Problems in bedrooms with mould and condensation?

dawnylou

Just wondered if someone could make some suggestions as I am almost having a breakdown over this!

Last year we had horrible black mould growing on our bedroom ceiling. We were advised that this was due to lack of insulation in the home.
We had our loft insulated, cleaned it thoroughly with a bleach, painted it with a special mould paint and the repainted it. Everything was hunk dory....until now.

The mould is back and with a vengeance!

On a morning our bedroom window and landing window are covered in condensation - usually with a puddle on the sill - so we always have to clean them down each day.

However also the OUTSIDE of the window is steamed up??

Background (or info that may be useful):
Our home is a 3 bedroom semi detached. The rooms affected are the main bedroom and the box room which are at the back of the house above the front room - I see some mould starting above the patio doors in the front room also.

We do not have a tumble dryer and so often have to dry our clothes indoors but we always leave the windows open when doing so.

We do not have an extractor fan in the bathroom but window stays open for around an hour or until steam has gone whenever we have showered or bathed.

Extractor fan over hob is used whenever we use the hob.

Our bedroom window (and door) and the landing window remain open all night, every night It's freezing!!!

We hardly ever bother putting the heating on now too because there seems little point in paying so much for heating when there is no benefit due to the windows being open so much.

We also just purchased a midi dehumidfier, but there wasn't much info with it so we are unsure as to when and how long it should be used? Again I am very conscious of additional electricity costs...

I simply cannot take this freezing cold mouldy house anymore!!

macman

Mould is not due to cold, it's due to inadequate ventilation. Heating the house simply masks the problem, as warm air holds more water vapour in suspension.

ROY47

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4250193/Trail/searchtext%3EDEHUMIDIFIER.htm

or

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/cooling-air-treatment/dehumidifiers/dehumidifiers/Blyss-10L-Dehumidifier-11787518

dehuidifier should cure it like the above

frosty1970

cant these be expensive to run though? how long should they be left to run a day on average as we've the same issue as the OP in a two bed bungalow

ROY47

frosty1970 wrote: »

cant these be expensive to run though? how long should they be left to run a day on average as we've the same issue as the OP in a two bed bungalow

when I first bought mine ,switched it on and it was full within 4 hrs :eek:

now I run one for around 4 hrs a night after having a bath /shower

when the other half puts clothes to dry on the radiators I run it constantly

and in very cold weather I run it all night

my bill hasn't gone up much to run it

you'll be amazed at how much water they collect :eek: :eek:

dawnylou

macman wrote: »

Mould is not due to cold, it's due to inadequate ventilation. Heating the house simply masks the problem, as warm air holds more water vapour in suspension.

But surely there is enough ventilation with windows open for around 12 hours a day??

ROY47 wrote: »

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/4250193/Trail/searchtext%3EDEHUMIDIFIER.htm

or

http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/cooling-air-treatment/dehumidifiers/dehumidifiers/Blyss-10L-Dehumidifier-11787518

dehuidifier should cure it like the above

What is the difference between a midi dehumidifier and a dehumidifier?


Frosty1970 - that is exactly what I was worried about...running costs so I am a little relieved to hear from Roy that he hasn't noticed too much of an increase!

ariba10

Have a read of this.

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

smcqis

Right on cue ariba10. The mini dehumidifier sounds inadequate, but a 10 litre a day extraction rate one or similar. Drying Clothes inside is your major prob, even with the windows open (i assume they sit overnight). Buy a tumble dryer it will save you damp associated problems and help with your problem. Does you neighbour suffer from same problems? Hae a look at his wondows early in the morning

pumpkinhead456

Plus one for a dehumidifier. I run mine almost constantly as I live in a 1900's converted flat with very poor insulation and less than adequate ventilation. I also dry my clothes inside.
The problems you are experiencing are pretty common. I would advise an extractor in the bathroom (I am guessing this is upstairs also?) and a dehumidifier. You can also get a cheap humidity monitor from ebay or the likes. My humidity level has dropped from a starting point of over 70% down to around 55% using effective ventilation alone, and then down to about 40% (which is as good as I will get!) with the dehumidifier.
The size of the tank is not a huge concern for me, extracts the 1.5 litre capacity in roughly a day and a half. Not noticed the running costs, but best switching your gas and electricty supplies to make sure your bills are as small as possible anyway
Hope this helps...

pumpkinhead456

PS the dehumidifer is most effective when the house is warm, as the moisture is in the air and not lying damp on your walls!

Mistral001

The problem here is lack of heating in the house.

The insulation in the ceiling is not doing anything as there is no heat to keep in. In fact you will probably notice that on ocassions when the weather improves slightly that the temperature inside the house will be lower than that outside. The insulation will be in that case keeping the house cold.

As others have said the dehumidifer will not work unless the air is warm in the room. Also, you need to close the windows when it is on.

Alternatively heat the house with the windows open slightly.

To totally cure the problem you have to find out the source of the water penetration into the house and fix it. This could be expensive and take several years to cure completely. In the meantime heating is the key.