Problems in bedrooms with mould and condensation?

dawnylou

Thank you everyone for all of your replies. You have been so helpful and I am really grateful. The PDF was an interesting read also so thank you for that.

With regards to the tumble dryer suggestion - we would love to but we literally have nowhere to put one. My sister-in-laws house is in the same street but is a size down (2 beds) and she doesn't even have anywhere for a washing machine! Very small houses!

Yes the bathroom is also upstairs.

I will try running the dehumidifier with the heating on. Unfortunately I have been so confused as to whether heating should be on or off, whether windows should be open or closed etc etc due to conflicting info on the internet, but let's see how we go with this

I know this sounds bad but I am happy to see others have had similar problems. It makes me feel dirty having ceilings with black growing on them and so on, so it is a bit of a relief to me that others also suffer.

ariba10

Our dehumidifier is run with the heating off.

There will be no problem running it as long as the temperature in the house is above freezing.

spirit

Just wondering if you have any leaking/clogged guttering as my son has this problem in his rented flat. the landlord says it's the guttering clogged up with !!!!!!.

CLAPTON

get a extractor fan in the bathroom ; run it for 4-5 hours after a bath or shower
run the extractor in the kitchen for at least an hour or two after cooking

cheap too.

Ben84

I think most houses do need some energy input for heating (possibly also dehumidifying too) to stay warm and dry. Without this, you will always have issues with condensation causing dampness.

Turning up the heating and using the dehumidifier isn't the only important thing however, it helps a lot to also reduce the moisture you put in to the air. Try to use lids on pans when cooking, not have overly long showers/baths and keep the bathroom door shut and open the window to let the moisture out rather than in to the house. If you must dry clothes inside, use a high spin to remove as much water as possible, then dry them in the room with the dehumidifier and keep the doors shut so the moisture is mainly picked up by the dehumidifier.

The mould itself can be cleaned up with a mould spray or diluted bleach solution. Mould can be a health hazard and the longer you leave it the more spores are released, so best to remove it promptly to stop it turning up everywhere. Most houses will get the odd patch around window frames, on bathroom tiles and behind furniture during the winter, but provided it's cleaned up quickly with something that kills mould it isn't going to be serious. I do keep separate cloths and gloves for cleaning up mould as it's possible to spread it elsewhere in the house by cleaning.

ROY47

Mistral001 wrote: »

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.

Sorry but completely disagree with that lot of tosh !

My house is 1970s type semi , cavity wall insulation ,pvc windows + doors ,loft insulation and gas central heating + open windows when cooking / bath / shower etc.

I still use a dehumidifier to remove the condensation and it cured my problems !!

Think of it as a sealed box with all the insulation I have and nowhere for the warm moist air to go :cool:

cyrusgab

It sounds like you have a dehumidifier already but I wanted to suggest a dessicant dehumidifier. As other people have stated if your house is cold a typical dehumdifier will not operate very well but a desiccant could be your answer.

I agree, your house needs heat, and when a house has been starved of heat it takes a long time for the bricks and mortor to warm up again and begin to act like a storage heater and thus supply your house with more consistent temperatures. The best and most economical way to heat a house is , if you have it, keep the central heating on continuously at a low but comfortable setting when you are awake, and even when you are at work. The house will retain the heat over time and work like a storage heater and be more cost effective in the long run. If the house becomes very cold over a long period of time, and consequentially damp, then it will keep absorbing all heat you throw at it in bursts and it will never escape the vicious circle of damp and cold brick and mortor. The desiccant dehumidifier doesn;t condense the air but dries the air, and often extremely well at any temperature. It also throws out some heat too. Its ideal for cold houses and amazing for drying clothes. We have a Prem i Air. It;s quite small , there are larger models out there

lollipopsarah

Thank you OP for this thread, my son went back to uni today and when I picked up the rubbish from his room - smallish box room I noticed somegreyish mould around his bed - agh!
As he is now away I turned off the radiator (moneysaving), but am now wondering if I should leave it on.
I'm thinking of pulling the bed out to let the air circulate to see if that helps, but he said that even with the small window open he didn't get much air in (in the summer).
I left the window open all afternoon, but daren't leave it open when I'm not in as sadly there have been lots of burglaries here lately.
Any advise would be appreciated.
xx

ariba10

Pulling the bed away from the wall will help a lot.

It will allow the air to circulate.

Darren_G

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

The EBAC website FAQ's suggests the average cost of one of their 'smart' dehumidifiers is about 2p per hour when running, but also state that dehumidified air warms up more quickly (though they do not state a figure or percentage reduction in heating costs)

Perhaps others reading who have a dehumidifier and an energy monitor could post some actuals?