Tips to stop mould growth in home?

dominoman

LunaNytshade wrote: »

bought one of those disposable dehumidifiers

This is the problem. You breath out more water in a single night than a disposable dehumidifier can absorb in it's lifetime.

You need a proper dehumidifier.

I was amazed when I got ours. You'll be able to pull 5 litres of water out of the air in a day, even with it only switching on and off intermittently.

Smiley_Dan

IMHO the landlord should supply you with a dehumidifier. It doesn't sound like you're doing anything crazy. The truth is our housing stock is shocking, performance wise.

Another possibility is some sort of leak somewhere.

How old is the house?

Do the windows have security latches?

Ben84

You can chase condensation all over the house. The humidity is going to condense out somewhere, so even if you heat a room more, the water will just condense out in the next cooler space. So, you need to reduce the humidity. You can put less water in to the air, for example cooking with lids on pans, drying clothes outside or with a vented dryer if possible, and also you can remove the water vapour. For example always close the bathroom door and open a window during and for a while after having a bath or shower so the stream leaves the house. I do also always open the windows for about 10 minutes a day in winter, then close them again, to basically throw away the old humid air. You just need the air replaced, once that's done there's no benefit to leaving them open for any longer, your house just gets cold, which is uncomfortable and makes for more condensation. The 10 minutes airing a day is the most effective thing I've tried.

So I think ventilation is potentially very effective, but the idea is badly applied with air vents in cold condensation prone rooms and leaving windows open all the time. Neither work. They provide some air flow, but what about the cold spot they create? Installing vents or leaving windows open all the time in already cold, condensation prone areas as people often do is clearly going to make the area even colder and produce even more condensation. The house I live in had suffered from some desperation to cure the damp that caused the last people to install dozens of air vents. It was cold and wet everywhere. I had all the vents removed (except one for the back boiler), and when the house could be heated properly as there weren't holes everywhere, it dried out and improved greatly. Plenty of people however had advised me to install even more of those useless vents, and of course to put them in the coldest, dampest areas :eek:. Some things get said so much they just become accepted, unquestioned truths. The alleged damp curing properties of air vents seems to be one of them.

Edit to add, not all vents are bad however. Fan vents in humid areas like bathrooms or kitchens can be useful for pushing the humid air quickly and efficiently out the house. We have one in the bathroom that senses the humidity and turns on as needed. Of course it means more air is pulled in from gaps elsewhere around the house, but it tackles the humidity at source and doesn't create a concentrated cold spot anywhere else in the house.

saveallmymoney

dominoman wrote: »

You need to get the humidity down. All the problems start there.

Quite right, without humidity there can be no mould.

First things first, get yourself some way of measuring the humidity (actually get a few for different rooms).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019L9PJPQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B019L9PJPQ&linkCode=as2&!!!!!dorsofltd-21

Smiley_Dan

saveallmymoney wrote: »

Quite right, without humidity there can be no mould.

First things first, get yourself some way of measuring the humidity (actually get a few for different rooms).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B019L9PJPQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=6738&creativeASIN=B019L9PJPQ&linkCode=as2&!!!!!dorsofltd-21

Great point, I use several of the same devices. Measurement is the first step in understanding the problem, although note that water vapour will move throughout the house, it's only on those cold surfaces that it will get trapped.

Build tight, ventilate right.

rimce44

Solution?
Knock the house down and rebuild...LOL
Insulating walls is the best scenario, but if you want quick fix then use Zinsser perma white paint. I've painted 2 bedrooms and the bathroom in my house with this and 2 years down the line not a spot of mould. Water runs down the walls though...but at least no mould here.

System

If you're drying clothes on an indoor airer, get a tumble dryer instead (maybe a condenser if no vent)

And try to leave space behind furniture for air to circulate, maybe consider undoing any draft proofing you have

Smiley_Dan

Dehumidifer with laundry mode is better than a tumble drier imo, so long as you have a small air tight room to use.

maybe consider undoing any draft proofing you have

Noooooooo.

Build tight, ventilate right. Ventilation is too important to leave to chance.

LunaNytshade

Well I think I've found part of my problem - there's a massive bloody crack underneath the window in the room my problems began. I can actually see light through it!

Greybeard69

You need a positive input ventilation system installed its the only thing that will stop the problems. I used stopmouldandcondensation quote website