Window causing mould?

gibbs1984

Hi,

The seal on my double glazing is broken, the landlord has agreed with this, and I'm getting mould on the walls where the window is, it's getting quite bad, I've cleaned it off but it comes back a day later.

The landlord is trying to accuse me of causing the mould by not giving the flat enough ventilation and by drying clothes in the flat.

90% of the time we dry our clothes outside in the communal garden and we only bring the clothes in if it's raining.

We live in a ground floor small 1 bedroom flat so keeping the windows open during the day is impossible due to security reasons as we're both at work, there's no trickle vents or any other things that allow ventilation into the flat.

I believe that the main factor is the broken seal on the double glazing which means the desiccant within the spacer bar in the sealed unit is being overloaded and can't clear the condensation within the window.

Am I correct in saying this? I've asked for trickle vents but they refused to put them in.

What else can I do to stop the mould, I could get a dehumidifier but I don't see why I should lay out the cost for one when the landlord hasn't done anything to prevent the condensation.

Heedtheadvice

Condensation between the panes of glass is a direct result of the broken seals. The panes need replaced with new sealed units. There will also be poorer insulation so there is probably more condensation on the inside.

If that condensation is bad or trickles down it is probably causing conditions for some mould growth.

However your post suggests mould around or close to windows. Condensation forms when moisture condenses at the coldest locations. That could be around windows if there is cold bridging in the window installation (very poor if metal window frames are installed).

There needs to be moisture in the air to condense. In domestic properties there will always be a level of moisture owing to our climate, breathing, cooking (producing steam), drying clothes, showering etc. and so heating and ventilation need to be employed (or dehumidifier) to reduce humidity.

From what you write I would expect that the level of moisture being created (whatever the source) is not being sufficiently reduced and is condensing. It probably needs a combination of action to improve it and you should both be responsible for parts of that action.

Drying up the condensation will help and also cleaning the mould with one of the mould cleaners that also kill it. That should last longer than two days if cleaned properly.

You can always get condensation. Double glazing will not prevent it entirely.

Mould can be a health hazards. If the mould is severe and you are heating and ventilating sufficiently then there will likely be an underlying building problem that the landlord should fix. Trickle vents should be fitted and they are essential if open gas fires/cookers are in use (or other means of providing the require amount of oxygen for proper burning) and these needs are covered by gas regulations -if my memory serves me well!

gibbs1984

So basically the window is contributing to the mould but it's mostly down to ventilation, which again would come down to the window as being a ground floor flat I can't leave my window open so the window needs trickle vents to prevent moisture build up?

Also, I don't get mould in any other part of the flat, even the living room which is next to the bedroom with the living window facing out to the garden the same as the bedroom window does, if you took the internal wall out the living room and bedroom window are about 8ft from each other yet there's no mould around the window or on the walls in the living room which makes me think it's the window in the bedroom.

magn8p

I feel for you, we had a similar situation in our previous rented flat, where the windows were wooden which had really bad insulation to say the least. So, whatever we mounted on the wall or next to the wall like photo frames, wardrobes etc had mould behind them.

The only way to solve this before it get's worse is to always heat your flat at an optimum temperature.

This may lead to an increase in your energy bills, so the best solution is use a low power low noise dehumidifier like http://amzn.to/2AgRmE1 which turns on when it senses too much of humidity in air and turns off once done. There are cheaper ones as well but this one is the only one which is sub £100 with a sensor on it.

Speak to your landlord and tell him about the seriousness of the issue that you are going to buy a dehumidifier and he may be happy for you to deduct the cost from the next month's rent. If not, tell him fix the window seals immediately if not tell him that you will approach the council.

Either way, you are better off with a dehumidifier in a flat where ventilation is often an issue.

All the best.

gibbs1984

They have said that they're replacing the sealed unit in early December (no set date given). Not sure if that's a long time to wait since I've already waited a month so far.

It's just that they're trying to shift the blame onto me when it doesn't happen in any other room in the flat.

I'm basically on the verge of handing my notice in anyway.

Heedtheadvice

So I had not picked up that the problem was in your bedroom (only). I assume the one you sleep in.

There will be quite a bit of moisture released in your breath whilst you sleep. That will probably explain why that is the only room with the problem.

The window will not be helping but that should be sorted in December.

In the meantime and probably afterwards open the window as often as you can such as when you get up to when you leave in the morning and a little as soon as you get home, i.e. whenever it is safe to do so.

If your bedroom door is open during the night then there will be a tendency to distribute the more humid air to other parts of the flat and could reduce the condensation especially if there is ventilation elsewhere in the flat.