Mould in garage drying room

Ken2000

Eldi_Dos said:

Would it be possible to get a angle grinder and some good eye protection and put some drainage slots in floor getting progressively deeper and leading out under garage door. This could help prevent puddles forming when wet gear is brought in.
Vine eye bolts installed on opposite walls would allow for drying ropes to be put in when needed and a pedestal fan would help with drying, Toolstation have very reasonable priced one at the moment.

I have some drip trays on the floor, which whilst collecting the water dripping of ropes and clothing, does keep the moisture within the drying room. I had thought of a fan as well as the dehumidifier, which has a fan but isn't really that powerful.

TELLIT01

Isn't a fan simply going to circulate the wet air unless there is effective ventilation.

FreeBear

TELLIT01 said: Isn't a fan simply going to circulate the wet air unless there is effective ventilation.

Yup. There needs to be extraction to the outside, preferably with a heat recovery system to cut energy waste.

ComicGeek

And probably also some form of heat, which then means that the heated air can collect more moisture before being dumped outside. 

An efficient and expensive option would be a mechanical ventilation unit with heat recovery and a heater battery on the supply air. A cheaper and less efficient option would be an extract fan with humidistat and some electric heating cables around the bottom of the cupboard, with ventilation slots/holes in the cupboard door at low level.

Section62

Eldi_Dos said:

Would it be possible to get a angle grinder and some good eye protection and put some drainage slots in floor getting progressively deeper and leading out under garage door. This could help prevent puddles forming when wet gear is brought in.

This would have the negative effect of increasing the effective surface area for water to soak into the concrete floor and later evaporate back out again.  Better to catch drips in some form of impermeable 'tray' which can be emptied (as the OP has got already)

Section62

Ken2000 said:

Can anyone recommend a simple fix that might stop the problem from getting worse, please?

Not 'simple', but would it be possible to construct an outdoor shelter (with a roof, but no solid walls) to allow the wettest equipment to be hung up to partially dry 'outdoors' initially?  If security is an issue then walls could be provided in a trellis/cage type form to maintain good airflow whilst controlling access.

Phil4432

Ken2000 said:

elsien said:

Heat, ventilation, dehumidifier? 

Any of those in situe at the moment? 

Hi, there is a desiccant dehumidifier in there, which I use when there's wet stuff in the drying room.

If you are keeping the room at 14C, the dehumidifier is not doing its job.  Was it working before?  If so, have a chat with the manufacturer. 

If you are not heating the room, that would be the first thing to do.  And vent as much as possible.

Apodemus

Phil4432 said:

If you are keeping the room at 14C, the dehumidifier is not doing its job.

Phil, you're going to need to explain that one to me. It's a desiccant wheel dehumidifier, so should continue to function to much lower temperatures.

Phil4432

Apodemus said:

Phil4432 said:

If you are keeping the room at 14C, the dehumidifier is not doing its job.

Phil, you're going to need to explain that one to me. It's a desiccant wheel dehumidifier, so should continue to function to much lower temperatures.

Condensation forms below around 14C, which can then lead to mold.

So though the dehumidifier can function in low temps, its going to have a harder time to deal with the condensation that is forming on your walls.

So first thing is to keep the room heated, vent often and see if that sorts the problem.

Apodemus

Phil4432 said:

Condensation forms below around 14C, which can then lead to mold.<

Condensation forms on any surface that is below the dew point of the surrounding air. If it only formed below 14C, your condensing boiler wouldn't achieve anything and you wouldn't get misty mornings in the Amazon basin.