Black marks/mould appearing all over the house!

Dinah93

Looking for a little advice really. We bought our house in May, and moved into it at the end of September having spent the few months decorating and generally doing it up. Since moving in all the bed sheets and on some of our clothes little black marks are appearing, about 1mm to 5mm across, they look like stains and are not raised. Both the mattresses (one of which was never used) also have what looks like black mould on them. My guess is the house isn't well ventilated, while there is no black on the walls all the carpets were mouldy when we moved in, and we tore out several built in cupboards because they had black mould inside. The windows are upvc but do not have trickle vents. The property is a 1960s bungalow with dormer extension to provide 2 upstairs rooms. There isn't condensation on the windows in a morning, but there are puddles on the windowsills.

Does anyone have any other ideas or experience of this kind of issue?

Does anyone know if trickle vents can be retrofit to windows?

Any advice extremely gratefully recieved.

ariba10

It would appear to be condensation. Cured by ventilation or a dehumidifier.

Have a look at this site. http://www.harfordsonline.com/downloads/condensation%20info.pdf

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

I'd say buy or borrow a good dehumidifyer and run it for a few days.
Also you need to open your windows daily,ventilation is the key to preventing mould and condensation.

Dinah93

Thanks for the replies. We borrowed a dehumidifier yesterday from a colleague of my DH, it's filling up about every 4 hours constantly.

illzlee

consider how you live affects the level of condensation.

do you leave the door open when showering?
do you boil rice/pasta in the kitchen without ventilation?
do you dry clothes on radiators?


all of these will increase the amount of moisture in the air, and thus increase the amount of condensation/mould

iamcornholio

It seems that this is a problem throughout the property and not just certain rooms? If so a dehumidifier wont help

If after reading up on condensation prevention, you find that you are already doing the basics, and if you can't improve heating and insulation (ventilation may not be enough), then consider fitting a " positive pressure fan " - google or search this forum for details.

Treat any existing mould to carpets, wardrobes etc as otherwise it will just keep re-sporing. Watch out if you have mould on clothes and fabrics as you may need to bin these or risk it spreading. And consider throwing the mattresses too - but obviously deal with the condensation problem before the replacements go the same way