A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

Byatt

Smiley, step away from the fabric...slowly does it...:D


Oh no, just turning my mattress and there is mould on the underside that was touching the base (wooden slats)...:( it also feels clammy.

is there anything I can do? Besides throwing it out?

smileyt_2

Too late, Byatt .... but I have been restrained and only ordered stuff I have plans for and not because I like the look of it (which would have been almost everything!).

I have no idea what to do about your mattress. If your flat is so damp, surely the landlord should do something? Would environmental health be able to give any advice? I am sure one of the others on here will know what to do, someone usually does.

Penny-Pincher!!

Letter and copies of everything sent off today by special delivery along with a nicely worded legal letter. OH has text him to let him know that Auto trader have confirmed he is a dealer with a dealer account but has said nothing about the letter being sent to him. He has also deleted all auctions now so luckily we had them printed off already. He isn't taking any of our calls.

Thanks everyone. Please send all positive thoughts. OH has had to get an Oyster card today as its £2.30 a bus ride otherwise.

PP
xx

Byatt

I love fabrics too, but can't sew to save my life. I inherited the gene to love fabric but not the ability!

My cottage is over 200 years old and so I have accepted it is damp. Nothing thta can be done, bar having the heat on all the time (not going to happen) and airing (too cold at the mo'...I actually go outside to get warm!)...and mould and I have developed a working relationship, but on the mattress?! Will try and wash down with a weak solution of something or other. And save for a new mattress.

edit: PP we posted at the same time. Sounds like he's running scared. So glad you printed off all his e*ay listings etc, I was going to say to do that as suspected he would delete, but forgot...:o

really well done on dealing with it all because it must have been crushing. Hopefully, when he sees you know what you are talking about, the refund will come post haste. Positive thoughts winging their way to you. You didn't deserve this to happen to you, life is tough enough as it is without some scrag end making it worse. Hopefully in his case karma is a b!tch.

Smiley, I am looking at Jack!es fabrics right now...what have you done?! :eek: Bliss...:D

ps. how long is a metre in old money?

BitterAndTwisted

Air it. Air it. Air it. Get some disinfectant on it and air it. The mould is most likely due to it not getting a decent airing. Is the bedroom not well-ventilated?

An OS flashmob! That made me laugh and then on second-thoughts made a lot of sense to me. I'd be up for making nasty threats to an absolute bloody shyster, wherever he may be as long as I'm not on my todd. Can we bring our pinnies and rolling-pins with us? That should put the fear of God into him

I'd still be pursuing this via Trading Standards whatever the final outcome. Unbloodywellbelievable! Jail's too good for a complete c**n@rd like that. Grrrr! I'm so cross!

gardenia101

Byatt wrote: »

Oh no, just turning my mattress and there is mould on the underside that was touching the base (wooden slats)...:( it also feels clammy.

is there anything I can do? Besides throwing it out?

Not sure about the mattress, but I had what I thought was a damp problem in my bedroom, but it turned out to be condensation - no vents in my rubbish double glazing... Since having my window open slightly all the time (unless it is really freezing) the "damp" went away. I use a dehumidifier on the rare occasions I can't open the window. Good job I don't mind a cold bedroom .

May help if you still have problems.

Ideally I'd prefer to get a new mattress as you don't know how far into it the mould may have gone, & some moulds can be quite irritant to the respiratory system (although no idea if they're the type that could grow in/on a mattress - we need a mycologist). But having seen how expensive they are :eek: I may be tempted to try a deep clean - hopefully someone who knows far more about cleaning than me (of which there must be millions) will tell you what to use!

Glad to hear your eyes are OK.

PP - what a vile person he is. So relieved you got some good advice & I hope you get your money back soon.

Dee - your OH sounds lovely - you bagged a good one there!

Ginny - lovely story about your OH, & so MSE too.

I'm having a real CBA day today. Its still raining here, & its the wet stuff too, so I'm staying in. Have batch cooked bean lasagne & burritos from my AF delivery & have washing draped on every door/radiator/bannister, so I'm off to slob on the sofa, in my fleece PJs snuggled up in a fleece blanket with tea & fudge....

Have a good day all :beer:

Byatt

Thanks for the mattress advice. It's not damp in the bedroom, but like you say Gardenia, condensation. I don't have thw windows open often, mostly because it's so cold anyway, but because of the spiders getting in through the windows. I know, I know...:o
My windows don't have vents either. Having said all that, there's enough air coming in through all the ruddy gaps! :rotfl:

jpscloud

smileyt wrote: »

Help, help! Jackie's Fabrics are having a big sale. Ohhh nooooooooo my willpower gland has gone into hibernation ........ aaarrrggghhhh nooooo I am powerless to resist ......

Smiley you are very, very naughty. How am I supposed to resist now!? Seriously though, I do need some stuff... I mean NEED, really, well, want, I suppose, but I can make a good case for it, honest (insert dribbling fabric addict image here)

In my charity shop sweep I got 2 yards of curtain fabric for £1.99 in oxfam and about the same amount of a blue Sanderson print heavy fabric for £3.99 in the Red Cross shop. I just can't stop collecting fabric!

Edit: PennyPincher I am thinking of you and hoping to goodness that awful situation has the right ending for you.

GreyQueen

........GoreTex and fleece.:(

Gordon Bennett but this is a disgusting week of weather we are having although I hear that sunshine has been seen in Ireland and Scotland. Post a pic please as I have forgotten what it looks like.

I togged up and biked to the allotment in the rain to deposit the rotables in the compost Dalek and to water the peas in their t.p. tube pots in the cold frame. They're up, they're up! Or about 50% anyway, the rest can't be far behind. And some tatties have breached their baulks (coming out sideways as always) so I shall now have about 3 weeks of nail-biting anxiety until the last frost risk has passed. We've been having a sharp frost circa 18th May these past few years and it's burned the tatties. Mind you, I have also seen snow in June but it didn't settle.

This weather is sending me seriously CBA. Can't seem to wake up properly and even tea and medicinal chocolate hasn't worked. I just feel like going back to bed again but that won't get the baby a blanket. And as I've stripped the bed and have to turn the mattress etc etc it's probably easier to stay awake.

Byatt bad luck with your mattress. They're on my mind at the moment as I've decided that it's past time to replace mine due to sagginess - I'm getting backache. It's in spotless condition but not supporting my back properly. Think I'll shop for one over the Bank Holiday. Have money saved and am expecting to part with a wadge.

Re mould, the best remedy is fresh air and sunshine but I don't think you have that available any more than I do. I'd suggest, if you're able, leaning it up on it's side and wiping the afflicted area with a rag which is barely dampened with bleachy water. This shoud disheaten the mould. Keep it upright as long as possible to get the air to it. The reason for having it upright is to limit any water penetration into the mattress and it's the standard instruction for any kind of stain removal on a mattress.

Did you mention that your mattress is on slats? Mine is too, an interior box-spring kind, and the company I bought it from about 14 years ago recommended having a sheet of hardboard over the slats to help support the ends of the springs so that they don't end half-on-half-off a slat and distort. It's served me well.

Do you turn your mattress? I'm tall enough and strong enough to do mine in a sort of power-lifter mode but I appreciate that not everyone can turn a mattress without a helper. Old cottages are bu88ers for damp anyway. I'm mad keen on ventilation and have my double-glazed window in the bedroom open for several hours each day. Do you have much stuff stored under your bed and could that be impeding airflow and encouraging the mould?

Anyway, what we all need is some hot dry weather and be able to get the linens etc outside and give everything a darned good clean.

Speaking of which, I have pledged to myself (on a can of Pledge, naturally) that I shall take everything off the kitchen counter and give it a scrub and try not to put anything back on it. Ohhhh, but life would be so much easier if I had more space in there.........sigh, could be worse.............

I shall allow myself a wee bit more internet then get to it, Have a good afternoon everybody and PP certainly seems to have put the wind up that !!!!!!.........nice one.:T

ETA, if spiders coming in from outside are a problem, you can discourage them by wiping lemon oil over the window and door frames, apparently. They don't like it at all. I don't bother because there's not much cover outside my flat for spiders (being as it's concrete out there) and if any outdoorsy spiders get in they run afoul of the resident pod spiders, those spindly jobbies which somehow don't trigger my arachnophobia. They're canniabals and they're welcome to scoff the bigger scarier ones, IYSWIM.

greenbee

Byatt wrote: »

Thanks for the mattress advice. It's not damp in the bedroom, but like you say Gardenia, condensation. I don't have thw windows open often, mostly because it's so cold anyway, but because of the spiders getting in through the windows. I know, I know...:o
My windows don't have vents either. Having said all that, there's enough air coming in through all the ruddy gaps! :rotfl:

Good advice from GQ about mattress, ventilation and spiders so I won't repeat it. Keeoing things uncluttered with help with ventilation and give the spiders fewer places to hide. I wash my floors and woodwork with a lemon-based cleaner and wipe the window frames down with citrus oil and it mostly works. Filling in gaps/holes/cracks when decorating has also helped.

Miserable day here... Not sure whether to stay in and do housework or go out in search of a trashy novel and chocolate