help with damp

benjiboo

Hi does anyone know if there is any help out there for people with damp homes - we are a young family on one income but not on benefits home owners and we have a very damp kitchen, but on a debt management plan and just cant afford to do it. We are in the birmingham area

x

Hammyman

You're on your own I'm afraid.

What is the cause of the damp? Where is it worst?

AnxiousMum

Is the damp due to a leak somewhere that might be covered under your home insurance policy?

yummymummy1987_2

Im not sure about any benefits you could get but we lived in a flat years ago that would get really damp for a few months of the year. it was terrible.
To keep it at bay i used to bleach the walls and our landlord eventually got us a dehumdifer from b and q i think it was aroun £100.

Hope you get it sorted soon

atrixblue.-MFR-.

damp can be caused by many minor things,
1. the room gets too humid whilst cooking,tumbledryner use, is the kitchen small? is there an extractor fan in there and do you use it?

2. is the damp in a patch that is level with an outside drainage pipe? has that pipe got a leak and running down the wall on th outside of that are?

3. and more complex is it near and around a window area? or just above? and dribling down the wall from a certain hight in the kitchen, there could be a split in the damp proofing ( that will run along with external seep holes in the brick work just around the same hight as your cielings) and allowing water to "bridge to the inside wall"

4. does it have cavity wall insulation and fibre wool type insulation that could be getting damp and has failed on that area.

5. a bridge in the cavity can be another cause, a peice of cement on the internal tie's (cement "snobs") forming a water bridge from outside wall to inside wall alowing water to creep and alow damp to form.

at trusty builder can inspect the cavity for such things if you can rule out other minor things.

Jowo_2

Joining a credit union and getting a low interest loan may be one option to help with affordability.

I don't know any schemes where home owners get subsidised maintainance costs, the only ones I'm aware of tend to be aimed at those on benefits or landlords bringing a house back to a standard suitable for renting.

What is the cause of the damp and the suggested treatment? Have you got a 'free' quote from a damp company for the remedial work or did you pay an independent damp specialist, such as a surveyor who belongs to the relevant trade body, to produce a report on its cause and treatment? Free quote companies are notorious for exaggerating the treatment required whereas an independent surveyor will produce a report that is likely to be more accurate in terms of suggesting the cause/remedy and likely costs.

Though this leaflet is aimed at landlords, it's a very good source of info for anyone with damp/mouldy properties.

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/pdf/Mould.pdf

Tankrizzo_2

I just had my insurance company pay out for damp in our spare room caused by a leak from driving rain. It is one damp-related "peril" that companies will pay out on, the other being water damage caused by a burst pipe. So I would have a look to see what the cause of the damp might be. Bear in mind though that the insurance company can and do send assessors out to ascertain the cause of damage, if the repair cost is quite high (ours was under £1000), so if you're tempted to fib, don't.

welshmoneylover

benjiboo wrote: »

Hi does anyone know if there is any help out there for people with damp homes - we are a young family on one income but not on benefits home owners and we have a very damp kitchen, but on a debt management plan and just cant afford to do it. We are in the birmingham area

x

Get a dehumidifier, it'll take the moisture out of the air.

Oldernotwiser

welshmoneylover wrote: »

Get a dehumidifier, it'll take the moisture out of the air.

Opening the windows is completely free!