Mould in Wardrobe

Annieuk75

I am having a nightmare with my wardrobes. We live in a Bungalow and the outside wall of our bedroom has got built in wardrobes. A few years ago we got mould on the back wall and it got into all our clothes. We painted the back of each wardrobe with anti-mould paint and it has been fine. This morning however, I got a handbag from the bottom of the wardrobe and it smelt really musty. I unpacked my box of handbags and they all smell really bad. Nothing else in the wardrobe is affected, just the stuff in the box on the bottom. Is there anyway to stop the things on the bottom being affected like this. Thanks

C.C.L.

I had a problem the same as this a few years ago. I bought some plastic troughs with cristals in them to absorb the moisture, and they worked. I can't remember the brand name of them but they are sold in most D.I.Y and hardwear shops, I've even seen them in £1 shops and discount stores. You have to replace the cristals when they get full of water. Maybe worth a try?

Leif

Presumably the problem is a combination of humidity, cool air in the cupboard and poor circulation. Do you dry damp clothes in the house? Do you have an extractor fan in the bathroom? Etc.

C.C.L. wrote: »

I had a problem the same as this a few years ago. I bought some plastic troughs with cristals in them to absorb the moisture, and they worked. I can't remember the brand name of them but they are sold in most D.I.Y and hardwear shops, I've even seen them in £1 shops and discount stores. You have to replace the cristals when they get full of water. Maybe worth a try?

That might be silica gel, which photographers use to keep lenses dry. If so, then it can be heated to drive off the water, and the crystals reused. Small quantities are expensive, but large amounts are not so bad. Ebay is one source.

Antispam

I got a couple of these I use in car for condensation but they equally work in house and can be reused

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DRY-AIR-CAR-HOME-DEHUMIDIFIER-BAG-MOISTURE-ABSORBER-/200681978697?pt=UK_Car_Accessories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item2eb993fb49

Try cleaning the mould with diluted bleach or use a anti fungal cleaner suitable for clothing

You might be best getting a dehumidifier though. I my last house we got mould at back of a wardbrobe and I left a gap and out some polystyrene insulation (old packing) in the gaps this helped.

WestonDave

One alternative although its slightly unsightly is to fit a vent into the wardrobe to help air circulate through it. If its possible to fit a small brass style vent on the side and maybe another one on the top, the air flow through it will stop damp air getting trapped inside it and then condensing water onto surfaces inside as the air cools. A possible scenario is that you get up, have a shower so the house air is fairly moist, got to the wardrobe for your clothes for the day letting the damp air in, you then shut it up tight for the day leaving the damp trapped in with no heating and no fresh circulating air. The damp from the air ends up in the coolest part - the bottom and makes the contents damp. Especially at this time of year when the heating is borderline, you need to ensure the heated air in the house also gets into spaces like the wardrobes. (The alternative is to leave the door slightly ajar for a while each day to enable the air to change inside)

savemoney

I keep my warddrobe doors open very other day and open bedroom windows unless its very cold. I also lined the outside wall as we have bultin warddrobes with polystyrene lining paper, wallpapers and paint with bathroom condensation paint, so far no problems of mould in 15 months. My daughter has same problem and haven't got around to doing hers yet I just open doors and wash down with diluted bleach