Sorting Out The Black Stuff

My_Feet_Hurt

Hi,

I hope this is in the right place.

My house is a 1960`s build. Great in the Summer but a pain in Winter. We get mould in the bathroom along the ceiling edge on an outside wall. Mould in the bedrooms-again on the ceiling on the outside wall and also in the built-in wardrobes that are on the outside walls. All our windows have severe condensation on them in the mornings and I have just found mould on the frames too.

Yesterday I took a stand. I bought some Detol Mould and Mildew Remover and sprayed in on the infected ceilings and window frames. A few minutes later and it was gone. I know this isn`t solving the problem of where the mould comes from-I air rooms EVERY day/have the heating on/have trickle vents-but it has made me much happier to get rid of it even in the short term.

My lovely neighbour has let me borrow her dehumidifier. It looks quite modern-small, white and compact. I`ve never seen one before and expected it to be huge. She told me to put in in a room with the windows shut and check it every few hours to empty the `bucket`.

So here come the questions...

Does the dehumidifier need to `face` anything in particular? I have it facing the window as I hope it will remove the condensation (have it in the bathroom today-tomorrow a bedroom and so on).

Approximately how much does a dehumidifier cost to run? I`m going to give it a whole day in each room as this is a cold, damp house and then my neighbour said we can share it-she has it 1 week and me the next-so will be able to put it on in all rooms for a while every other week.

To help with the mould in the built-in wardrobes we have put a plastic shower curtain up on the outside wall to stop the clothes touching the wall and getting the powder-y mould on them. Is this ok or does it need to come down to allow air to circulate? It isn`t fitted tightly to the wall-just sort of hangs there from the ceiling down-attached by a few nails.

Every day I open all the windows on to the latch-about 3 inches wide. Even today with the rain pouring down. Am I doing the right thing? Is it letting in even more moisture to have the windows open on a wet day therefore making the damp and condensation problems worse?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

M

27col

Have you not checked out the other threads about mould and damp. Nowhere in your post do you mention heating or insulation. What you are doing is treating the symptoms when you should be treating the cause. There are many informative posts about condensation and its causes. Non of them involve dehumidifiers, but they all involve the application of heat and the minimising of the amount of water vapour allowed to build up in the house. Have a look here. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2090901

morg_monster

on your specific question about the dehumidifier, we have found over 3.5 years that it doesn't matter what way it faces, it works just as well. Just make sure both front and back don't have anything blocking any of the in or out vents.

I agree with 27col but in some situations, like when you are renting, there's only so much you can do in terms of treating the problem, and relieving the symptoms is the best you can do. Our small rented flat has single glazing and metal window frames and there is no chance of getting these changed; these windows are the cause of most of the problems. There is also no room for a tumble dryer so we must dry clothes in the flat. With the dehumidifier (sounds similar in size to the OP's), a decent extractor fan in the bathroom and dettol mold and mildew remover, life is generally good and not too damp!