rented flat+ damp

BitterAndTwisted

Quite. I assumed eco-friendly's post was an attempt at humour.

jenjen1

I live in a 3 bed maisonette, when we moved in 4 years ago there was only a gas fire in the front room. After spending 1 winter with 2 under 5s we handed in our notice to leave because it was so cold. The landlord said he would put heating in before the next winter to keep us in the house. We agreed. He put in 4 overnight storage heaters. One in the front room, one in the downstairs hall and one in two of the bedrooms. These are the ones that heat over night, bealt out heat until about 3 pm when all the heat in the bricks has gone.

Our windows are the old metal ones on the front of the house, and ill fitting double glazing on the back. (I say ill fitting because the bathroom window is cracked and breezy and was when we moved in and my sons room window doesn’t even close. We need to put a tea towel in the gap)

We have had environment health around who gave us advice on drying the inside of the windows every morning and changing the bathroom towels we lay on the window sills to prevent the water running down the walls (listening to dripping every night doesn’t let you have a good night’s sleep, the bathroom towels are drenched in the mornings, we need to put them in a bucket to carry them to the washing machine). Once the windows are dry, we were told to open all the windows and close the doors, this will then allow any hot air out and the cold air in. Then once the rooms are freezing we were told to close the windows and the mould wouldn’t come back.

The mould still comes back and we wash the walls, ceilings and skirting boards all the time. We have icicles on the inside of the windows on the front of the house coz its so cold.

So if anyone has any ideas on how we could

A) save electric, (we put £45 a week on coz of the storage heaters and yes weve had the electric company out to check our rates)

keep warm

C) if anyone has a well heated house we could move into I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

Pop over to the Old Style Moneysaving part of the forum and have a read of the "Preparing For Winter" thread. It's VERY, VERY long now but is absolutely crammed with helpful tips about how keep your home warm. I had no idea that cheap fleece throws could be used on the back of curtains and how much difference it could make.

jenjen1

Ok will do thank you

Fire_Fox

jenjen1 wrote: »

Our windows are the old metal ones on the front of the house, and ill fitting double glazing on the back. (I say ill fitting because the bathroom window is cracked and breezy and was when we moved in and my sons room window doesn’t even close. We need to put a tea towel in the gap)

The mould still comes back and we wash the walls, ceilings and skirting boards all the time. We have icicles on the inside of the windows on the front of the house coz its so cold.

You are never going to have a warm house with metal single glazed windows: these allow more heat to escape than any other type of window! Either you need to write to the landlord and persuade him to replace them or move house before next winter. What is the loft insulation like, are there cavity walls and are they filled? You might qualify for a grant to get the insulation sorted, which might please your landlord.

Whilst heating with electricity is far from cheap, I don't think your storage heaters are the main problem. Do you have an Economy 7 or normal meter? If you have a normal meter then storage heaters won't be making use of the cheap rate electricity which will increase your bills. You might find something useful about EPC and landlord's reponsibilities here:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2199705

mess0804

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Mould is almost always down to condensation, which is a lifestyle issue. Many tenants underestimate the amount of water released by showering, cooking without lids on pans, breathing overnight and drying laundry indoors.

I have the same problem in the flat I live now, but had no problems with condensation in 2 other flats I lived before. I have the same lifestyle. I even lived in a studio flat once wich had no separate kitchen and had no condensation problems. So, it's a problem of this flat, but if you want to think like a landlord and blame the tenants for not sleeping with windows open ... The solution for me will be to move when the contract expires or if it's cheaper/other advantages just try to live with it (clean it, air as much as you can)

BitterAndTwisted

Not every property is the same, built out of the same materials, with the same methods of construction with the same methods of ventilation and heating so the same lifestyle may not necessarily result in the same outcome.

I don't believe I am thinking like a landlord because I am not one nor shall I ever be but I have read some daft stories about some people's daft lifestyles and attitudes to addressing and resolving problems on here, that's for sure

Fire_Fox

mess0804 wrote: »

I have the same problem in the flat I live now, but had no problems with condensation in 2 other flats I lived before. I have the same lifestyle. I even lived in a studio flat once wich had no separate kitchen and had no condensation problems. So, it's a problem of this flat, but if you want to think like a landlord and blame the tenants for not sleeping with windows open ... The solution for me will be to move when the contract expires or if it's cheaper/other advantages just try to live with it (clean it, air as much as you can)

If the damp is condensation then the water is released by the tenants lifestyle - EVERY council website that I have read agrees on this. If the flat has good natural ventilation you may not experience a build up of water; if the flat has poor ventilation it is the tenants responsibility to manually ventilate the property.

I am not thinking like landlord, I am thinking like a resident of a flat that has severe condensation problems. The cause is a combination of my lifestyle, metal window frames (cold bridging) and extractors that vent into the ceiling void. I don't sleep with the windows open, I open them for an hour whilst I am cleaning or running errands and it is very effective.

PasturesNew

Jowo wrote: »

...won't open windows, dry their washing indoors and are stingy with the heating

It's hard to open the windows when you're out at work all day for 12 hours/day.

Many flats have a clause that you're not allowed to hang your washing outside, so you hang it inside.

Heating is expensive, so are rents ... with some rents (for even studios), it's difficult to have money left over for what somebody else would call "sufficient" heating.

And, having said that, a lot of smaller places are quite old, poorly constructed, with single glazed windows and inadequate wall venting, so the tenant being at work all day, not having much money left over for luxuries like good heating, these properties can prove troublesome to keep clear of damp.

PasturesNew

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I open them for an hour whilst I am cleaning or running errands and it is very effective.

Every day? - I am not sure I'd want the windows open for an hour on a cold winter's evening, when (often) it's damper outside than inside. Not sure what "running errands" means, but that sounds like you're going out and leaving windows open ... are you never burgled?