Help with a damp flat

jake2010

Hi all,

We moved in to a nice two bed ground floor flat in March last year, as we needed a extra room for our little boy, after spending 9 months here we have noticed it to be damp, we firstly started to remove the damp patches from the walls but it is spreading and getting much worse. it is now in three rooms and the furniture that we have is growing mould. We have discovered that the baby changing unit has mould growing on it and that is were his clothes are stored. i am an asthmatic and my asthma has been getting worse and my partner is suffering from chest infections frequently luckily my 5 month old is not showing any singes of being ill.

the mould is in mostly in the corners of the rooms, we have had the heating on a medium setting with all windows open slightly to see if that helps but nothing, due to having a small child at home most of the day the windows cane de open all day as it gets to cold. The lounge is an extension from the the main house and the walls that join together is damp with pint bulbing off and mould growing. we have noticed that the building has no air bricks could that be a problem? what else could we do to help the situation?

we have contacted the landlord and he said he will be sending his surveyors round to asses the situation, not sure when though still waiting on his phone call, the estate agent said they can do nothing all they do is collect the rent (Typical).

what other steps can i take? should i leave the mould on the walls or continue removing it? as the health of my child is the main factor in all this.

thanks
Jake

BitterAndTwisted

If the health of your child is the main factor I would be washing the walls down with a chlorine bleach solution immediately.

I understand that the majority of condensation and damp/mould problems are caused by the tenant's lifestyles. The property needs to be properly ventilated and heated. If you are closing the kitchen door and have a window open when cooking, ventilating the bathroom during and after bathing and NOT drying any laundry whatsoever indoors then it's possible that the damp is caused by something structural. Blocked airbricks can be a culprit as can blocked gutters and downpipes causing rainwater to run down the walls. Is there any evidence of this happening?

I would very seriously consider buying a dehumidifier and running it 24/7

jake2010

Thanks for your quick reply,

The Kitchen door is shut at all times and there is a extractor fan that is in use nearly 24/7, we dry all the washing in the bath room and these are two rooms that don't suffer from the problem.
Like i said before the windows are open as much as possible and the heating on for the whole day, the lounge on the other half only has a sliding door and we tend to keep if closed most of the day. all the windows have the little vents in the tops.

The house has no airbricks apart from the new extension where there is one, no gutters leaking or drain pipes that i know of.

About getting a dehumidifier what would people suggest as the range from £20 - £500?

BitterAndTwisted

If you're drying laundry in the bathroom and the door isn't closed 24/7 then water-vapour could be migrating around the property and condensing on the first cold surface it comes into contact with. That will most likely be external walls and windows. Are your windows streaming with condensation?

Dehumidifiers can be bought from somewhere like Argos for about £80 to £100. I have read reports on the OS forum that the Delonghi ones are well thought of

jake2010

There is a bit of condensation in the morning but i usually mop it up and that is gone for the day. that's on most windows not just the ones that were used through the night with doors closed.
I think i will have to get a Dehumidifiers to see if it helps but will one be enough for the whole flat??

BitterAndTwisted

Possibly not but try one to start with.

For goodness sake DO NOT have any laundry drying anywhere in the property when the landlord or their surveyors call round or the finger may very well be pointed directly at you for causing this problem. In your shoes I would be drying everything at the launderette from now on.

moromir

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Possibly not but try one to start with.

For goodness sake DO NOT have any laundry drying anywhere in the property when the landlord or their surveyors call round or the finger may very well be pointed directly at you for causing this problem. In your shoes I would be drying everything at the launderette from now on.

In all fairness... the OP should not dry laundry in the property for a few weeks and see if there is any improvement and not just remove laundry before the surveyor turns up...

If the surveyor recommends expensive work on the basis that the OP isn't doing anything to aggrevate the situation, thats a bit ... immoral is the wrong word but leading people to bark up the wrong tree so to speak, fairs fair and all.

BitterAndTwisted

Which is why I suggested that all laundry should be dried at the launderette from now on.

jake2010

I went out and got a Dehumidifier and it has been on for the last 8hrs when i was working, and have come back to being about a 1/4 of a pint, so it must be doing something.

it should't matter about the laundry being dried as it is in the bathroom and the door is closed and the window slightly open 24/7 and no sign of damp there. so i dont believe that to be a factor it is also across the hall from the damp problems & also i use a tumble dryer for a lot of my clothes.

Frosti

jake2010 wrote: »

I went out and got a Dehumidifier and it has been on for the last 8hrs when i was working, and have come back to being about a 1/4 of a pint, so it must be doing something.

it should't matter about the laundry being dried as it is in the bathroom and the door is closed and the window slightly open 24/7 and no sign of damp there. so i dont believe that to be a factor it is also across the hall from the damp problems & also i use a tumble dryer for a lot of my clothes.

Does it have an external vent, or blow into the room?

ps. When I have to hang clothes inside for drying, I run my dehumidifier next to the rack - it speeds up the process and avoids damp.

jake2010

It has an external vent, but i don't like putting everything through it.

I didnt realise how loud the dehumidifier would be