Bad condensation and mould in bathroom!

Courtney25

Hi guys, I recently moved in to a property. The bathroom and toilet are together and there is no window in there. Everything was great at first but then we noticed the bathroom would get terrible condensation after baths and showers. It has resulted in the paint literally falling off and crumbling. Also now under the sink the wall has gone completely black. There is a new extractor fan in there which I leave on a lot. I know that it wasn’t painted with special bathroom so obviously I am going to get bathroom paint and change that but will that alone fix/help with the problem? I leave the door open unless we are using the bathroom and I regularly clean it. What else can I do? I’m at my wits end. It even smells damp. Help!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Courtney25 wrote: »

Hi guys, I recently moved in to a property. The bathroom and toilet are together and there is no window in there. Everything was great at first but then we noticed the bathroom would get terrible condensation after baths and showers. It has resulted in the paint literally falling off and crumbling. Also now under the sink the wall has gone completely black. There is a new extractor fan in there which I leave on a lot. I know that it wasn’t painted with special bathroom so obviously I am going to get bathroom paint and change that but will that alone fix/help with the problem? I leave the door open unless we are using the bathroom and I regularly clean it. What else can I do? I’m at my wits end. It even smells damp. Help!

When cleaning the mold go for a mold spray, bleach doesn't always kill the roots of the mold and the sprays should have a small amount of another ingredient to do this.

Nasty stuff, if it's that bad I'd use a face mask when doing a deep clean.

Is the bathroom heated? Hot air holds more moisture than cold resulting in less condensation.

There are anti mold paints and anti mold sealants which may help.

Your main problem is lack of ventilation, best to try and make sure the rest of the flat is well looked after in this respect, keep it heated, open windows for half hour a day to get some air flow, don't dry clothes on radiators, open the kitchen window when boiling a big pot of soup, that kind of thing.

No window suggests 4 interior walls? If one is exterior and you own the home then might be worth getting a window put in.

Aylesbury_Duck

As suggested, ventilation is the problem. Paint won't solve the underlying problem, the moisture still has to condense somewhere. Have you checked the extractor is actually pulling air? Hold a tissue near it to see if it pulls it to the grille. Worth checking the extractor ducting is clear, isn't kinked and actually vents to the outside, too.

kuratowski

It may also be worth considering a dehumidifier.

Courtney25

Thanks for the replies! It is a council property so it would not be possible to have a window put in. I have checked the extractor fan and it works properly so that’s not that problem. Sorry I’m a bit clueless with things like this, how could I improve the ventilation? There is a radiator in the bathroom so it is well heated.

Aylesbury_Duck

Without the ability to put a window in, you're a bit restricted, but I would do the following:

Make sure the fan is left on for a long time after you've showered/bathed. If it's one of those normal bathroom fans it will be pathetically underpowered so will take ages to evacuate the room of moist air.

Try and reduce the temperature of your shower/bath and the time you take. The hotter you have it and the longer you use it the more vapour will be produced.

Don't leave the wet towels in the room to dry. Hang them out somewhere else.

Get a window vacuum and suck up all the excess water on the walls/shower screen. If left, that water will evaporate and condense on the cold surfaces.

tacpot12

You could also look to change the fan to a humidistat model. This will run the fan until the room is dry, so you won't have to worry about whether or not you have turned it too soon, or that you have left it on for too long and it is running when it doesn't need to.

I did this in a property that I rent out and this, combined with changing the location of the fan cured the mould problem that the tenant was having. If the bathroom is small & square the location of the fan is pretty immaterial, but in my case the extractor was at the opposite end of a long thin bathroom to where the shower was.

Courtney25

The condensation and mould only seems to be at the top end of the bath where the taps and bathroom sink are. The extractor fan is at the other side of the room/bath. I will definitely stop leaving wet towel/flannels in there and next week I have someone coming to paint the bathroom with acrylic eggshell paint which was recommended to us.

Aylesbury_Duck

Make sure all the damp patches are thoroughly dried out and treated before painting, otherwise your new paint will start to flake off or have mould showing through before too long. Ideally you would make do for a few months and do the painting in the summer when you'll have a better chance of getting it all dried out before painting.

gardner1

kuratowski wrote: »

It may also be worth considering a dehumidifier.

+1 Dehumidifier

Courtney25

I would love to wait buts it’s so bad I don’t think I can. I can’t have visitors round with it looking like this. What’s the best way to dry it out?