Rental House - Extractor Fan Kitchen

Emmia

There is a duplicate thread over on one of the other boards - and I posted this over there: 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/77449856#Comment_77449856

Is the agent talking about a wall mounted extractor fan with humidstat, which means it will come on automatically if the humidity goes over a certain level? We've got windowless bath / shower rooms and these have been game changing in dealing with the moisture build up, vs the (cheap) normal extractor fans they replaced. 

We've got this model
https://www.screwfix.com/p/vent-axia-479089-7-5w-bathroom-extractor-fan-with-humidistat-timer-white-240v/870gy

We've also got a meaco dehumidifier (a similar model to the one linked to) - and it's great, but also a faff because its freestanding and needs moving from room to room.

To add - once you've treated the mould, I'd strongly recommend painting the room with a specialist anti mould paint like this Zinsser Perma White  https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-self-priming-paint-satin-white-2-5ltr/62096.  I used this and this Primer https://www.screwfix.com/p/zinsser-bulls-eye-1-2-3-primer-sealer-1ltr/10135 to redo our bathrooms, as a few months after we'd bought our flat it became very apparent that when the previous owners were selling,  they'd hidden the mould by painting the bathrooms (one wall isn't tiled in each) in a regular paint which didn't have anti mould stuff in. 

I re-did our bathrooms with the Zinsser stuff (because constantly bleaching the mould is a pain) about 5 years ago, and so far even with daily steamy showers,  and the dodgy extractor fan (they only got replaced this year) the mould on the walls has not returned. 

northwest1965

Apologies but someone said I posted in the wrong section, so posted in DIY aswell. It's not a humidifier that is needed & it's a kitchen that xpelair is required.

Emmia

northwest1965 said:

Apologies but someone said I posted in the wrong section, so posted in DIY aswell. It's not a humidifier that is needed & it's a kitchen that xpelair is required.

If you've got a proper externally venting extractor fan (I'm presuming that's what the Xpelair is), you should look to replace it with something a bit more powerful - like this one,  https://www.screwfix.com/p/xpelair-lvcv4sr-2-3-7w-bathroom-or-kitchen-extractor-fan-with-humidistat-timer-white-12v/386gx  

You may be able to reuse the ducting if it is in reasonable shape. 

AdrianC

anselld said:

You say the mould is "behind the kitchen units".
Why does that matter?
How are they proposing to treat/paint behind the units?   Units are not always straightforward to remove in a fitted kitchen.
It would still be a good idea to improve ventilation but I would not be inclined to spend money on redecoration of an inaccessible/non-visible area.

It begs the question how the tenant knows what is behind the kitchen units...

northwest1965

This is  the size of the kitchen, there is one more small unit this side of the cooker and that is it.

greatcrested

That cooker hood is on the far side from the external wall. It is very unlikely that it is extracting anything other than odours, and then recirculating the (damp) air. Even extracting odours won't be happening unless you or the tenants periodically change the filter!

I assume there is no back to the cupboards, so when you open them you can see the wall behind?

northwest1965

greatcrested said:

That cooker hood is on the far side from the external wall. It is very unlikely that it is extracting anything other than odours, and then recirculating the (damp) air. Even extracting odours won't be happening unless you or the tenants periodically change the filter!

I assume there is no back to the cupboards, so when you open them you can see the wall behind?

Yes, they have backs to them & there is a gap at the back. Suspect there is on yours.