Need help dealing with moldy rooms

broodylass_2

PLEASE HELP! My house is being taken over with mold and mildew and I don't know where to start to get rid of it! My bathroom has always been a problem area as it is small, completely tiled and has no extractor fan. But I moved furniture around in my bedroom the other day and there's mold on the bottom of the walls behind it (outside wall) and yesterday I went to clean the windows and discovered mold growing on the bottom of them too :mad:

There's other areas of mold in the house too and it's really starting to get me down I'm not really sure where to start to properly get rid of it and what to do to keep it away.

I read on the Winter Prep about dehumidifiers and using bowls of salt but other than that and attacking the actual mold with detol wipes I'm a bit clueless! :embarasse

I've got small kids so I don't really want to be using super strong chemicals - but if I have to I will. Anyone got any suggestions or advice?

Thanks for reading.

squeaky

Is your house rented? If so it would be worth having a word with your landlord. You'll also be able to find help on our House Buying, Renting & Selling board.

Our In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving board can help as well.

This older thread here on Old Style may be of help too... Removing Black mould / condensation Stains

martinthebandit

Generally it is caused by poor ventilation, is your house fairly old, with replacement windows and maybe fire places blocked up?

Houses need to breathe to get rid of all the moisture you and the kids are exhaling.

Whenever you can make sure you have windows open on opposite sides of the house, should stop the mould returning, but you are going to have to clean the existing mould off, I think bleach is probably your best bet, but I am no expert on cleaning.

broodylass_2

Thanks for the links.

It is a fairly old house and constantly seems drafty to me and we've got a backboiler in place of the fire. I'm not looking forward to the clean up

CH27

Get a dehumidifier & open your windows.

kippers

Hi we have a 1930's house and until 3 years ago we also had an old back boiler. We constantly used to have the same problem as you.

We had a new central heating 3 years ago with a combi boiler and for the first time we managed to get a decent temperature in winter which helped to 'dry' the atmosphere and stop the damp.

Top tips we found to help:

• Always make sure you open windows, even in winter for at least an hour each day.
• Never dry washing on your radiators
• Open a window in your kitchen when cooking
• Don't heat your house only to a really low temperature
• If all else fails buy a dehumidifier and keep it running all day

Hope this helps

mummyroysof3

kippers...i agree with all those..seams a waste to heat house but have windows open but its worth it

rolo-polo1965

I had this problem. I cleaned the walls using a weak bleech solution and bought 2 dehumidifiers.

1 is on thge landing and it is on 24hours a day, we keep the bedroom doors open and this keeps them dry. Also we open the windows each morning for at least an hour to let the night moisture out.

I have the other one in the conservatory which is only on at night at the moment. I have the windows open in their in the day time, this is where i dry my washingif i cant hang it out side.

Hope that helps

chrissie_bond

CH27 wrote: »

Get a dehumidifier & open your windows.

We too get condensation in our house, I find it the worst thing to deal with.

Last year we used a dehumidifier for the first time which did improve it but did not solve it completely. Surely though, if you use a dehumidifier the windows have to be closed?

thehappybutterfly

Hi Broody

I completely sympathise with you. We had a major problem with mould and mildew in our detached house form the minute we moved in. Strangely enough there was nothing picked up in the full survey we had done :mad: We used a dehumidifier for about 4 years and this made no difference. I got fed up emptying it! I can't tell you the number of shoes, clothes, curtains etc I had to throw out. The final straw came when we moved a wardrobe in my daughter's bedroom and the wall was covered in mould. We ended up getting a system installed called Envirovent www.envirovent.com. It cost a bit £700 + VAT but it was well worth it. We've not had problems since getting it installed. It runs on electricity so there is a cost estimated at 7p per day. It's really quiet so it doesn't keep us awake and all you see is a circular vent in our bedroom (one of the worst rooms affected). Admittedly, there are cheaper (free) solutions but I just got so fed up emptying the dehumidifier, washing mold off walls/windows, mopping up pools of water from windowsills etc.

valk_scot

One tip that helps is not putting furniture like wardrobes and chests of drawers against outside walls. Air can't circulate then and this contributes to mould build up. If this isn't practical try to leave a six inch gap.

Otherwise it's down to good ventilation; not drying washing in the house; opening the bathroom window after a bath or shower + closing the door into the hall; opening the kitchen window or putting on an extraction fan while cooking or boiling the kettle; keeping the house heated if practical. And if all that lot fails, by a dehumidifier.

A weak bleach solution will kill off mould spores. No need for fancy wipes or sprays.