Condensation leading to damp/mould in rented accommodation.

lornas92

Hi,

My partner and I have only been in our rented flat since mid-July, but we have always experienced a 'funny smell', particularly in the bathroom. No matter how much bleach and cleaning products we used, there was no shifting this smell.

As the weather became increasingly colder we have had issues with condensation mostly in the kitchen and in our daughters bedroom, but over the past couple of weeks we have noticed mould growing along the window sill of my daughters bedroom, on her dolls placed in the window and in the corner of the room. Her bedding and clothes are beginning to feel damp, and don't smell very fresh at all! She's only 18 months old and has a cold/cough on and off for well over a month now so this obviously isn't helping.

The smell in the bathroom we can now narrow down to the masses of black mould growing around the window. The only ventilation in the bathroom is from the window, which is open when we shower etc but obviously in this colder weather it's not really ideal to have open all the time with a baby in the house. It's also beginning to grow along the windows in the lounge and kitchen too.

Our heating system is very old, and not much of a heating system at all! We have 4 storage heaters in the flat, but even on the highest setting don't heat up the room.

I've contacted my letting agent, but I'm yet to hear back from them about this. We don't have direct contact with the landlord and the letting agent usually deals with any issues. Our tenancy is due to end in December anyway as we only signed up for a 6 month contract, but we're hoping to extend it until we find somewhere else - where do we actually stand with getting this sorted?

This is our first flat, previously we lived with parents and we're very new to this whole thing so any help would be much appreciated

BitterAndTwisted

Condensation will inevitably result in mould if the property is not adequately heated and ventilated. Both of these are under the control of the tenant.

I cannot understand why a tenant would accept a property when there was a "funny" smell when viewing. This could suggest that the landlord was aware of a problem but did nothing to address it.

Are there any leaking gutters/downpipes that you can see outside? Any other causes other than the moisture you are responsible for creating with your lifestyle?

One way of guaranteeing that you have condensation is to have the place cold, sealed up like a drum and dry laundry indoors, so I'm assuming that you don't ever do this.

donfanatico

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Condensation will inevitably result in mould if the property is not adequately heated and ventilated. Both of these are under the control of the tenant.


One way of guaranteeing that you have condensation is to have the place cold, sealed up like a drum and dry laundry indoors, so I'm assuming that you don't ever do this.

Usually yes, but not necessarily. We have this problem but ventilate and heat adequately, however our bathroom is an extension to the house, single brick, has rising damp and it's walls are constantly soaking wet on the inside and mould growing everywhere. The extractor fan runs almost constantly set on 70%.

Some houses are just rubbish - full stop. Why do LLs expect their tenant to keep windows open in the middle of the winter and throw money away and freezing rather than sort out their houses properly?

How do you dry laundry outside in the middle of the winter? What planet are people from if they expect laundry to be dried outside in England in November? I really dont get it sometimes

19lottie82

Hi OP - Firstly, the issues you are experiencing are USUALLY caused by lifestyle issues.

There are various steps you can take to try and curb / prevent the problem, as a first step, including....

1) Make sure the house is kept warm, but ventilated (i.e. open the windows, and if there are trickle vents, keep them open all the time). I know this is hard in Winter, but do the best you can.

2) Avoid drying washing indoors if possible.

3) Wipe away condensation as often as possible, then make sure you wash the cloth, or dispose of it outside (if you use paper towels). Leaving it wet indoors will just let the dampness soak back into the atmosphere.

4) Always open a window or use an extractor fan during / after cooking, using a tumble drier or having a bath / shower.

5) Wipe away any visible mould with cloth soaked in watered down bleach.

6) Consider investing in a portable dehumidifying unit. They cost about £100 new, but keep an eye out on Gumtree for a used one. As a short term solution, pick up some disposable units from Home Bargains / Pound shops.

7) Don't have furniture directly against the wall, you may find the damp / mould will grow in the gap, leave 6 inches or so between them, so air can circulate.

Try all of these steps for a while and see if there is an improvement. If not, then WRITE to the Landlord (copy in the agent if you want). You say you don't have contact details for him / her, but if you look on your lease then there should be an "address for serving notices", it may be c/o the agent, if it is just write to the LL there.

donfanatico

This stuff will kill any mould dead:

Dettol Mould & Mildew Remover

We use it all the time.

WestonDave

donfanatico wrote: »

Usually yes, but not necessarily. We have this problem but ventilate and heat adequately, however our bathroom is an extension to the house, single brick, has rising damp and it's walls are constantly soaking wet on the inside and mould growing everywhere. The extractor fan runs almost constantly set on 70%.

Some houses are just rubbish - full stop. Why do LLs expect their tenant to keep windows open in the middle of the winter and throw money away and freezing rather than sort out their houses properly?

How do you dry laundry outside in the middle of the winter? What planet are people from if they expect laundry to be dried outside in England in November? I really dont get it sometimes

Unfortunately LL's are not immune to the laws of science. If you create enough water vapour in a sealed space, its is going to start depositing as condensation on cold surfaces because air at any given temperature has a limited capacity to absorb water vapour. The warmer the air the more it can absorb, which is why warm wet air causes condensation when it hits a cold surface like a window pane.

To some extent a well insulated home will be easier to keep warm so will increase its ability to hold water vapour for most of the space. However that not an unlimited facility. It may also make certain situations worse - a cold window pane for example may be at a much greater temperature difference in a warm home than a cold one leading as much if not more condensation.

Given that no-one can stop breathing out wet air, many can't install tumble dryers to dry clothes and don't want to open windows, possibly the best solution is a dehumidifier. Will cost money to buy and run but they are pretty efficient and to some extent assist with heating as they tend to warm air up as it passes through.

In terms of your single skin bathroom - that's always going to be problematic. Can I suggest that a few quid spent on a can of Zinsser Perma White paint (assuming you are allowed to paint) would be a good investment. It will at least stop the mould!

donfanatico

WestonDave wrote: »

Unfortunately LL's are not immune to the laws of science.

To some extent a well insulated home will be easier to keep warm so will increase its ability to hold water vapour for most of the space.


In terms of your single skin bathroom - that's always going to be problematic. Can I suggest that a few quid spent on a can of Zinsser Perma White paint (assuming you are allowed to paint) would be a good investment. It will at least stop the mould!

I understand that a single glazed window condenses easily but we cant do anything about the single skin bathroom unless the LL does something (a should really because all the wetness will ruin his house) - we are doing the best we can but once the heating comes on and the walls are constantly cold as it is single skin so as soon as some moisture hits them it condenses and drips down onto the skirting boards which are rotting away, the LL knows about it so I guess will try and sort it out.
My reply was more of a moan about why LLs immediately assume that is the tenants fault but they themselves have never lived at the property and seen what is going on. N.B. we have a washer drier (condenser, water goes direct into pipe) and still the condensation is unreal as essentially the kitchen and bathroom are add-on to the back of the house and both I guess single skin.

How easy is it to isolate those so the walls don't get so cold?

AlexMac

Luckily you'll be moving out next Spring- and I bet you'll look for a better insulated place next time! As is said above- some homes are just terribly insulated, and it's difficult to heat and ventilate adequately, especially if heat's leaking through single skin walls which inevitably attract condensation. I had terrible 1960's metal 'Crittal' single glazed windows in an ex-council BTL flat and until, thankfully, the freeholder replaced them a few years ago (at a surprisingly reasonable price), experienced condensation and mould which could only be combatted by frequent cleaning.

You could ask, but your LL's unlikely to replace the windows and retrofit insulation to external walls- although I hope they did take advantage of the free insualtion deals which were on offer until recently.

And I suspect that the LL would tell you to go forth and multiply if you were to emulate one of my then tenants, who asked for a winter heating discount on his rent (I agreed, and bunged him £50 a month as he was worth keeping and 6 X £50 was a lot less than the month's void and re-letting costs had he quit!).

Good luck

WestonDave

A lot of old terraced houses that were built without internal bathrooms/toilets had them added as single skin extensions in a bid to catch up with the facilities in other more modern homes. Whilst that provided a room on a cost effective basis, its a bodge (which will have way predated the landlords ownership!) that is now showing its shortcomings.

Solving the problem now isn't easy or cheap - the options are to either demolish it and rebuild it (which isn't going to happen) or to line the inside with insulation and a new layer of plasterboard etc. That wouldn't be that expensive but it reduces the size of the room which may be problematic if it was built (as many were) to just about accomodate a bath across the end of the room. It would also be disruptive to a tenant (and many would try to claim a rent reduction for this which creates a double whammy - no rent and cost of work).

It might be worth keeping the kitchen and bathroom isolated from the rest of the house by keeping dividing doors shut. That would let you put a dehumidifier in the kitchen (rather than the bathroom) to keep the air humidity down in this area. They don't cost much to run if you can afford the initial outlay to buy one.

moromir

A couple of things I picked up on...

lornas92 wrote:

over the past couple of weeks we have noticed mould growing along the window sill of my daughters bedroom, on her dolls placed in the window and in the corner of the room.

Mould caused by condensation loves areas where there is no movement of air. Corners of rooms and window reveals being some of the first places to show a problem. Move furniture away from walls, avoid piling toys etc around windows.

You need to ensure there is adequate airflow throughout the room - that means leaving the windows open on trickle vents or on the latch all the time. Baby can have plenty of blankets etc so it will be fine to do that.

lornas92 wrote:

The only ventilation in the bathroom is from the window, which is open when we shower etc but obviously in this colder weather it's not really ideal to have open all the time with a baby in the house.

I particularly opicked up on the comment that you open the window when you shower.... what about afterwards? It can take a good while for humidity levels to return to normal after showering. Close the bathroom door while the window is open, baby will be fine.

Heliflyguy

lornas92 wrote: »

Hi,

Our tenancy is due to end in December anyway as we only signed up for a 6 month contract, but we're hoping to extend it until we find somewhere else - where do we actually stand with getting this sorted?

This is our first flat, previously we lived with parents and we're very new to this whole thing so any help would be much appreciated

Hi OP.

I'm sorry to say it will probably never get sorted so its best you look at finding somewhere else to live.

Assuming you are in England you will be better able to do this if you do not extend or renew the contract (AST) but go onto a Statutory Periodic Tenancy if possible where you will be able to give 1 months notice to vacate.

As you are new to all this you will need to look into the above in more detail and about ending a tenancy and avoiding any possible deductions from your deposit.

In the mean time use the suggested mould and mildew cleaner but be careful with it with a little one in the house as it smelly stuff and I wouldn't want to be breathing in the fumes so use it on a day when you can have all the windows open and take your daughter out if possible.