There is mold everywhere, help

caffinated_geek

Hello I really need help with this:

A while ago mold appeared in the bedroom of the house my partner and I are renting, the landlord fixed an external leak but never treated the mold asking us to wash it off with bleach.
It came back we told him, he told us to keep washing it each time it came back we told the landlord; this continued for a year. :mad:
After a year the mold had spread to two other rooms which we told the landlord. Now that we've told him we will be moving next month he seems to be sorting it. The problem is that at his instruction we have been sleeping in the living room (one of the only non moldy rooms) for two weeks now. All our clothes are in here, our sofas, bed and books (I am very attached to my books) and now the mold is appearing in this room too.
I am not sure what to do.
I noticed green mold on the rug last night and removed it then washed the floor with anti fungal wash, There were also spots of mold in the fire place which I treated.

I have been storing some clothes in vacuum sealed bags since the mold invaded my wardrobe and ruined a lot of my clothes and shoes.
However I am not sure about sealing things away in case I seal them in with something contaminated with mold spores and everything becomes ruined. :eek:
My other fear is that when I move next month I may take the mold with me on the sofas or bed and it will spread to our new home.

My question is this: can anyone suggest a way to salvage as much as possible?

Sally_A

I expect excess condensation is the cause.
Turn the heating up and ventilate more.
Wipe down bedroom windows in the morning (newspaper works well), and mop up any moisture on the sills.
Buy a few damp traps (moisture retaining crystals that will draw the damp from the air).
Showers, baths, cooking and believe or not breathing are the main cause.


Damp in the walls can cause mould, but this is generally in one isolated space.

camNolliesMUMMY

Try looking in your local £1 shop I bought a bottle of astonish mould and mildew. It got it of blinds, window sills, walls and it stops it coming back. Il never use bleach again but this really worked and was just £1. Take note that if this happens again you can buy anti fungal paint.

I'd re wash everything before you move and make sure it's 100% dry try and get it dry outside to stop more condensation, I have storm/hurricane pegs so even if it's really windy my washing stays on the line, it's been windy lately (pegs were £1 from home bargains) Whilst the washing is out try and air out all the rooms and treat them or you'll be back to square one.
I'd put the washing on a hotter wash if you can with disinfectant possibly to get rid of bacteria?

paidinchickens

Friends of ours our LL and they get this a lot when

The heating is never put on and the windows are not open. Boiling pans with no lids on etc but the biggest problem is covering the radiators especially with washing.

He has had other tenants move in and have had no problems. He has even lived in one of the houses himself for a year so he was lucky in the fact he knew it was not an issue with the house.



In our house we have had a particularly difficult year, we have always had it inside the corners of the windows and we are in a new build. We have had to move the loft insulation away from the vents in the loft as the wet was running down the rafters. We NEAT bleached the mould and bought a de humidifier. We are now on top of it.

The paths outside are constantly damp and never dry out so I can only imagine what the house is going through.

Plus there are a lot of us breathing in our house.

You can at any time ask environmental health to come round and they will advise you and your LL

PiC x

caffinated_geek

Thanks for all the advice

Well the landlord stripped back the wallpaper in the room with the mold and said the flashing has gone near the chimney which is why the mold is only in rooms against that one wall. He's now in the process of doing something to the roof which has caused water (I'm not sure what but there's a scaffold up and blue plastic on the roof).
My only problem now is that my move date has been pushed back 2 months as the owners of the house we're buying have decided they want to exchange later. Which means I've got another 2 and a half months of fighting the mold

Ladyluck1

I agree that most people nowadays don't ventilate their properties anymore.
I've seen shocking cases which could have been prevented by better ventilation.
I ALWAYS air the house out when I Hoover, so I do our bedroom and open the windows. Then do the next and open those windows and close the previous. Plus I put the bathroom fan on every time ad close te kitchen door when cooking and sometimes open window.
As PP said the moul and mildew cleaner is good, I very occasionally get it in the corner of the plastic on my windows.

onthecatbus

We have very bad mould on one of our walls - but after washing it down with anti mould bleachy stuff it doesn't come back for ages thankfully! We also use those dehumidifier boxes - plastic tubs with moisture absorbers in them- in one of our cupboards that gets mouldy. We can usually find them in pound shops for £1 each. Maybe you could ask your landlord to buy a couple of these for each room and see if it helps?

z.n

We get condensation mould round our windows (single pane leaded lights in an insulated modern house -we are in the process of saving so we can put in some double glazing). Assuming there are no water leaks, the key is to get the air in the house circulating and dryer. I would suggest an industrial type dehumidifier (get LL to hire one for you) to get the house dried out. Then airing might be enough or if not look at domestic dehumidifiers. Our problem worsens if doors are left closed. I found that a dessicant dehumidifier worked much better in lower temperatures (ie when I turned the heating down) than a compressor type but am scared to look at how much it is costing to run! A very basic humidistat off ebay (£3) helps me keep track so I know what the moisture levels are.

Seakay

Another thread about desiccant dehumidifiers here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3731601

Take a look at this site for ideas for dealing with this landlord. If you have written proof of complaints going back over two years you may want to consider reporting him even though you are moving

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/home_safety/hhsrs