was already sprayed with such chemicals time and again, not to mention the use of now banned cancer causing long lasting insecticides and fungicides.

I put you in the former group since you take the trouble to post helpful comments rather than the latter.

I sign my name at the end of my posts so people know who it is that they are conversing with and I state what my profession is simply to qualify the comments made as an expert witness in these subjects and show they are not some rant from somebody who hasn't spent many years at the sharp end of the profession as I have. I fully appreciate it is horrible nasty work and getting harder each year with more and more legislation and a depressed housing market but the industry desperately needs to sort itself out. That in my opinion will only come about by Chartered Surveyors recommending the independents go in first to give the unbiased recommendations that the contractors should then be invited to tender for.

If you wanted an extension to your home you would be crazy to say to a builder you can just build me whatever you feel like at whatever cost you want. You should go to an architect first and have a drawing and specification of works done that several reputable builders can then tender for. The same type of system needs to happen with the remedial treatment industry. It is morally the only answer I can see to what is currently so very very wrong.

I honestly believe that is the only way forward to change the system that apart from the good honest lads out there (who unfortunately are desperately in the minority) is open to such chronic abuse and misdiagnosis ,where people put themselves in the hands of salesmen paid upon commision to spend thousands and thousands of pounds each year on the back of nothing more than their guess for profit. The nail in the coffin being if you sit down and do the lab work for court disputes, as I do, then time and again the decision for a new dpc was factually proven to be unjustified in the vast majority of cases where an original dpc was in place.

Yes there is dampness, yes it has to be resolved along with proven active woodworm and if you are a good reputable contractor then being invited to tender for works specified by others should hold no fear at all and only a satisfaction that the industry will get rid of unjustified work and bad practice, along with many cowboys.

Kindest regards and I hope together we can help resolve people's problems they are seeking answers to on here within the scope of our joint expertise. David Aldred independent dampness and timber surveyor.

dampdaveski

Hi David,
I agree things need to change and they are getting better than they were say 10 years ago (I think we will have to agree to disagree on some of your points on how change will occur however ;o) ):beer:
I just felt the need to point out that not all contractors are thieves and scum and equally getting an independant opinion is not necessarily the best or most cost effective option.
I also think our joint campaign to let people know the pitfalls of the preservation industry can only do good.
Incidentally is it possible for you give an answer that is less than a paragraph?



naepeace - my pleasure

David_Aldred

Hi Dampdaveski,
What's a paragrah? - (laughing) Yes I think between us we should be able to put our heads together and help folk as best we can on here all the best my friend - Dave

2Sheds

naepace wrote: »

For the benefit of others could you name the model of PPV fan you had. As my drimaster heat is almost inaudible & as it is a the 'heat' model I can set it to blow warm air into the house when the temp in the loft drops below whatever I set the unit at. The condensation problem whilst not eradicated completely (I doubt that would be possible in my house with the endless rounds of showers & hair drying :rolleyes:) however, it has improved significantly & is now at an acceptable level.

Many thanks to dampdaveski, you are a legend.
:T

Hi
Thinking of adding the heat option to my drimaster, as I'm not keen on the cold air blowing downstairs into our open plan lounge. We still get some condensation too, unless the Drimaster is set to 5.
Only thing I'm concerned about is the cost of running the heater, as it would be running constantly in real cold weather. Do you know the costs of running the heater?
Ta

ceebeeby

Can anyone give hints and tips on how to resolve mould issues without having to call in a specialist etc. What DIY methods are there?

I've got a spreading mould patch on my ensuite bathroom ceiling. Coming from the corner and spreading fairly evenly in a line from window towards shower cubicle.

Window is ALWAYS open during showering.

Thanks so much for any advice offered.