Help dealing with damp/mould in bedroom OS style

CompBunny

Our bedroom get copious amounts of condensation on the windows every night, and even worse the little bit of ceiling/wall above the window also gets damp... black mould has started to form :eek:

Especially as we are renting (and I'd want to sort it anyway!) I need to deal with this, but not sure how. Obviously I need to get rid of the existing mould - what is best to use on magnolia matt emulsion painted plaster that joins onto UPVC windows without causing damage?

Then I need to start preventing more mould forming. This is where I need your OS ideas. Everything I have read suggests that you need ventilation + heat to prevent condensation and mould. They suggest always leaving the window open a crack, but when its cold outside it lets in a stream of freezing cold air which would surely mean that any heating you dared have on with the high cost having to work harder to maintain temperature!

I have always tried to have the heating off or as low as possible but I can't let mould start taking over.

What is a sensible and also economical way to approach this?

We leave the bedroom door open overnight and make sure towels get returned to the bathroom after use! We no longer dry washing indoors unless in the tumble drier to prevent moisture.

Thanks. Sorry if this is stupid, I was just wondering if anyone could see solutions that I can't in my reluctance to have the heating on more than necessary.

EDIT: Also forgot to add that I think a big contribution to the moisture in the air might be the fact that I sweat bucketloads at night due to a medical condition...have yet to find a way to ease this symptom.

joolesw1972

We had this problem in our last rented house, esp in the bedrooms.
We cleaned it off with a mildew & mould spray (dettox I think) opened the upstairs windows during the day when we were out & closed them in the eve when we had the heating on, and got a dehumidifier, we also moved furniture slightly away from the wall - all this helped, but it never went away completely.
Hope that's some help.

Butterfly_Brain

The first thing to check is that your gutters are sound and not filled with carp, this is what caused a problem in DH's room and we also put an expelair fan into the air vent and it seems to have cured the problem

thriftyniftyme

I think ventilation is the old-style answer. If you can't bear to have the window open when you're there you'll need to have it open (more than a crack) and the door closed when you're elsewhere in the house. Obviously don't run the heating in there at the same time. If it makes the room colder you can compensate with an electric blanket and/or more bedding. Bedrooms should be cooler than living areas anyway.

Each person loses more than a pint of water per night in their breath and sweat. You don't notice it because it evaporates but once it's in the air it has to go somewhere!

Dehumidifiers are good and fairly economical, mine draws 200W per hour on high. But it won't prevent damp of the level you're talking about on it's own. It's more of a supplement for when you can't ventilate.

Don't forget if you use ANY chemical to get rid of mould (including household cleaners) it is VITAL to ventilate adequately during and after use.

Do you have a wall vent? Is it closed or blocked? Houses have vents for a reason!

As long as you have ventilation you don't necessarily need heat too. I used to have huge problems, now I properly ventilate I don't have any mould at all. Despite the fact I only put the heating on in the bedroom a handful of times last winter, only ever if someone was poorly.

floss2

OP, painting over the mould will not get rid of it - it will start to come through the emulsion. You will need to clean it off, then paint with an anti-mould paint (look in your local DIY store).

CompBunny

Thankyou very much for your replies

We do not have any vents so haven't blocked them - I will definitely ask OH to check the guttering though. I will also show him this thread to see if he will be more tolerant of me opening windows when he is in the house, I guess it doesn't help that our windows don't have any sort of system that allow you to "lock" them into an open position...they open up then are prone to flapping around to maximum opening with a gust of wind!

But thankyou, looks like I already had the answer but its now been confirmed - at least I know the heating thing isn't as worrying.

ariba10

I think it would be worth your while to get a Dehumidifire.

You will be suprised at the amount of moisture it removes from the air.

savemoney

I had problems in my old house mould on outside wall and behind a wardrobe and ceiling near the roof. I washed the walls down with bleach/water, opened windows and allowed to dry. I then lined the outside wall, papered and painted. Went in loft and right at the edge they had out insulation in

You can get anti condensation paint or use Zinseer paint. Maybe open windows when showering, bathing and cooking and dont dry clothes on rads. Or get a dehumidifier

It didnt come back at my old house

This is what we got



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CompBunny

Oh my word savemoney thats terrible! Glad to hear you managed to get it under control, well done! Thanks for sharing that picture...

Sounds like a dehumidifier is something we should invest it, another thing to start saving our pennies for!

lindseykim13

We had a small amount in the bedroom that suffers worse with the condensation in the morning. I sprayed and wiped it all away with a mind bleech/water solution. Aired the room out and then repainted as we were decorating anyway. Has kept it away so far which was a few months ago now. Going to try my best to wipe all windows in the morning and air rooms out more even if for only a few hours. Don't do heating either lol

aligerdie

We had the same problem in our rented home, there was thick black mould on the ceiling, and walls round the window

We bleached it but it kept growing back. Borrowed my mums dehumidifier and it's not grown since

I leave it running overnight, and it kicks out a load of heat on the landing so the heating is on a bit lower too..
You have to be careful with the spores in the mould, that particular winter we had no end of coughs, but haven't suffered so much since it's been sorted thankfully.
We were unable to have windows open at night due to my daughters condition being affected by the cold.