Check for Condensation before renting

mumps

Doozergirl wrote: »

I own an award winning building firm specialising in older buildings. Of course there are some situations where people cause the problem. If you run a regular dryer in a room without an extraction pipe then any building will struggle to cope but in the vast majority of cases there is something inadequate in the fabric of the building. There is always something practical - not symptom based - that can be done to help, yet the ongoing 'advice' on these boards is that it is lifestyle based and the occupier's fault.

In the vast majority of cases, it is absolutely reasonable to expect your house to be able to perform to modern lifestyle expectations - because the majority of us can do all of that list of things without problems. That should be an entitlement for all - tenants in particular.

It's very easy for landlords to blame tenants and avoid spending money. Older houses, in particular, were built for one way of life, are now expected to cope with another and then we make alterations/modernisations on top that send things further awry. The key is maintaining the balance when considering renovations, upgrading appropriately and treating building fabric senstively.

I realise there will be more than one problem and more than one solution but could you give us some idea of the most common causes and cures.

At my sons house they have had something put in the loft that pumps air round, can't remember what it is called. It has helped but not cured the problem. They do have the best double glazing I have ever known, they live on a busy road but with the windows closed you can't hear a sound so I am thinking the house is very airtight and DIL doesn't do open windows.

I would be grateful if you have any tips.

Blackpool_Saver

Condensation builds in cold areas, heat all your house except one area and see where the condensation goes to and the mould. The trick is ventilation and relative warmth all through. Expensive but a fact.

Davesnave

oystercatcher wrote: »

One thing with mould is once spores have grown it is difficult to kill them so it will then reappear with the slightest amount of moisture. I wonder if some families transport the spores on their furniture etc and restart the problem in new accomodation.

It's a nice theory, but even with a fairly basic knowledge of biology, I feel that it's unlikely.

Spores are everywhere, in their millions, and unlike us, they get free air travel.

LittleMax

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

Condensation builds in cold areas, heat all your house except one area and see where the condensation goes to and the mould. The trick is ventilation and relative warmth all through. Expensive but a fact.

Absolutely - all the evidence I have seen bears this out.

I have lived in 4 properties and never had an issue with condensation or mould. Within 2 years of renting out the house that we had previously lived in for 10 years, the tenants were complaining of issues with condensation and mould. We had to repeatedly ask them not to run the tumble dryer in the kitchen without venting it (it was not a condensing model); to move the settee away from the external corner wall; not to dry washing on the radiators etc.

I have also managed a very large number of student rentals for a University. Whilst there were a few properties which were more prone to condensation issues, we could very clearly see each year that condensation issues occurred in the houses where students did not follow the advice about running the heating enough, keeping the bathroom extractor running for long enough, not pushing beds hard against external walls, not drying washing on radiators etc.

3 bed victorian terraces were never designed for 4 adults to live in each showering twice a day. However there are measures that can be taken to reduce the moisture levels in the house, and students that followed these did not suffer mould. Same house, different group - mould. The evidence speaks for itself.

kinger101

LittleMax wrote: »

3 bed victorian terraces were never designed for 4 adults to live in each showering twice a day. However there are measures that can be taken to reduce the moisture levels in the house, and students that followed these did not suffer mould..

Did the advice the followed involve using a tin bath outdoors?

LittleMax

kinger101 wrote: »

Did the advice the followed involve using a tin bath outdoors?

That would be silly tin bath is stored outside but always used in front of the fire

Innys1

mumps wrote: »

I realise there will be more than one problem and more than one solution but could you give us some idea of the most common causes and cures.

At my sons house they have had something put in the loft that pumps air round, can't remember what it is called. It has helped but not cured the problem. They do have the best double glazing I have ever known, they live on a busy road but with the windows closed you can't hear a sound so I am thinking the house is very airtight and DIL doesn't do open windows.

I would be grateful if you have any tips.

It's a positive air system. It draws in fresh air from the loft and pumps it into the house - same idea as leaving a window open, but not as in your face.

An airtight house will cause its own problems. There is nowhere for the moisture to go if the air is constantly recirculating. Eventually, the stale air gets so full of moisture, it has to condense - there is a limit to how much moisture air can carry. The warmer the house, the more moisture the air can carry.

Your son's house isn't airtight if it has a positive air system - obviously.

Tygermoth

HappyMJ wrote: »

Why only 18.5°C in your living space? You should increase the temperature to 21°C. By increasing the temperature the Relative Humidity levels fall and you avoid condensation issues. You should get RH down to a more comfortable 60% at 21°.

If the property is airless with all the windows open then use a fan to move air around.

If you've got rain water overflowing the guttering and down the brick work you need to get the landlord to fix that otherwise you'll never get your indoor humidity levels down.

Hi Happy MJ - I was advised that colder was better as hot air carried more water.

But its a moot point really as even when as 22 (as it is currently) we have 74%

We wanted to put in a PIV (as noted above) at no cost to the landlord but he refused. He also won't replace the guttering or deal with the root infested outdoor drains that cause flooding of the back patio all because the damp has nothing to do with that... its a lifestyle issue.

Swipe

Most of my house is around 70% and my bedroom is always well over 80% and I have no condensation or visible damp problems.

fairy_lights

Just open the windows! open the windows! open the bloody windows!!
Before anyone jumps down my throat I know this is a massive over-simplification and sometimes condensation is a more complicated issue etc, but so often people post on here with problems along the lines of "I've got condensation problems and mould but can't open the windows because it's winter".
Where do they expect the moisture to go??