Mould problems

bretts

Hi

I recently bought a house and have had complete renovation done to it but I have had condensation problems, I have tried everything, drying my clothes outside, even taken them to laundry for drying now, leave windows open for so long that I am freezing in the house at times, infact I leave the bathroom window open all day and still had a little bit of mold on the grout which I cleaned as soon as I saw it.

On the weekend while I was cleaning I saw mold behind one of the cupboards and cleaned it straightaway but I know for a fact that it will only spread till the condensation and moisture is controlled. I have tried everything and I know, getting a dehumidifier will not completely eliminate the problem. Is there anything that I should do to get this in control.

Please advise.

Cyclamen

Hi There

I get mold in my spare room and water down my windows in the mornings.. not ideal.

I have a 'window vac' from karcher but there are probably cheaper versions out there to get the water off windows etc and it's shocking how much it sucks up.

I also run a dehumidifier which has really helped.. i no longer have mold patches in bedroom or lounge.. but I am in a small bungalow.. not sure how well it would help in a house.. (this is the one i have from amazon Ecoair ECO DD122FW Desiccant Simple Dehumidifier).

When i had a roofer out to quote before christmas, i had thought roof was leaking as mold patch on ceiling but he told me it was condensation (lucky save there) he suggested 'trickle vents' in windows and doors.. so might be worth some research for you?

ariba10

Dehumidifier is the way to go.

There will be plenty coming on here to tell you to ventilate but my advice is to get a dehumidifier.

Mojisola

bretts wrote: »

I recently bought a house and have had complete renovation done to it but I have had condensation problems, I have tried everything, drying my clothes outside, even taken them to laundry for drying now, leave windows open for so long that I am freezing in the house at times, infact I leave the bathroom window open all day and still had a little bit of mold on the grout which I cleaned as soon as I saw it.

With the weather we've been having recently the air outside the house would have had more moisture in it than the air inside the house.

A dehumidifier keeps the moisture levels in our house at a reasonable level.

bretts

Hi

Thank you so much for all your replies, I have already just bought a Dehumidifier, I also realised that the wall I had the mould on is wet from outside, I think the recent weather has taken its toll on it as it is only wet about a meter in the front if you go from the front to the back of the house, the remaining wall is dry, I have a semi detached property and the next house starts about a meter behind and that part of the wall which has no protection has got most of the water on it and hence I can see it a little wet both from outside and inside. I am thinking of putting a water sealant from outside may be 2 to 3 coats and also start dehumidifier from inside and hope that the wall has less moisture.

Unfortunately my windows are old so they are just one window from top to bottom with no trickle vents so thats another problem.

I think DPC was done at my property by the previous owner but there is mould appearing in one of the rooms at the bottom of the property and there is a black tape behind that wall coming off, do I need to put that back on and how can anyone suggest please.

Thanks

lstar337

To clear the mould you already have, use this stuff: HG Mould Spray

I tried lots of products which did nothing. This one works, and requires very little effort.

WestonDave

Mojisola wrote: »

With the weather we've been having recently the air outside the house would have had more moisture in it than the air inside the house.

A dehumidifier keeps the moisture levels in our house at a reasonable level.

Need to be slightly careful with that first statement. Relative humidity is the important factor here - and we need to remember that warm air can hold more water than cold air, so air at 5C outside that is 100% relative humidity (i.e. saturated as it would be heading for if its raining) will be a much lower level of humidity if that same air is brought into the house and warmed up to say 18C. That air once warmed may only be say 60% RH, whereas indoor air can often get about 70% which is where condensation damp problems become apparent. So ventilation can still be helpful on wet days with provisos. However lowering the internal temperature indoors with cold air from outside will raise humidity so care is needed - its a tricky balance!

If you can ventilate without cooling (i.e. via a heat recovery system) then you have the best solution. However most houses don't have that and it would be hard to retrofit - although I can see it becoming more popular in future. (google MVHR if interested).

A dehumidifier generally uses very little energy and much of what it does use is returned as heat extracted from the water vapour as it is condensed from gas to liquid. As dry air is also more energy efficient to heat, you get a double benefit - less damp and better heat efficiency.

You mention mould behind cupboards - this is common due to poor air circulation. Often the air behind the cupboard remains cool so the surfaces get colder and colder. When warm air with high humidity falls down behind those cupboards, it will contact the cold wall and cupboard back. As that will be colder still, it will cool the air such that it cannot hold as much water, and deposit that as condensation - if left that will feed mould growth. Obviously this will lessen if the air is being dried by a dehumidifier but its also worth thinking about the placing and design of furniture in cold corners to help aid air circulation. Something with four legs for example will allow air to flow under it, where something with a plinth blocking the front won't.

If you have spot mould problems in particular corners as we've had, I can recommend giving that corner a coat of a good quality mould proof paint (Zinnser Perma White is one I've used with success). That will stop the mould growing on the paint - you can then paint over it in the desired colour and it still seems to protect even though mould can and will grow in emulsion paint. Its also good to use in window reveals if you get problems surrounding the window.

bretts

WestonDave wrote: »

Need to be slightly careful with that first statement. Relative humidity is the important factor here - and we need to remember that warm air can hold more water than cold air, so air at 5C outside that is 100% relative humidity (i.e. saturated as it would be heading for if its raining) will be a much lower level of humidity if that same air is brought into the house and warmed up to say 18C. That air once warmed may only be say 60% RH, whereas indoor air can often get about 70% which is where condensation damp problems become apparent. So ventilation can still be helpful on wet days with provisos. However lowering the internal temperature indoors with cold air from outside will raise humidity so care is needed - its a tricky balance!

If you can ventilate without cooling (i.e. via a heat recovery system) then you have the best solution. However most houses don't have that and it would be hard to retrofit - although I can see it becoming more popular in future. (google MVHR if interested).

A dehumidifier generally uses very little energy and much of what it does use is returned as heat extracted from the water vapour as it is condensed from gas to liquid. As dry air is also more energy efficient to heat, you get a double benefit - less damp and better heat efficiency.

You mention mould behind cupboards - this is common due to poor air circulation. Often the air behind the cupboard remains cool so the surfaces get colder and colder. When warm air with high humidity falls down behind those cupboards, it will contact the cold wall and cupboard back. As that will be colder still, it will cool the air such that it cannot hold as much water, and deposit that as condensation - if left that will feed mould growth. Obviously this will lessen if the air is being dried by a dehumidifier but its also worth thinking about the placing and design of furniture in cold corners to help aid air circulation. Something with four legs for example will allow air to flow under it, where something with a plinth blocking the front won't.

If you have spot mould problems in particular corners as we've had, I can recommend giving that corner a coat of a good quality mould proof paint (Zinnser Perma White is one I've used with success). That will stop the mould growing on the paint - you can then paint over it in the desired colour and it still seems to protect even though mould can and will grow in emulsion paint. Its also good to use in window reveals if you get problems surrounding the window.

Hi

Thanks for the reply
I bought a dehumidifier yeasterday and should be with me today. What you say does make a lot of sense as if the wall on which I have mold has a chest in front of it and without legs. I plan to place the dehumidifier there once I get it.
Any thoughts on the fact that the wall looks like its a little damp. I spoke to a mate and he recommends a coat of water seal on the external side. Strangely the internal wall is looking wet on the first floor when the same wall on ground floor looks perfectly alright.
I will clean the mold put the paint you recommended.
Will the dehumidifier get rid of the moisture in my wall too?
I bought the ecoair desiccant dehumdifier.

lstar337

bretts wrote: »

Will the dehumidifier get rid of the moisture in my wall too?
I bought the ecoair desiccant dehumdifier.

Yes, it will draw moisture out of everything. You will need to keep it going after the visible signs of damp are gone, as the moisture may have penetrated quite deep.

After that, set the humidistat to 50-55% and let the unit regulate your moisture levels itself.

bretts

Thank you so much everyone for the suggestions, just to update as it will help others who are suffering from same problem, I got the dehumidifier and let it run on laundry mode for 2 hours and It got out almost 2 to 3 litres of water, now kept it at about 50%RH and will see in the night what is the situation as it did not start. I am not sure if it has some internal setting that if moisture goes above certain percentage then only will it kick in.

There was no condensation on my bedroom window which suffers the most from it. I only let it run on full blast for 2 hours as there is a bit of noise if you put it on full blast so only kept it running while I was awake and then moved it to the next room.

ariba10

If you read up on it you can se it up so that it will come on and go off as the humidity alters.

Our's is left on at all times but via a timer so that it will not come during our bed times.