Passive Vents in Bedroom or PIV?

saintscouple

Mardle wrote: »

It might be worth getting a couple of cheap humidity meters from ebay. They probably won't give you an accurate reading but should show the humidity level dropping.

I already have a couple, which i used to record the levels for over a month and presented to the HA as proof a problem existed. TBH i don't really rate them as they fluctuate greatly and found the outside temp being a notable factor on the readings.

I'm hoping the tell-tale sign it's working will be visibly less condensation and no damp walls., but we shall see. Fingers crossed. Thank you.

saintscouple

Lorian wrote: »

Please ask them to collect data and rebuild the graphs again after a week or two of the set points being lowered. If you get these and I don't spot the update to the thread feel free to PM me.

Well fans have been in for a couple of weeks now, and we've seen massive improvements, we still keep windows open ajar during the day but no longer have condensation on the windows. The only signs of condensation is on the toilet cistern in the bathroom, but not as bad as it was.
The bathroom fan runs a lot longer, but less than what it ran during the 1st week, things seem to be steadying and perfectly acceptable.
I asked Airtec to come and do a data download to compare data, but they are not willing to do that unless we still have problems.
We are happy with the way things are now, so are going to stay quiet.

Thank you so much for spotting that setpoint being too high, even the technician in his report didn't see that as a problem! I would certainly not recommend the company to anyone, but there again they only do business with the social housing sector.

Furts

saintscouple wrote: »

I would certainly not recommend the company to anyone, but there again they only do business with the social housing sector.

Unfortunately your experiences are everyday, and par for the course. All tax payers in the country, and that is everyone when one remembers VAT, are funding social housing. It is a national asset, but the abysmal decline in standards, and in staffing, over the last 10-20 years is a national scandal that everyone is paying through the nose for.

The tragic event at Grenfell Towers was a reflection on a multitude of these issues. Your condensation issues, and the outright incompetence (plus possible financial scamming) that you have witnessed is a drop in the ocean in this overall picture.

I am glad you are sorted, but I am not glad about what you have been through in order to get a result. The sad thing is the housing associations have zero interest in improving their ways.

julie777

Dear Furts, From reading your comments with interest

"I normally agree with Furts but not on this occasion. While some condensation is normal, mould growth can never be tolerated - I haven’t yet in more than 15 yrs had a project where moisture levels couldn’t be reduced enough to prevent mould growth reoccurring. And that’s with some truely bad builds."

I see you are pretty knowledgeable and if you are willing, I'd love to have your take on our situation too?

We rent privately a ground floor flat with windows only on the south and north sides. For much of the year we have cold walls that are running with condensation in the morning. We open windows as much as possible, and have a large dehumidifier on which removes 2-4 litres pw. The mould occurs, not in kitchen and bathroom, but only the other rooms.

Any observations?

Mardle

julie777 wrote: »

Dear Furts, From reading your comments with interest

"I normally agree with Furts but not on this occasion. While some condensation is normal, mould growth can never be tolerated - I haven’t yet in more than 15 yrs had a project where moisture levels couldn’t be reduced enough to prevent mould growth reoccurring. And that’s with some truely bad builds."

I see you are pretty knowledgeable and if you are willing, I'd love to have your take on our situation too?

We rent privately a ground floor flat with windows only on the south and north sides. For much of the year we have cold walls that are running with condensation in the morning. We open windows as much as possible, and have a large dehumidifier on which removes 2-4 litres pw. The mould occurs, not in kitchen and bathroom, but only the other rooms.

Any observations?

You haven't mentioned what sort of heating you have and how you use it. Do you have any extractor fans?

Furts

julie777 wrote: »

Dear Furts, From reading your comments with interest

"I normally agree with Furts but not on this occasion. While some condensation is normal, mould growth can never be tolerated - I haven!!!8217;t yet in more than 15 yrs had a project where moisture levels couldn!!!8217;t be reduced enough to prevent mould growth reoccurring. And that!!!8217;s with some truely bad builds."

I see you are pretty knowledgeable and if you are willing, I'd love to have your take on our situation too?

We rent privately a ground floor flat with windows only on the south and north sides. For much of the year we have cold walls that are running with condensation in the morning. We open windows as much as possible, and have a large dehumidifier on which removes 2-4 litres pw. The mould occurs, not in kitchen and bathroom, but only the other rooms.

Any observations?

The first observation is one of realism. My knowledge is that of building so I am neither a sales person for any magic cures, nor a proclaimed expert on condensation. Using my building type approach I could not comment without knowing age of build, type of construction, exposure, location,plus as Mardie wisely says, heating and extract.

A default setting is this. There are adverts on TV selling the concept of dehumidifiers and systems but for the vast majority of people this is the wrong way forward. This is like applying a patch to an inherent fault. The low cost answer is typically to remove the underlying fault. Which means why are you running a dehumidifier? This is a valid question because were you living in say 1995 you would have been content because nobody then was saying dehumidifiers were a "must have" accessory. Life went on, and there were no real issues. So what has happened since? What has changed? What might you be doing to cause the issue?

Without seeing your home, and lifestyle, there is unlikely to be a definite answer.

Post some photos of your outside walls, and ground levels, plus condensation on your walls and folks may be able to chip in some ideas here.