Moulds and condensation Issues £££ spent HELP!!

Jeepers_Creepers

Fairyeggs said:

If you're already ventilating the area, and it hasn't worked, why do you think adding more ventilation will somehow work?

Because people on here saying it not enough ventualtion.. even when i said in the orignal post. A dehumidifer is fine.. we need to get a plug socket installed.. as none in there.

The trickle vents are just trickling.

You could probably prove the point by leaving the front door open or nicely ajar for one day; even if opening a flat door still caused the windows to mist up, I bet they'd be clear in a couple of minutes. Yes, the entrance area will be 'freezing', but it'll be dry.

Mil's connie suffered from condensation in Winter time. They didn't actually use it in cold weather, but would exit the house via it to get to the garden, and every time they did so they'd allow the warm moist air from the house to fill the room. Lower panes would form droplets which would run on to the interior sills. She was completely resistant to my suggestion of simply opening a couple of opposing windows to allow a cross draught as 'it would make the room freezing cold' which to her = 'the cause of damp'.

Yes, it was pretty darned cold - but it was also dry.

Fairyeggs, you may need to persuade the other flat owners of this solution as it seems counter-intuitive until the simple science behind it is considered. It will be a fair outlay, tho', so I'd suggest seeking further advice before committing to it. There may be simpler and cheaper alternatives to complete window replacement - I reckon the upper glazing units in the side windows could be removed and cut to take vents.

Jeepers_Creepers

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5654289/how-to-install-a-vent-to-a-double-glazed-unit-pane

This suggests that the existing DG unit could be removed and a hole cut in it if you can find someone to do so, or - definitely - a replacement DG unit could be made and would then be easy to swap with the existing. (And keep the old ones safe!)

Meanwhile, I'd spray all the affected areas with mould killer.

ComicGeek

Slightly different opinion to others on here. The high level trickle vents in the windows shown only work to reduce the temperature of the ceiling and glass, thereby increasing the amount of condensation forming. Over ventilation, and poor location of vents, is as much an issue as not enough ventilation.

If the front door is being used regularly then you'll be getting much more ventilation through that than through the trickle vents.  Any additional vents should be at a lower level to prevent passing cold air directly across the ceiling and creating the conditions for condensation. The amount of vent opening needed is very small, but the location is critical.

You want the internal surfaces to be warmer, but not heat the air which is just lost anyway when the front door is opened. You need a radiant heater rather than a mixed radiant/convective heater. 

I would treat the mould areas properly, install a radiant heater to raise the internal temperatures above 14oC and close the trickle vents. If more ventilation is required, then look at a better location for it.

ComicGeek

Just to add that you need to make a decision as to whether this is an 'external' space with no heating and lots of ventilation to combat condensation, or an 'internal' space with controlled ventilation and appropriate heating.

At the moment you're falling between 2 stools, and it's not going to work. You have to pick one. My opinion would be to go for the internal space solution as my post above, but the cheaper option is the external one.

Jeepers_Creepers

ComicGeek said:

Just to add that you need to make a decision as to whether this is an 'external' space with no heating and lots of ventilation to combat condensation, or an 'internal' space with controlled ventilation and appropriate heating.

That's an excellent summation of the issue.

I, personally, would go with the former as it would be much cheaper and with no on-going bills, would almost certainly work - hopefully completely, but certainly massively, and could be carried out quickly while the weather is still cold and there's time to trial it :-)  

It's almost a leap of faith. You are fixing it by making that room colder still, but of course that isn't the point - it's the ventilation.

I'd still fit them in the upper panes of these side windows, since the warm air that's causing the problem will tend to flow along the ceiling height. The trickle vents already installed was the right idea, but were nowhere large enough for a room with no heat, and that's being fed gusts of warm wet air on a regular basis. It doesn't even require the flat's doors to be opened - warm moist air percolates through walls, letterboxes, around door frames, etc constantly.