Mould in bedroom and painting

princess1984

Hello! We live in a 2 bed semi that is rented through a letting agency. Our bedroom is at the front of the house, and there is mould growing around the window, and onto the ceiling now. We regularly open the windows and wipe the walls down which makes it look less black, but it always comes back.

Now the room needs painting, and we're considering asking our friends dad for a quote as he did our living room for a good price. I don't want to look silly asking him though so I'll ask here where noone knows me . Can you just paint over mould or does it need to be treated first? I assume it's the second one, but if this is the case will it just come back again or should it stay away?

Advice much appreciated!

WestonDave

Ideally you need to deal with the root cause of the mould - normally poor ventilation or heat circulation. However in a rented property that may be hard to do within the constraints of what you can practically or economically do to a property which isn't yours.

In answer to your question - if you paint over mould it will probably come back, if you treat mould and then paint over it with normal paint it will probably come back but take longer. Your best bet is to paint over it with a paint with a anti mould additive in it - you can buy the additive seperately. (Mould can live quite happily on normal paint)

ixwood

It'll come back unless you identify the source of the moisture that's causing the mould.

princess1984

So this paint with an anti mould additive, don't suppose you know approx how long it would take for the mould to come back or would it depend on the surrounding conditions?

We have a dehumidifier which will extract moisture from the air, will using this daily help?

WestonDave

Depends what you use and how well you put it on - as an example I've painted some Zinsser Perma White on my bathroom ceiling at the end of January. It is supposedly guaranteed to prevent mould for 5 years, and it is certainly still clear of mould after 2 months even though the normal emulsion on the adjacent walls is showing signs of mould after the same timescale (despite having used a Cuprinol anti mould spray before painting).

The downsides to the paint I used is that it only comes in white (although apparently you can tint it to pastel colours with appropriate additives), its expensive (£40 for a 5L tin) and you need to do two good coats to ensure it works. From what I understand you can buy anti mould treatments to go in normal paint which should do the same job and give you a wider choice of colours, whilst probably costing you less. http://www.condensationproducts.co.uk/aspbite/products/products.asp?intProductsID=39 is an example - I've never used this but I think the site its sold on has been recommended before on here.

Yes a dehumidifier used regularly should help, as would other measures like not having wet clothes/towels in your bedroom, keeping the door and a window open whilst sleeping to stop the build up of moisture from your breath, and also keeping the temperature in the room up.

lynzpower

Are you certain there is no leak coming in from the roof, or that the guttering is blocked ( eg leaves)

littlesnuggy

You can get coloured anti-mould paint here http://www.acslimited.co.uk/mould-condensation-control.htm. Contact details here, where you can call them for free advice http://www.acslimited.co.uk/antimould-antifungal-paint.htm?filename=mould-growth

ixwood

The products are expensive, will be mould resistant at best, and only delay it's appearance for a while anyway. In the mean time, the mould will appear else where and probably ruin clothes or furniture, as the conditions are obviously conducive.

Have you checked clothes in wardrobes that don't get much air, behind wardrobes, beds and other furniture against outside walls?

You really need to identify the cause of the humidity and rectify it.

Do you get condensation on the windows? That's a sign that the air is too humid and should be taken seriously, unless it's only a tiny bit on cold nights.

The dehumidifier will definitely help. Leave that on for now, until you find the source of the problem.

Have you checked gutters and drainpipes? is the roof sound and loft dry? Are there a lot of people in the house?

artha

princess1984 wrote: »

Hello! We live in a 2 bed semi that is rented through a letting agency. Our bedroom is at the front of the house, and there is mould growing around the window, and onto the ceiling now. We regularly open the windows and wipe the walls down which makes it look less black, but it always comes back.

Now the room needs painting, and we're considering asking our friends dad for a quote as he did our living room for a good price. I don't want to look silly asking him though so I'll ask here where noone knows me . Can you just paint over mould or does it need to be treated first? I assume it's the second one, but if this is the case will it just come back again or should it stay away?

Advice much appreciated!

As others have said the cause needs to be addressed first. If it is due to the fabric of the building then surely the landlord should investigate

pineapple

I have a problem with mould round the bedroom windows and understand that it's due to the condition of my old stone guttering which needs to be lined. A job for this year!
I did try a temporary fix in one room with an anti mould base coat and it has lasted over a year so far - but it has just sent the problem to adjacent untreated areas.

vikkers14

The mould needs to be treated washed of etc , you can get a product called vc175 which is an additive to put in paint,paste etc which prevents mould ,it comes in a 50ml bottle which is enough to add to 10 litres of paint ,i,m a professional decorator and have used it loads and stands up just as well as specialist mould paints like steracryl..vc175 costs about £7-8 and can be bought at most trade paint centres heres a link for info http://www.floodaustralia.net/products/vc175.htm

really is good product