condensation resulting in mould growth in rental property

pd001

richardc1983 wrote: »

Most cooker hoods vent vertically so you can duct along the top of the cupboards and then out through the wall. If its easier to do a fan though then thats fair enough

Thanks for that.
The house isn't mine so I m not sure if that would be possible.
I will have a chat to my daughter tomorrow and get back to this
I will keep updating this thread and...
Thanks for everyone's input. All opinions are valid and worth a discussion.
Goodnight all

pd001

blackshirtuk wrote: »

I would check your insurance as mine does not allow/will not pay a claim if there are portable gas heaters in a tenanted property

She has checked her insurance this morning and you are indeed correct, a portable gas heater is not permitted.

Her tenant will be getting a polite phone call later this morning from the letting agent. requesting that they remove the offending item.
We had no idea that portable heaters were not permitted so thanks for your input.
No more cheap bottled gas required from their 'mate'

pd001

To update everyone..

I have discussed all of the issues raised on here with my daughter.
As you can see from #44 the gas heater hopefully will be gone asap.
As i have mentioned previously, the tenant needs to do their part.
We ll see what happens re this heater.

The loft will be insulated as a matter of some urgency.
Two local joiners will be contacted on Monday of next week with a view to quoting for widening the loft hatch..

A suitable extractor will be installed in the bathroom as a matter of some urgency.
I will look into the links supplied by Richard for these fans, and of course take constructive advice from you all.

Would you suggest that the bathroom fan is somehow connected to the light switch so that it comes on when the light is on, thus removing the need for someone to actually turn it on?
That seems the logical thing to do.

Also,
should the fan run on for a period of time after the light switch has been turned off? Maybe 10 mins or so?
Again, it would seem a logical thing to do.

Are there any alternative ways that you would suggest of wiring this fan up?

A suitable extractor fan will be fitted into the kitchen as soon as the above work is carried out.
Should this one be on a timer?

Look forward to your input

dampdaveski

Hi pd,
won't comment on the rest of the thread as your update has confirmed what I was going to suggest.
Condensation control is a huge part of my business.
I would recommend fitting a continuous duty extractor in the bathroom such as the Nuiare Cyfan unit http://www.nuaire.co.uk/products/catalogue/residential/extract-fans/cyfan/
I only install Nuaire kit so cannot vouch for other companies products.
They are more expensive, but as with most things in life you get what you pay for!
You can also use this type of fan in kitchens (same model, it has many different settings)

Regarding the mould you could consider using an anti mould paint additive when redecorating next. This is a cheap way of dramatically reducing mould growing on external walls.
This is the one I have used for years http://www.condensationproducts.co.uk/aspbite/categories/index.asp?intCatID=48&content=anti_mould_anti_fungicidal_paint_additives

I make no apology for putting my suppliers link on, read the compliance with the law statement on the page!
There are plenty of other out there, just make sure that they are registered with the HSE! you'd be shocked to find out just how many suppliers sell unregulated products!

Good luck with it
DD

richardc1983

pd001 wrote: »

To update everyone..

I have discussed all of the issues raised on here with my daughter.
As you can see from #44 the gas heater hopefully will be gone asap.
As i have mentioned previously, the tenant needs to do their part.
We ll see what happens re this heater.

The loft will be insulated as a matter of some urgency.
Two local joiners will be contacted on Monday of next week with a view to quoting for widening the loft hatch..

A suitable extractor will be installed in the bathroom as a matter of some urgency.
I will look into the links supplied by Richard for these fans, and of course take constructive advice from you all.

Would you suggest that the bathroom fan is somehow connected to the light switch so that it comes on when the light is on, thus removing the need for someone to actually turn it on?
That seems the logical thing to do.

Also,
should the fan run on for a period of time after the light switch has been turned off? Maybe 10 mins or so?
Again, it would seem a logical thing to do.

Are there any alternative ways that you would suggest of wiring this fan up?

A suitable extractor fan will be fitted into the kitchen as soon as the above work is carried out.
Should this one be on a timer?

Look forward to your input

Yes mine comes on when the light cord is pulled... It remains on for 10 mins afterwards after which the fan then goes into trickle mode and runs continuously silently constantly ventilating.

pd001

dampdaveski wrote: »

Hi pd,
won't comment on the rest of the thread as your update has confirmed what I was going to suggest.
Condensation control is a huge part of my business.
I would recommend fitting a continuous duty extractor in the bathroom such as the Nuiare Cyfan unit http://www.nuaire.co.uk/products/catalogue/residential/extract-fans/cyfan/
I only install Nuaire kit so cannot vouch for other companies products.
They are more expensive, but as with most things in life you get what you pay for!
You can also use this type of fan in kitchens (same model, it has many different settings)

Regarding the mould you could consider using an anti mould paint additive when redecorating next. This is a cheap way of dramatically reducing mould growing on external walls.
This is the one I have used for years http://www.condensationproducts.co.uk/aspbite/categories/index.asp?intCatID=48&content=anti_mould_anti_fungicidal_paint_additives

I make no apology for putting my suppliers link on, read the compliance with the law statement on the page!
There are plenty of other out there, just make sure that they are registered with the HSE! you'd be shocked to find out just how many suppliers sell unregulated products!

Good luck with it
DD

I thank you for your helpful comments.

Regarding the bathroom fan, does it run continuously? Albeit at a very slow rpm?
Or, is it fitted with trickle vents that merely allow continuous ventilation?

I didn't even know that you could get an anti mould pain additive. Thanks for that information

pd001

richardc1983 wrote: »

Yes mine comes on when the light cord is pulled... It remains on for 10 mins afterwards after which the fan then goes into trickle mode and runs continuously silently constantly ventilating.

Thanks for that. It does indeed seem logical to have the fan running for a good while after the bathroom light is switched off.
Same question to you that I have put in my post, immediately above this one, (#48) to dampdaveski, re the trickle mode of the fan that you have installed.
Thanks

richardc1983

You can have it running continuously after the light and timer switch off and you can set the rpm to what you wish so you could have it very slow so that it would provide very low background ventilation. You don't have to use this feature though. It also has a humidity sensor to turn the fan off when humidity drops to a certain level.

pd001

richardc1983 wrote: »

You can have it running continuously after the light and timer switch off and you can set the rpm to what you wish so you could have it very slow so that it would provide very low background ventilation. You don't have to use this feature though. It also has a humidity sensor to turn the fan off when humidity drops to a certain level.

Thanks for that Richard.
It appears that background ventilation may indeed be needed for quite some time in my daughters rental property. Maybe even permanently!
Nothing wrong with that I suppose.

Lets just hope that they get rid of that portable gas fire for a start!

tired_dad

My bet is that most of the problem comes from tenants drying laundry indoors. Either on radiators or with an airing stand.

A single wash of laundry can have more than 1-2 litres of water in it.

Put the clothes on a stand and that is 1-2 litres of water vapour into the air of the property.

Modern builds are so will insulated and air tight that there is nowhere for this humidity to go.

Fungus likes warmth and humidity. Perfect growing conditions.

Basically I would view the mould and almost certainly a direct result of occupier behaviour.

Fungus reproduces by spreading spores into the atmosphere. There are a whole list of medical conditions caused by exposure to fungal spores and these are becoming more common due to modern building techniques and the tendency of peeps to try and save money by drying indoors. without opening windows.

They will be doing their baby no favours. I would do a bit of research on this topic and try to educate them.