Is this damp?

VT41

Recently spotted the patches in a corner of a room, seems like small mould circles and also right in the corner 

I popped my head out the window and can see guttering around/above the area. I suspect it could be related to overflowing guttering that needs replacing. Any advice?

canaldumidi

Photo of guttering?

And if it's overflowing in autumn, more likely just needs leaves clearing out!

daivid

Do you get condensation in that room? Is it next to a bathroom or are you drying clothes in there? The guttering could be the cause, and whilst I'm no expert I would expect more dramatic mould if caused by water ingress. 

For now I'd wipe down with some dilute bleach or vinegar and clean out the gutter of leaves/debris, then see how soon it returns.

VT41

daivid said:

Do you get condensation in that room? Is it next to a bathroom or are you drying clothes in there? The guttering could be the cause, and whilst I'm no expert I would expect more dramatic mould if caused by water ingress. 

For now I'd wipe down with some dilute bleach or vinegar and clean out the gutter of leaves/debris, then see how soon it returns.

Thanks for your reply.

It is next to the bathroom yes however from what I can see there isn't much condensation in the bathroom as we keep the windows open/extractor fan during showering. 

Condensation is on the windows yes in this room where the picture is taken. According to my ( albeit cheap Amazon) humidity monitor its says 78%

Bendy_House

Hi VT.

Usually it's pretty clear whether the cause is penetrating damp or condensation, the former more often than not being a well-defined patch with clear edges. Yours is a bit vague  

I would still hazard, however, that it is 'penetrating', but appears less sharply defined only due to it being small amounts of water hitting that corner on the upper side, and the damp then travels through the plaster gradually and slowly, leaving a less well-defined edge to the visible patch.

And the way it closely travels along that ceiling/wall joint also suggests to me that it's actual 'water' which is drawn along that seam from the other side.

That is probably 'good news' as the cure should be easier to solve? And the gutter is, of course, your first port of call.

Consider 'deep-flow' as the guttering replacement, as I think I've read somewhere that we are in a bit of a climate-change emergency for the foreseeable.