Damp/Mould problem in a ground floor flat?

Birdie85

Hi,

I hope someone can help me!

Nearly 3 years ago my DH and I bought a new-build ground floor flat which is a leasehold and we understood that the company we bought the flat from were in charge of the property. About 2 months after we bought our flat the rest of the building was sold off to the LHA. Since then we've had no end of difficulties with trying to figure out who to get in touch with whenever there's been a problem as neither side wants to know, the LHA don't care as we're not their tenants and the original company doesn't care as they sold off the building to the LHA

For the entire time we've been there we've been putting up with a damp and mould problem in the 2 bedrooms, I've had to throw out bag after bag of clothes and shoes which have been ruined by mould, the walls are mouldy, all of the furniture has mould on, and there's a general feeling of being damp and cold whenever we're in either bedroom, not to mention a musty smell. We've tried opening windows to let fresh air circulate, the pots of salt everwhere to soak up moisture, closing the bathroom door, turning the heating up, nothing makes any difference. I'm fed up of living like this, my DH suffers with his breathing sometimes and I'm sure it's because we're sleeping in a room full of mould spores and God-knows-what floating about in the air.

Two questions:

1) Is is easy to install a ventilation system in a ground floor flat?
2) Is this something that the builder/LHA should do for us as it is a problem with the building, if it had been built with sufficient ventilation in the first place we wouldn't be having this problem!

Does anyone have any advice? TIA

Chunks

Mould thrives in warm humid conditions and once established, it can be a swine to shift. In my house, I get two problem areas one is in the ensuite, which I clear away every spring. During the winter months, it returns driven (mostly) by the OH drying clothes indoors and the tendancy to keep windows closed.

If you can kill the mould with appropriate cleaner then dry the air, you should see a difference. In respect of the latter a dehumidifier will sort the humidity. Increasing the ventilation (not so doable/comfortable in winter) in tandem with reducing the production of water vapour in the flat, is another option.

You could have a leak (maybe in the flat(s) above?) but unless the walls are running with water, it's not likely to be the cause. That said, you do appear to have an extreme case. Perhaps you should get someone in to test for high levels of damp....

Dinah93

Is the damp coming up from the floor or down from the ceiling or over the walls evenly? Are any rooms worse than others? Do your windows have trickle vents on them, is there an extractor in your bathroom and kitchen? I assume both bedrooms have windows, do they face onto a different elevation than the lounge/dining room (North facing tends to lead to cold rooms prone to damp issues) A well built house shouldn't have these problems as you well know, hopefully someone will see your post who is able to give a more technical response.

Don't all new homes come with a 10 year NHBC warranty?

ariba10

Have you tried a Dehumidifier?

http://www.harfordsonline.com/downloads/condensation%20info.pdf