Damp problem......help??

sugarbabe1

Hi,
I have noticed alot of black spots around the roof and walls of my house....I assume this is damp?

I am in a bit of a panic now as I am 39 weeks pregnant with new arrival due any day and I am so so worried that we have a damp problem in the house. I have bought a de-humdifiyer which seems to be be takin alot of water out of the rooms but will this solve my problem? What else can i do.....?

Anyone know if this is harmful to a new baby?

Thanks

quintwins

if it's only a few areas i would keep as your goings with a dehumidifier and i would clean your walls either with bleach or you can buy sprays and solutions, our house is damp due to over insulation and no airflow in our roofspace (our landlord is slowly fixing it) we've found that painting after you've given it a good clean helps aswell

theres a good chance it's condensation if you've had your heat on and drying clothes indoors, you could try opening your windows when possible aswell (so prob not til may/june time )

D.A.

And rather than buying special anti-fungal paint once you've cleaned the walls, mixing few crushed aspirin into ordinary emulsion paint does the same job of keeping the mould away.

(There's a tip somewhere on the net which says exactly how many aspirin - google it).

englandsno7_2

You should also check your guttering as well, in case water is running down and penetrating the walls. Have seen similar problems on 'Help My House Is Falling Down'. Check out their website, there's lots of useful DIY tips on there
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/on-tv/help-my-house-is-falling-down/

A.L.D.A

D.A. wrote: »

And rather than buying special anti-fungal paint once you've cleaned the walls, mixing few crushed aspirin into ordinary emulsion paint does the same job of keeping the mould away.

(There's a tip somewhere on the net which says exactly how many aspirin - google it).

Thanks that is a new one!:T


Where exactly is the mould? Is it in corners, along the floor or everywhere? Where is it worst? Is the roof insulated? Are the walls insulated, What type of house is it and how old? Sorry it is a long list but it would give me a better overall picture.

It sounds like condensation.

sugarbabe1

hi a.l.d.a......it is a fairly new two storey detached house only up about 10 years....mostly the damp seems to run along the ceiling or down the walls.....

The walls and roof are insulated but just sent the hubby to B&Q to buy some additional roof insulation.....do you think this would help?

Any advise greatly recieved......

quintwins

sugarbabe1 wrote: »

hi a.l.d.a......it is a fairly new two storey detached house only up about 10 years....mostly the damp seems to run along the ceiling or down the walls.....

The walls and roof are insulated but just sent the hubby to B&Q to buy some additional roof insulation.....do you think this would help?

Any advise greatly recieved......

thats the same as my house (except that my house is about 15 years old) and it definetly sounds like condensation, get your hubby into the attic to make sure theres a gap in between your insulation and the bottom of your roof and if your insulations damp to touch if it is i would recommend pulling it back and sticking your dehumidifoer up there for a day or 2 to dry it out


check this out before you insulate it more incase you make it worse

A.L.D.A

quintwins wrote: »

thats the same as my house (except that my house is about 15 years old) and it definetly sounds like condensation, get your hubby into the attic to make sure theres a gap in between your insulation and the bottom of your roof and if your insulations damp to touch if it is i would recommend pulling it back and sticking your dehumidifoer up there for a day or 2 to dry it out


check this out before you insulate it more incase you make it worse

Very good advice. :money:

You must maintain ventilation on the cold side of insulation. Make sure there are in fact vents at the eaves!

It could also be that you have a cold (bridge) area running along the junction of the ceiling and wall. What you could do is put strips of Xtrathern, or Kingspan, Quintherm high quality insulation boards about 450mm long say 50mm thick between the rafters down into the eaves. Make sure they fit well and there is a 50mm gap between them and the roof. It is easy to cut but you will need a good fit. You can then fill behind that with quilt. Aim for about 300mm total.

If you have a long enough ladder also check if the sarking felt below the tiles (or slates) laps down into the gutter. If it does not sometimes the wind can blow the rain water back towards the wall and you get damp areas.

However it sounds like condensation, the lower the humidity of the air in the house the better. The following increase humidity.

Drying clothes indoors
Gas room heaters (very bad idea)
Cooking
Gas Cookers
Showers and Baths.

If you are cooking or have a shower turn the fan on. Get rid of any gas room heaters if you have any. When you have to dry cloths indoors open the window and get a bit of ventilation.

Also if you have central heating turn it down a few degrees! It will save you money and the air in you house will not be able to hold as much moisture so the chances of condensation will be reduced.

Keep at the dehumidifiers for a while. It is surprising just how much damp can be trapped in a building.

Best of luck and hope that makes some sense.

Mistral001

This sounds like condensation as others have said.

If the house has PVC windows, there usually are, what are called trickle ventilators in the windows. These are small slots at the top of the window or in the horizontal glazing bar near the top of the window. Trickle ventilators provide a minimum amount of ventilation all the time as the PVC windows are otherwise airtight. They are adjustable and some cannot be totally closed, which seems a sensible thing as we all need air to breath in a room. If you have trickle vents then I suggest you open them as wide as they can go and lock them open.