Getting mould off walls that have woodchip wallpaper on

frugaliciousnow

A bit of mould has appeared in the corners of a couple of rooms on outside walls. This would appear to be as a result of condensation.

I would just put a little bleach in water and wash the walls - as they are painted and "job done".

However, I had to put up woodchip wallpaper on the walls before I could paint them because the walls are old and really need replastering. Hence there is woodchip wallpaper between the surface of the wall and the paint I had decided to put on the walls.

I wonder if it would still be safe to use diluted bleach on those walls in the event or would the woodchip wallpaper that's underneath the paint suffer in the process of me trying to clean the mould off?

(I'm not actually sure whether the mould originated on top of or underneath the woodchip wallpaper in fact. My assumption is that the walls themselves are okay and the mould is going from the paint inwards towards the wall underneath, rather than the wall outwards so to say.)

olly300

Woodchip paper is hell to get off.

I would personally work out how to remedy the situation without putting paper on.

In the case of you putting wood chip in an area with a condensation problem while the paper may not come off if there are enough coats of paint on it, you risk the mould growing on the wallpaper paste.

frugaliciousnow

Thank you.

This is one of the things I am concerned about. That is that mould may be growing on the wallpaper paste or the wall itself.

The woodchip wallpaper has been in place for some years now, so it's just the mould growing on it that is a recent event. Hence I am hoping that cleaning the surface of the paper will be sufficient to deal with the problem without ruining the wallpaper itself.

frugaliciousnow

I've not had much joy re replies to this on another Board.

So, do Old Stylers know whether it would be safe to use diluted bleach to remove mould (caused by condensation) that's there on the corners of walls in a couple of rooms in my house. Reason for asking being I had to put up woodchip wallpaper on those walls before painting them back years ago, as the walls weren't good enough to just put up the paint straight onto the walls and I wasn't going to replaster them (as I wanted to do).

Would the woodchip wallpaper be okay for being "washed" like this or would it start coming off? Yes I know woodchip wallpaper is the very devil to get off when you are actually TRYING to do so, but it would be just my luck if the wallpaper itself got damaged by trying to get off the mould that's sitting on top of it.

squeaky

I'd suggest using a proper black mould treatment from somewhere like B&Q. The ones available these days are very effective and long lasting.

As for lifting the paper off the wall, unlikely IF the problem is condensation in your house... but if the damp is coming from inside the wall then your paper will lift away sooner or later.

carefullycautious

I used Dettol mould and mildew remover on the embossed wallpaper at the back of toilet which always gets mould over winter on it. Usually around the pipes.

It is painted in duckegg blue and this did not stain the wallpaper and you cant see where I have sprayed. You could always test a piece first.

I find this remover brilliant for the grout between tiles also which sometime go black if I havent ventilated the bathroom properly.

Im lucky in that I dont get a lot of mould as I make sure I keep everwhere well ventilated but some does form in certain areas.

hjanea

The ceiling of my bay window has painted woodchip on it and gets mould in the corners. Diluted bleach seems to work and so far hasn't caused any damage. Mine is just in the winter so I presume its caused by condensation.

janey183

I used the old bleach and water method on my wood chip for years. Trouble being I used it for so MANY years the "chip" started coming off, so I ripped the whole lot off, got it plasterd and painted it.
Now I bleach the walls as the pesky damp is still there (200 year old house to be expected I suppose):o

MILLYMOLLY

how can you tell if the mould is from condensation or damp. my black mould seems to be rapidly growing on ext wall of front bedroom and ceiling near ext wall of back bedroom. The back bedroom mould runs length of room have washed and painted but has come back seems to be worse

frugaliciousnow

I've had the house for some years now and this is a recent problem. If it were damp, then I would expect to have had a problem with it before now.

What has changed recently is I no longer use a tumbledryer for my washing. I dry everything naturally indoors on clothes horses. This cant be putting that much moisture into the atmosphere I would have thought, as my new washing machine gets things pretty darn dry just from a wash cycle only.

The damp is on the window wall of the sitting room (at ground level), but not there in the dining room. Upstairs - it's in the bit between edge of ceiling and top of wall on one of the walls in one of the bedrooms. Downstairs it's discolouring my white paint to slightly yellowy patches. Upstairs it's black bits.

Regarding the sitting room damp, another reason I believe it's condensation is because I keep spare food in the built-in cupboard adjacent to that wall and I have recently had to throw out 2 packets of flour from there (because I noticed mould growing on the outside of the packets) and I found that a packet of salt I had in there was damp all over its cellophane wrapping (still usable and now decanted into a jar and put in the kitchen). That cupboard is in one of the two corners (ie the outside wall ones) affected in this room.

BitterAndTwisted

If you think that drying laundry indoors in winter can't be putting much moisture into the air, please think again. It does. A lot. As you have proven. Unless your gutters are blocked so water is pouring down the external wall or there's a blocked down-pipe doing the same thing IT IS the laundry. I promise you.

If you're not going to replace your dryer, either buy a dehumidifier or dry the clothes in only one room with the window open and the door closed.