Mould in Bedroom and Bathroom (Flat)

damtheman

Hi everyone

I hope this finds you well. I wondered if anyone could impart some advice on this situation.

I rent a second-floor (the top!) one-bedroom flat.

The property roof is part of our walls, so we have interesting angles in the bathroom and bedroom. We are developing mould in places.

In the bathroom we have a "sky light" window of which only has one pane of glass. Like last year, mould is developing on the window and thus has continued to destroy all paint on this wall. We have the window open regularly in the day but have to close it at night, from our recent spout of cold evenings. We usually dry clothes in the bathroom (there is no where else) which I think may be contributing to the development of the mould, but we do this year round.

In the bedroom however its a slightly different story, of the four walls, two are outside walls and in the corner mould is developing and up across the two walls, mainly at the seems of where the roof joins. On top of this we think we have a draft coming through. At night the walls are very cold and on occasion it has felt wet to me.

I've said to the landlord that this shouldn't be happening and someone needs to look at it but they have simply said that the amount of things we have in the room is causing the mould. Sorry dear, bull !!!!. Yes we have a wardrobe which is filled to the brim but I doubt that this or the bed or any of our little furniture is causing the mould.

I've observed what I can from the exterior of the property (I don't have a ladder) and believe there are gaps in the brick work in which rain could be getting in. We've used anti-mould spray and keep the windows open but this make no difference. I had a family member look at it recently and they mentioned something about cement being used instead brickwork on one wall?

Do the landlords have to fix this legally?

[Do excuse my bolding of words, I wanted to highlight the points just in case some people don't want to read my dribble!]

Many thanks in advance

dtm

Jowo_2

It is the responsibility of tenants to pay for any damage if its their lifestyle and behaviour that have caused the mould - i.e. failure to adequately ventilate and heat the property, drying washing indoors, not putting lids on pans and so forth.

It is the responsibilility of landlords if its caused by a building defect or maintenance fault (i.e. failed damp course, leaking pipe).

There have been very many posts on this topic recently. Perform a search of this forum for mould, vapour, damp, condensation and you will get lots of info how to diagnose the cause and get it remedied.

a_j_mair

mould is normally caused by the lack of ventillation and airflow around a room

As you say if this isnt what you believe to be the problem it could be poor ventilation within the attic space.

Best bet is to make sure that the rooms are not cluttered and well ventillated and heating used

If it persists then chase the landlord

Fire_Fox

Do not underestimate the amount of water you will be releasing by simply breathing overnight and air drying your laundry indoors. From your description it sounds more like condensation than penetrating damp; condensation occurs mainly in winter (water settles on cold surfaces) and mould in the corner of rooms and behind furniture (poor air circulation) is a classic sign. You will need to either ventilate the property better and wipe all windows down each morning or, better still, use a dehumidifier on a daily basis. The problem needs addressing urgently as the landlord can deduct money from your damage deposit for this sort of mould issue.

damtheman

Well after much hounding the landlords (I'm sure they didn't like it) they had someone come and look at it and admitted that there appears to be a gap in the wall where damp is getting in. They have since had it sealed up and its been doing better.

But we had a bout of very cold weather over the last few days and some mould in some corners (which hadn't been affected before) has come up but I believe this is to do with the signs Fire Fox has pointed out.

Thanks everyone

poppysarah

http://www.dealec.co.uk/acatalog/vent_axia_hr30w_range.html

One of those designed for the bathroom might help..

When you say a crack in the wall what do you mean? And did they fix it on the outside too?

BitterAndTwisted

I understand that the majority of damp and mould problems are caused or exacerbated by the tenant's lifestyle. Even if in your case there appears to be a structural cause drying laundry indoors at this time of year is utter madness. There are alternatives, like drying at the launderette and I would impress on you the need to consider this and if you won't or can't you should be heating the place while running a dehumidifier 24/7. Also ensure you use lids on saucepans and open the window while cooking, keeping the kitchen door closed and pull furniture well away from cold, external walls.

Fire_Fox

I dry laundry indoors and it doesn't cause any major problems, however the 'penalty' is that I open my windows daily year round! If you are willing and able to use a dehumidifier in the same room as the laundry you should be able to avoid damp. I read somewhere that you should work on four pints of water per person per day from showering, cooking, breathing etc.!

sarah_elton

Turn your heating up?

I dry laundry indoors all year round in our second floor flat. It's only two of us though, with two loads a week. In summer we have windows open constantly. In winter, we have windows open very rarely (only when it's got stuffy inside, although open the bathroom window during and after every shower till it's dry) but heat the place well so it's good and warm inside. Our laundry never causes any dampness anywhere, let alone mould.

How warm do you have the flat?

bitsandpieces

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I dry laundry indoors and it doesn't cause any major problems, however the 'penalty' is that I open my windows daily year round! If you are willing and able to use a dehumidifier in the same room as the laundry you should be able to avoid damp. I read somewhere that you should work on four pints of water per person per day from showering, cooking, breathing etc.!

I dry laundry indoors - on drying racks right by my dehumidifier. Dries things comparatively quickly, and I gather it costs less for the electric than a tumble drier. As long as I run my dehumifier for enough hours in the day, no condensation in that room.

Fire_Fox

sarah_elton wrote: »

Turn your heating up?

I dry laundry indoors all year round in our second floor flat. It's only two of us though, with two loads a week. In summer we have windows open constantly. In winter, we have windows open very rarely (only when it's got stuffy inside, although open the bathroom window during and after every shower till it's dry) but heat the place well so it's good and warm inside. Our laundry never causes any dampness anywhere, let alone mould.

How warm do you have the flat?

Heating alone will only hold the water in the air up to the point the air gets completely saturated, only ventilation/ dehumidifying will remove the water from the premises. If you have no problems with damp and you don't consciously ventilate then your flat is not as well sealed as some, and the water vapour is venting out somewhere of it's own accord. The fact that you have a window in your bathroom is relatively unusual: I don't have trickle vents and my two extractors fans only vent into the ceiling void so there is no natural air circulation.