Advice needed about mould

roses_babe

i have been living in my flat for nearly 2 years and have never had any problems with mould/damp within the last 8 months we have been experiencing mould very bad. i informed my landlord who brought us a dehumidifier which didnt work the landlord tried saying it was condensation from us breathing but this wasnt the case when we first moved in with water on the windows

he then came and stripped the wall paper covered it with mould treatment and once again it came back. i complained as i had enough so then he treated the mouldy wall *still came back*

yesterday i opened my cupboard and all my clothes and shoes have got green and mouldy. i informed the landlord that more action needs to be taken and suddenly he came around and handed our notice saying he wants to sell the flat.

over the last 9 months i have been the doctor as my ezcema and asthma have got worse and now i have had to chuck all my furniture away as it has gone mouldy. i have taken pictures do i have a leg to stand on here?

just everything seems weird as a couple of months ago he was joking about saying if the mould carries on hes going to sell up and now he has

Cannon_Fodder

If the costs of upkeep outweigh the profit he makes from rent, he might be sensible to sell now.

His mortgage may be on a low, tracker rate, but with rates sure to rise, he will perhaps be trying to get out before an expensive re-mortgage/base rate rise.

roses_babe

my landlord owns the property he has paid the mortgage off

kcwild

I had this exact same problem, and faught it out for 7 months however nothing came of it.

Sadly your landlord is probably right about condensation and it is due to the extreme weather we have had lately, and this will be why you havent experienced it till lately much like myself

You can fight the problem only by literally opening a window and leaving it open all day including having the heating on with it, you need to apply heat to the problem but make sure it can escape effectively i.e through the open window...

inmypocketnottheirs

Invariably these problems boil down to the same cause.

Dampness and mould is caused by airborne moisture. Airborne moisture is the condensation from cooking, bathing, showers and even from damp clothes being dried in doors. What then happens is the airborne moisture is then attracted like a magnet to the coldest part of the property. Inevitably this is a corner of a room on an outside wall. Then over a period of time what starts as a damp patch then starts to turn black with mould.

The only four ways of prevention are:

1) Keeping a window open near where the dampness occurs. This then means the condensation will escape outside. Alternatively fit an air brick, or in the case that one is fitted it may have been covered over. Part of the problem is we all want to live in draft free homes!

2) Keep the whole property heated so that there are no cold spots and the condensation evaporates.

3) Fit a fan to vent condensation to outside.

4) Buy an electrically powered dehumidifier and run it 24/7.

Any property is susceptible to these problems if there is inadequate ventilation, an excess of airborne moisture or insufficient heating.

ariba10

Have a read of this.

http://www.harfordsonline.com/downloads/condensation%20info.pdf

Fire_Fox

roses_babe wrote: »

i have been living in my flat for nearly 2 years and have never had any problems with mould/damp within the last 8 months we have been experiencing mould very bad. i informed my landlord who brought us a dehumidifier which didnt work the landlord tried saying it was condensation from us breathing but this wasnt the case when we first moved in with water on the windows

he then came and stripped the wall paper covered it with mould treatment and once again it came back. i complained as i had enough so then he treated the mouldy wall *still came back*

yesterday i opened my cupboard and all my clothes and shoes have got green and mouldy. i informed the landlord that more action needs to be taken and suddenly he came around and handed our notice saying he wants to sell the flat.

over the last 9 months i have been the doctor as my ezcema and asthma have got worse and now i have had to chuck all my furniture away as it has gone mouldy. i have taken pictures do i have a leg to stand on here?

just everything seems weird as a couple of months ago he was joking about saying if the mould carries on hes going to sell up and now he has

Apparently we produce six pints of water of water per person per day through breathing, showering, cooking etc. What do you mean the dehumidifier didn't work, was it of the correct capacity for the property? Was it sucking up water? Did you know to keep it going all the time and keep the windows closed whilst it was on? Before you had the dehumidifier were you ventilating (opening all windows and using any extractors) on a daily basis?

BitterAndTwisted

It seems apparent to me that your landlord has decided that if you can't look after his property properly and are costing him money he doesn't need you as tenants any longer. If there isn't any structural defect causing the damp then it's you and your lifestyle at the root of the problem. Drying laundry indoors during the coldest winter for thirty years with all the doors and windows closed is asking for trouble.

kidcat

We have had similar problems with the rented house we are currently living in, our landlord has instructed a company to fit extractor fans in bathrooms, utility and kitchen, there will also be a vent fitted into the loft which is supposed to deal with the problem, maybe if you looked into something that would work and suggested it to your landlord he may change his mind?
Like you I lost a full wardrobe of clothes and shoes and a variety of other stuff. We had only just moved into the house and there was no sign of any mould so it was a shock to discover how bad it was when I moved the wardrobe.

clutton_2

drying clothes on radiators is THE worst thing to do... it not only shoves masses of water vapour into the air, but, it also pours all the heat into the clothes and not into the air, so, you lose heat, feel cold as well as creating condensation. Putting damp clothes on a clothes horse next to a radiator, or having them above a radiator will not cause anywhere near as many problems if you have to dry clothes inside.

Our grannies knew a thing of two when they used clothes airers attached to the kitchen ceiling above the range.....

GarySt_2

As a landlord we see this often, the same flat is dry with one tenant then damp with another. Your landlord doesnt raise the moisture content, you do. Your landlord cant open a few windows, thats your responsibility. If the windows have trickle vents leave them open, open curtains to allow circulation. Leave internal doors open to allow cross ventilation. Open a window if cooking on the hob or showering. Use cooker hood if its externally vented. Open bedroom window slightly at night. Dont dry washing indoors. If you havent got a washer/dryer or externally vented tumble dryer have a word with your landlord.