condensation resulting in mould growth in rental property

Doozergirl

pd001 wrote: »

How?
All the companies that are available to insulate a loft, wont touch the loft in question. The reason they give is
'the loft access is too small'
So again, how does my daughter have that loft lagged?

.

I think I answered that question. Enlarge the hatch.

It would be worth cost for the feel good factor of being a good landlord. Having no insulation is costing them an arm and a leg. More a year than the one-off cost of installing a proper hatch. You can't blame them for burning cheaper fuel.

pd001

sniggings wrote: »

you make a tenant sound as some kind of subspecies! the fact is all kinds of people have problems with this issue, you just need to read the threads on here.

Stop thinking it's the tenants fault and just try and solve the problem would probably get better results.

I did mention that when the house is empty, there is no damp or mould at all. Surely therefore mould that grows when the house is occupied is down to the tenant not ventilating it correctly?
Isn't that scenario plausible?

I will ensure that my daughter glues the trickle vents open. That should certainly help with airflow.

The current tenant is actually a decent tenant, which is why my daughter bought them a brand new dehumidifier.
Surely if they were using the dehumidifier as intended then they wouldn't have a mould problem on the window sill?
Another plausible scenario?

I use a dehumidifier in the upstairs of my own house and it appears to work for me.
Therefore it should work for my daughters tenant. Wouldn't you agree?

pd001

Doozergirl wrote: »

I think I answered that question. Enlarge the hatch.

It would be worth cost for the feel good factor of being a good landlord. Having no insulation is costing them an arm and a leg. More a year than the one-off cost of installing a proper hatch. You can't blame them for burning cheaper fuel.

I agree with you. The loft hatch should be enlarged. She will get a couple of quotes next week
But, your original reply did not make that clear. You actually said,
"It is perfectly easy to insulate a loft that only has an inspection hatch. "
It isnt

pd001

buggu wrote: »

I would try and work in cooperation with the tenants in trying to get it resolved. If its not rising damp then I would try encouraging them to open the windows and vents. To be honest I wouldn't blame them for not doing so with no insulation in the roof and at this time of year. To encourage them I would get some insulation in the loft asap, the amount of heat you lose without it is ridiculous. Should be able to get it done for free and increasing hatch size shouldn't cost much.

Thank you for your constructive comments, we totally agree with all of your points.
She will get a couple of quotes for increasing the loft access hatch next week.

Doozergirl

pd001 wrote: »

I agree with you. The loft hatch should be enlarged. She will get a couple of quotes next week
But, your original reply did not make that clear. You actually said,
"It is perfectly easy to insulate a loft that only has an inspection hatch. "
It isnt

You'll find that wasn't me.

I said
"I would also bite the bullet with loft insulation. Either open the roll downstairs to get it up there, or spend £200 on a chippie and a proper loft hatch."

In fact, I gave quite a lot of advice in my post that appears to have been overlooked.

pd001

Doozergirl wrote: »

A thing of beauty?
http://www.nuaire.co.uk/products/catalogue/residential/positive-input-ventilation-piv/drimaster-heat/

If I have money to spend, should I have a plastic plate on my ceiling or should I put in a lovely new open fire where I can reinstate vital ventilation that should be there in the first place?

A plastic plate that costs me money or an open fire where I can burn free fuel for heat, if I want to?

Agree with your comments about reinstating the fireplace. That course of action would greatly increase the flow of air through the property, thus increasing ventilation.

The chimney would of course probably need relining and the job has to be done professionally.
This could be a job for the future, but not for the present. It is worth bearing in mind

pd001

Doozergirl wrote: »

You'll find that wasn't me.

I said
"I would also bite the bullet with loft insulation. Either open the roll downstairs to get it up there, or spend £200 on a chippie and a proper loft hatch."

In fact, I gave quite a lot of advice in my post that appears to have been overlooked. Perhaps while you were putting on your keyboard warrior outfit

Yes you did, my apologies

Doozergirl

pd001 wrote: »

Agree with your comments about reinstating the fireplace. That course of action would greatly increase the flow of air through the property, thus increasing ventilation.

The chimney would of course probably need relining and the job has to be done professionally.
This could be a job for the future, but not for the present. It is worth bearing in mind

The chimney can be opened and a fireplace put in that isn't commissioned (ie. don't use it) I can see that lining a chimney might be an investment too far for a landlord.

There's always fireplaces on ebay.

pd001

Doozergirl wrote: »

I would re-open any fireplaces and introduce ventilation in the way it should be there, not through expensive and ugly ways of doing the same thing, ie. the drimaster.

Have you installed a proper extractor with a good flow rate that comes on with the light in the bathroom? One in the kitchen would also be good.

I would also bite the bullet with loft insulation. Either open the roll downstairs to get it up there, or spend £200 on a chippie and a proper loft hatch. I'd also be using the cheapest form of heating if I were peeing heat out through the roof. It's quite unacceptable these days when insulation is usually free.

It's quite popular to blame it on the residents habits in these forums, but if a house is prone, especially because it has solid and/or north facing walls that cannot be insulated then you will have a potential issue.

Agree with opening up the fireplace..

There is no fan assisted extraction in either the bathroom or the kitchen. We'll work on the bathroom first on that one.

Already dealt with the loft access, she will get a quote next week for that one.

She will do everything practically possible to help her tenant. But in return she needs the tenant to do their part.

richardc1983

The drimaster does work and is very effective... if you do a search there's various posts on them heres one - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4178333
and a detailed review from marmitemayhem who is on the forum and also has one... this is one that I also appreciated reading through the vast ammounts of information when deciding on whether the drimaster would be right for me.

http://www.drimaster-piv-condensation-system.co.uk/

They are certainly not an ugly way of combating it. Whats worse damp stained walls and ceiling or a white plastic vent in your landing ceiling. Less space is taken up than a dehumidifier by having a vent in the landing ceiling. It costs less to buy than a dehumidifier, less to run and does the whole house rather than perhaps one room.

If you check out amazon there are many positive reviews for the drimaster (the brand) and the product is part of a solution called positive pressure ventilation.

"I used this analogy on another thread... The analogy I use is this; in your car when your windows are misted up in winter if you use the recirculating option and heating on with full fan speed you will not clear the windows at all in fact it will make it worse as there is no air changes, turn the air con (dehumidifier) on with the recirculating option on this will help to clear as the air con dries the air however if you turn recirc off so fresh air comes into the car and is heated up by the Heater the windows will clear very quickly. This is because cold air holds less moisture so this enables the surrounding surfaces with air circulating to in effect collect the moisture in the air.. This air then finds it way out of the car by the blowers being on and is replaced by more fresh dry air. Having the air con as well just makes it even quicker but you need fresh air."

I don't work/or associated with Drimaster however I am a very happy customer who has bought the product and is 110% happy with the product and what benefits it brings. What annoys and frustrates me is people coming onto a thread without having done any research about a product that clearly is proven to work and rubbishing it without having tried it out themselves. Read what information you can find whether for or against something and then make your own informed decision.