Black mould in rented accommodation, please help!

IronFey

Hi there.

Today me and my partner noticed that in our bedroom that we rent there appears to be black mould creeping over the walls all over by the window. The walls are also very damp and literally seeping with water. The rest of the room over the other side seems fine.

We have a live-in landlord so we're essentially lodgers. However, if the landlord owns the home, can we ask if it's possible to get her to take a look at the external wall and maybe get it treated, if that's the problem? Is this something the council would deal with?

My main reason for posting though is to find out the best way of dealing with it. Should it be treated from the outside first and then dealt with inside?! We are gonna look into getting a dehumidifier because the room is very cold and not well ventilated at all (we can't open the windows too wide because there is a cat living here and also it's very cold lately) but also the radiator doesn't work too well in the room so it's not heated very well either. I know we would have to use bleach to essentially rub the walls down and then get some special kind of paint to treat the walls but I'm a little concerned that without fixing the external issue that it won't fix the problem?

We live on the first floor so we are not on the ground floor.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Marktheshark

Buy some mould and mildew remover, the pound shop sell it.
Spray the wall and mould and do not touch it, repeat daily and after 4-5 days it will disappear, do not wipe, it will make it worse.

Rolandtheroadie

Get HG mould spray (£5 at B&Q).

Spray, leave for 10 mins and the mould will be gone.

Once it's gone, give the wall a wipe to remove any residue.

Get a radiator bleed key and try bleeding it (open a little bit and listen for air. Keep a towel handy incase water comes out) Thats assuming it's wet heating.

As far as the moisture is concerned, see the landlord. If you can look at the window from ground level, see if theres any obvious cause (cracked rendering, leaking/poorly maintained guttering, water marks).

southcoastrgi

Rolandtheroadie wrote: »

Get HG mould spray (£5 at B&Q

Excellent stuff

MisterBaxter

If you've go a spray bottle you could just use a mix of bleach and water (not much bleach) and lightly spray that on to the mould; it's a cheap way of doing it particularly if you already have bleach in the house.

If the walls are only wet when it is raining then you have water penetration; if the walls are wet when it's cold then it is almost certainly condensation for which the resolution is generally considered to be background heat and ventilation; the window would only need to be opened a small amount to provide the ventilation you would need. Bleed the radiator as suggested. Move furniture away from the walls slightly to enable the air to circulate as dead spaces also end up being mouldy.

macman

You've already identified the cause: poor ventilation. Unless you remedy that the issue will recur. It's a bedroom, so you are both breathing out pints of water vapour at night that has nowhere to go if you never even open the window.
Unless there is rising or penetrating damp, it's not an issue for the LL.
Get the rad sorted out (just bleed it?), as a warmer room will hold more moisture in the air without it condensing out.

societys_child

IronFey wrote: »

Hi there.

Today me and my partner noticed that in our bedroom that we rent there appears to be black mould creeping over the walls all over by the window. The walls are also very damp and literally seeping with water. The rest of the room over the other side seems fine.

We have a live-in landlord so we're essentially lodgers. However, if the landlord owns the home, can we ask if it's possible to get her to take a look at the external wall and maybe get it treated, if that's the problem? Is this something the council would deal with?

My main reason for posting though is to find out the best way of dealing with it. Should it be treated from the outside first and then dealt with inside?! We are gonna look into getting a dehumidifier because the room is very cold and not well ventilated at all (we can't open the windows too wide because there is a cat living here and also it's very cold lately) but also the radiator doesn't work too well in the room so it's not heated very well either. I know we would have to use bleach to essentially rub the walls down and then get some special kind of paint to treat the walls but I'm a little concerned that without fixing the external issue that it won't fix the problem?

We live on the first floor so we are not on the ground floor.

Any advice would be appreciated!

. . . before it gets deleted.

As mentioned above, the room needs ventilation. Nothing the council will do, talk to your landlady.

HappyMJ

IronFey wrote: »

We have a live-in landlord so we're essentially lodgers. However, if the landlord owns the home, can we ask if it's possible to get her to take a look at the external wall and maybe get it treated, if that's the problem? Is this something the council would deal with?

You can ask your landlord anything you want. Whether they'll act upon it is another matter. If they don't act you can't do anything about it as you say you can't open the windows due the cold so your only option for your own health really is to move out into a warmer property.

If the heating isn't working very well then you can again ask for it to be improved but it is a bedroom. There's little need for a lot of heat in a bedroom. Are you only sleeping in the room at night and living in the living room during the day? I hope you're not drying clothes/towels in your bedroom. They aren't designed for that.

CharlieBilly

You need a dehumidifier, the spray just kill the bleach and dont solve the cause which is humidity and lack on ventilation/ insulation. Its a very common problem in homes unfortunately. I always try and allow fresh air in house of reasonable nice days but that isn't always possible. You can alleviate some of the humidity by not drying clothes indoors, showering/bathing having windows open and when cooking have the fan if you have one on, on.

Even breathing can cause this problem if a poor insulated/ventilated house so unless you can hold your breathe then my advise is get a dehumdifer and kill the mould with HG spray or diluted bleach

changed_username

If you want in-depth information on a dehumidifier feel free to contact me but for now I'd suggest a desiccant type as these work better than compressor types in temperatures below 20C.

If drying laundry inside get a dehumidifier with a Laundry Mode. Many of these throw off extra heat when in laundry mode (up to 12C extra) so your heat problem will be temporarily fixed if the landlord on't repair heating.

If you, or anyone else living there, has respiratory problems get a dehumidifier with an ioniser as well as an ioniser makes breathing easier due to taking dust mites, dirt and pollen etc out of the air.

An anti-bacterial filter also provides cleaner air.

It all depends on your budget really.

stator

Dehumidifier will solve your problems.