Dry rot

Norman_Castle

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

Does airing the whole house really work? What does it do, take out the damp air?

Thats the idea. If the dry rot is caused by rising or penetrating damp it wont stop that but it should help reduce the humidity and lower the condensation.

keith969

beautiful_ravens wrote: »

Hi,
The landlords agent has just been round after I reported some repairs that were needed, and some areas of probable dry rot.
The agent looked at the 3 areas, and seemed not too bothered and just told me that dry rot needs moisture to live [I knew that].
Presumably if left unchecked, it will consume all the wood in the house?! This in itself isn't my problem exactly as I am renting, apart from the fact that the stair wall is wood and has dry rot at the bottom, could it get up into the steps? How fast does it 'spread' and what are the ways of getting rid of it [apart from drying it out til its dead] ?
Thanks

Dry rot spreads pretty fast, I had it once in a bathroom and it went all the way from the ceiling, down behind shower tiles, to the landing floor. If left unchecked your stairs will disintegrate. The orange-brown 'fruiting bodies' and the characteristic smell are a dead giveaway. To get rid of it, the source od water needs to be fixed, and the affected areas removed and/or treated.