mold found in cuboard

black_paw

just found mold on jumper and shoes and some clothes in build in wardrobe in bedroom :eek:..door ia left open.. new build flats under 3 years old..i have had asthma real bad last 5-6 weeks now i know why..have removed all items and washed with bleach the wall and edging ..any other ideas on what to do ?? Thanks

flippin36

You need to make sure there is no external problem such as leaking guttering or leak from flat above which is making your wardrobe/walls damp. It may be that it is just on a naturally cold wall if it doesn't get much sun. You might have to move your wardrobe (assuming its not fitted) to another wall so air can circulate. Perhaps invest in a dehumidifier or you can plug in a portable radiator for that wall that is cold and damp, just keeping it on low to stop any condensation.

emlou2009

we had this in our last property, it kept coming back i'm afraid! i've been told since that tea tree oil helps, and that you can apparantly get anti mould paint, and we used something called damp traps from poundland, which are basically just a tuppaware box type thing with moisture sucking in stuff filling it up. they did help a bit!

Toothsmith

Houses are so well insulated and draughtproofed nowadays, that air really doesn't circulate round them very well.

Add that to central heating, and the condensation from things like bathrooms and kitchens, plus us breathing out very moist air and you have the perfect environment for mould to grow.

In the extremities like cupboards, where air circulation is even more restricted, and it's nice and dark - it's absolutely perfect for it.

It's almost certainly not a PROBLEM with the build quality, but an effect of all the 'improvements' our 21st century homes have over draughty old farmhouses.

A dehumidifier might help - or if you look round your D.I.Y superstore - you'll see little chemical condensation traps for cupboards. They help a lot.

lostinrates

If you have asthma you ned to be very careful with cleaning products I guess, but we were told, whenw had a serious problem, that ammonia was the cleaning product to use. You can also buy anti-mould paint.

black_paw

thank you everyone for your helpful support and will be going to the shops tomorrow to get the traps and check prices for the machines...x

jenniewb

I have a similar problem in my flat- my block has dustbin shoots where you can be on any floor and chuck your rubbish down the shoots and they go into the bins on the basement floor. These shoots are sandwiched inbetween two flats on each floor.
Inside the flats, the "room" which sides along to the shoot is a cupboard. Its useless- you put stuff in, two weeks later its covered in mould! Its gross!

I have tried several things. I used to try to clean it weekly (its about 10 feet high so not easy as cleaning includes the celing, floor, 4 walls which have odd shapes in them...) I gave up. What made the biggest difference was getting a hot air dryer and drying it as much as I could as it always felt clammy inside. Then giving it two coats of paint. I still get a horrible musty smell, but its not as bad as it was and I can store stuff in as long as its air tight now where as before I was unable to.

I also know you can get a sort of room calcuim carbonate tablet inside a plastic box which is meant to zap all the excess moisture from the air in any given area, I think it works as it does collect quite a bit of water. They generally last anything from 1 to 4 months. Heres an example: http://www.robertdyas.co.uk/P~134130~Unibond+Stop+Humidity

ixwood

Do you get condensation on the windows in cold weather? Treating the wall is pointless. You need to remove the excess humidity from the air

There's lots of threads about condensation/mould on the DIY board.

mumslave

Gaah this was my last flat, I am so glad we moved. I had never been in flat that got so bad condensation, so it was probably my own fault that the wood on the windows began to buckle from it. As for our back bedroom (it was an extention) I kept noticing a funny smell and one day I moved my bedside cabinet, it was all over the wall :O everything I moved in that room that was touching the far back wall was covered, it was horrendous. Turns out the house had very bad leak problems that had actually caused our ceilings to collapse in, before we moved in and the back extension was a dodgy one. We were renting thank god and moved as soon as we could. I bumped into the new peeps whom movedin our house, like you their daughter had serious asthma...and the landlord neglected to mention the bedroom problem. I was not amused!

If it hasnt happened before but you have lived there a while, are you drying clothes inside? Make sure you get a good dehumidifier it will help keep it at bay.

Fire_Fox

The water is coming from the rest of the flat and settling in the coldest place, you need to deal with the source of the moisture. The little trays of crystals can't handle any quantity of water: either air your flat daily, year round, or use an electric dehumidifier.

black_paw

condensation on the windows in cold weather ? yes
walls/floor don't seem to be damp ..but in corner where the gas pipes run up wall ( boxed in ) false wall is very cold wall
dehumidifier am looking in too that

thank you for your help