Mould that keeps coming back in 1 corner of our room

char18

Hi
I hope im posting this the in the right place, we have 1 room in our flat that get mould in the top corner and bottom of the wall (in summer its ok in winter its worse it takes afew months to grow and sometimes a small amout of water runs down wall), i have washed it down many many times using the stuff from bnq using only water, using bleach, and repainted it many times, also with anti mould paint, but it keeps coming back, i also got the whole room re plastered. it still came back
i got told it was caused by condensation and because its a north facing wall? i have tried alot of things i was thinking if i put a vent in the top corner of the ceiling straight into the loft so the air can move better, would this help?? any one that can help it would be much appreciated
thank you

loracan1

Is it in a room that's often used, does it happen overnight when someone's sleeping in there and do you open windows regularly to air it - have you also checked there is no damaged guttering above the part that gets damp?

char18

hi thank you for reply
its the main bedroom and we have the little vents in window open on a night and day time we have the windows open, the gutter looks ok but i not checked it inside, i will check that at the weekend, im i checking for cracks and if its blocked
thank you its stressing me out, its been years and i keep trying,

Ben84

A small patch of condensation that grows small amounts of mould every few months in the winter isn't really alarming or unusual. Most houses have a corner or area(s) like this, often around window frames in bathrooms and kitchens or corners, I just wipe them down with some bleach solution a few times each winter and it doesn't become serious.

char18

i tried wiping the wall down every few days but it still gets into things and flakes the paint, also i put a set of draws on the wall with a gap of about 8 cm from wall and the back of the draws had mould all down back, and i had to get rid of the them

savemoney

There are several ways to avoid condensation ventilate, insulate, increase heating and lower humidity or use a dehumidifier to extract moisture in the air and thus lower humidity.

Most of us get condensation if they dont try and avoid the reason unfortunately living in building that tend to have few drafts like old days, washing bathing cooking and even breathing add extra moisture and heating goes off the humidity increases as a warm house can hold more moisture in the air, when the air cools and hits a cold surface it condenses

You can get paint that has mould inhibitors in like Zinseer or condensation paint but best to sort out the source of the extra moisture, a dehumifier is a huge help I have mine on 24/7 and doesn't come on that much as humidity is around 50% or slightly less

char18

Thank you for all your help, does anyone know if putting the vent into the loft would help it or make it worse? Many thanks

Furts

char18 wrote: »

Thank you for all your help, does anyone know if putting the vent into the loft would help it or make it worse? Many thanks

It would just allow any moisture in the air to condense up there - not a good idea, and totally against good practice in building. Do not do it...unless you have an incredibly well ventilated roof!

HTH

Ben84

char18 wrote: »

Thank you for all your help, does anyone know if putting the vent into the loft would help it or make it worse? Many thanks

As far as I'm aware, it's not a common solution. In fact I've never heard of vents in to the loft.

I'd try to introduce less moisture in to the air in the house, and use the window more during the daytime to air the room. I'm not convinced of the benefits of adding fixed ventilation to reduce condensation, as it does nothing that using the windows can't do.

If you do however add a vent, I wouldn't place it in the corner that's damp. Areas gathering condensation are doing it because they're cooler than the rest of the room/house and when warm humid air moves in to that area it cools and can hold less moisture, so it condenses out. I suspect that introducing cold outside air there will actually make it colder and enhance the condensation rather than dry it up. Inside and outside air will mix on both sides of the vent. So, if you are going to add fixed ventilation, I'd do it somewhere else in the room that isn't already cold and damp.

Anyway, many people seem very enthusiastic about fixed air vents, I've just not had much luck with them for condensation and despite its popularity I find the idea of placing them in cold damp areas counter intuitive.

char18

i wont be putting in a vent anymore, i dont want to make it worse thank you very much for your help :beer:

suki1964

i have the same problem in a spare room - in a built in wardrobe = mould in the corner as no air is circulating there

We have those rechargeable dehumidifiers hanging there - work a treat