Painting flat help! Wanting to stop mould.

tcall

Moved into a flat a couple of years ago and repainted at the time using matt emulsion on walls and ceiling. However, the walls and corners get very cold in the winter which has meant mould has grown around the edges.
I've decided to repaint everything white (walls and ceiling) to make the easiest job of it, and I wanted to use silk emulsion to make it easier to keep clean.
Is it apropriate to use silk emusion on the ceilings?
Any other steps I can take to help stop the mould regrowing next winter?

nickj_2

you can use v silk on ceilings
the only way to stop mould is either to increase the ventilation or decrease the humidity ,

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

Fit an extractor fan in your bathroom !

Ventilate !

tcall

Thanks for the replies.

I have tried to ventilate more, but it's difficult because the flat has night storage heating, and quickly gets cold if windows are open in the winter. The worse thing is where furniture is up against walls, mould grows behind them due to lack of airflow. Also, the walls dont appear to be insulated.
I guess next winter i should get some more heaters to balance the temperature while the windows are cracked open.

Is it ok just to paint straight over the mould?

John_T_5

If you are renting your property I would advise you take this issue up with your landlord, if they fail to act then contact the environmental health who will make them fix the problem at their expense, also consider that fungal growths will produce spores that can seriously damage your health when breathed in.

I had the same problem and found that lining the walls and ceiling with rolls of expanded foam, then papering over it did the trick, you can find it in most wallpaper shops.

This stuff will make a big difference to the temperature of the room and the walls, this stuff cannot be painted over as it is flammable it must be papered over, I covered it with lining paper and then wall paper, if you are looking for plain walls then you could get away with lining paper and then paint it.

A cheap and effective way of getting rid of mildew, the fine black mould that you are getting on your walls, is to wipe down the affected areas with neat vinegar, as well as cleaning it off it helps to prevent it growing back.

It's a bad idea to paint over the mould as the paint will eventually just flake off.

greyteam1959

Sounds to me as though there is no loft insulation.
Can you get into the loft to check or get your landlord to check for you.
Or it may be badly insulated.
If the insulation has not been done right there will be a gap round the edges....the warmth from your rooms will be hitting the cold areas of the ceiling and condensing as moisture which then goes mouldy.

John_T_5

mervyn11 wrote: »

Sounds to me as though there is no loft insulation.
Can you get into the loft to check or get your landlord to check for you.
Or it may be badly insulated.
If the insulation has not been done right there will be a gap round the edges....the warmth from your rooms will be hitting the cold areas of the ceiling and condensing as moisture which then goes mouldy.

Hello Mervn, I wasn't sure if you were referring to the OP or me, in my case I live in a ground floor flat and I have a concrete ceiling, I don't think the bloke upstairs would be too happy about having his floors ripped up to improve the insulation of my flat lol, oh the joy of Bison construction.

ITtim

I had this very problem in my old flat, i had a dehumidifier which helped, i was getting well over a litre a night!!

do you dry your washing inside the flat? i found that to be one of my major problems.

other than that then ventilation is the key, i too had mould mostly behind furniture where the air couldnt circulate.

The worry is wether the damp is inside the walls but in my expeirence it was just on the surface.

Detol do a really good product for getting rid of the mould , however i guess its the cause you need to erradicate!

greyteam1959

Sorry John_T was refering to original post ......

Mine'sAPintPlease

If you've got mould problems I would always suggest buying a really decent quality paint.

I would wash the walls with mould killer first (I use Polycell's brand which seems to do a good job), and then do 2 coats of dulux trade paint. This is one of the thickest paints you can buy, but is also easy to paint with - it's 40 quid for a big tub, but well worth paying the bit extra. Don't be taken in by paints which make fancy claims that they're 'special paint' for certain rooms...it's all label positioning and your local dulux store can mix any colour you want if you fancy something other than white or magnolia!

A previous tenant used a cheap own brand a few years ago, and within a year there was mould everywhere. I repainted with trade dulux 2 years ago, and now have hardly any mould, apart from the bathroom (which despite an extractor fan has poor ventilation) where I have to wash the walls with mould killer 2 or 3 times a year.

The tip about drying washing indoors is spot on - sadly it's the only place I can dry clothes, so that must be the root of the problem for me.