Damp problem in rental flat

Ella235

Hello, I've been renting a 2 bed flat since June with my young daughter. When I moved in the landlady explained that the bathroom often got a bit damp on the wall but that this wasn't a massive problem and she provided a mould and mildue spray to use on the wall 'if' it appeared and showed me the wall, just next to the shower, where it usually appeared.
For a while the bathroom was ok, only the odd bit of mould that I just wiped off. However after living there for a few months I noticed that some of my clothes and shoes had become mouldy. These clothes were located in the bedroom and in the hall. Various washes took the mould out however this still happens, with some clothes getting mouldy. I've also recently noticed that a wooden desk by my bedroom window has become very mouldy, to the point where I have to wipe the mould off twice a week. The walls around the window are also like this. Luckily my daughter's bedroom and front room do not seem to suffer the same, apart from my leather sofa which often needs a wipe down but nowhere near as often.

I'm beginning to worry as the walls in my bedroom are looking bad and i'm worried there will be lasing damage to them which will result in me loosing my deposit. The windows in my bedroom also get very bad condensation.

Is there anything I can do to try and minimise the problem? I have spoken to the landlady and she has said to just keep using the spray when it appears. She won't do anything to prevent the problem, such as getting someone in to look at it, so is there something I can do?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

anselld

Dont dry clothes, towels, etc indoors.
Keep lids on pans when cooking.
Keep the door shut and ventilate room after showering.
Ventilate every day.
Keep the place at an even temperature.
Purchase a dehumidifier.

fannyadams

check the outside of the house to see if any of the guttering is leaking and running down the walls especially those that have the mould.
It's entirely possible the guttering is blocked and overflowing and running down the wall the water will go through the walls especially if there's cavity wall insulation to bridge the gap!!! and it'll come through the walls into the house.

WestonDave

Good advice above - might be worth fleshing it out a bit. All those listed activities (cooking, drying clothes, and also breathing!) create humid air in the flat. Warm air can hold more water than cold air - so when nice warm humid air hits a cold surface (often a window) it dumps water as condensation. If left this forms an ideal breeding ground for mould.

So - as far as the bathroom goes, keep the door shut whilst you shower to keep the steam in the bathroom, and when you've done open the window and then leave the door shut so it goes outside.

In the rest of the house avoid creating humidity where you can and make sure you open the windows etc to swap the humid indoor air for drier outdoor air (often even when its raining outside the air will hold less water than the air inside!).

sniggings

you either need to get the LL to fix the problem or move.

Damp to the extent it is on clothes etc is not good and will be affecting your health and to a greater extent your child's.

You need to keep records of when you ask your LL to correct this problem and by letter is the best way, the LL will not be able to withhold your deposit because of a problem that was already there when you moved in.

But you should really be looking at moving, you can also get a housing officer to inspect the property as she is not allowed to be renting a property if it is harmful to health.

anselld

sniggings wrote: »

you either need to get the LL to fix the problem or move.

If it a building defect. It might be, it might not.

sniggings

anselld wrote: »

If it a building defect. It might be, it might not.

My guess it is when someone first moves into a property and the LL hands them a bottle of mould stray :rotfl:

WestonDave

sniggings wrote: »

My guess it is when someone first moves into a property and the LL hands them a bottle of mould stray :rotfl:

Having a known issue with a cold wall spot is one thing but when its airbourne and affecting clothes its at least possible to be a lifestyle issue due to lack of ventilation.

There is a fundamental paradox in that people want to shut out all draughts etc to avoid paying for heating, but by doing that they then create a damp problem because all their human activities create moisture which becomes trapped in the home.

It might be useful if the original poster could comment on whether they open windows, and dry clothes within the flat as it may be worth sorting those potential contributors which are within her control rather than getting into a battle with the landlord which is outside her control.

Ella235

I'm currently contracted to this flat until January and then I'm looking to move to a new city in early March, so was hoping to stay here until then.
Thank you for all the advice, I will try all these things and hopefully it will help to reduce the problem!

I don't really understand dehumiderfiers and have just googled them and seen there are so many to chose from! What should I be looking for, and has anyone bought a good one they could recommend?

Ella235

Sorry WestonDave your comment appeared just after my last post -

I do think that I am contributing to the problem which is why I posted on here for suggestions on what I can do to limit the problem. I'd rather find a way to improve the problem myself than to start problems with the landlady.

I don't leave damp clothes in the flat. I do have a tumble dryer, and I ensure the hot air from there is out of the kitchen window. I open the kitchen window a lot and sometimes the bathroom and front room, but I have rarely opened mine or my daughter's bedroom window

sniggings

if you are moving soon then a dehumidifier is not really needed, they only work in the room they are in and to not get rid of mould spores, there may reduce the moisture my 5%-10% if you are lucky but as soon as you turn it off you are back to square one again and a reduction of 5-10% is unlikely to solve the problem.

I guess you have the heating on now as it is getting colder so that will help but if the problem is still bad with heating then you have a bigger problem that a dehumidifier can fix.