Mould build-up on wooden window frames

user67340348

Martin_the_Unjust said:

user19860331 said:

Martin_the_Unjust said:

https://www.windowsguide.co.uk/black-mould-windows-guide-removal-prevention

clean it off and then dry the frames at least once a day.

But you really do need to provide ventilation.

In my opinion it is your problem to deal with, others may see it differently. 

Thanks for the link, unfortunately it only talks about preventing mould on wood rather than removing it... I read somewhere else that white vinegar should work, but will have to see if it does.

How would I provide better ventilation though? All I can think of is keeping the door open, but as mentioned in my OP I can't have it open often because the wind blows it wide open.

It could really do with some kind of latch on it so that it can only open so far.

You need to read further down

’

How to remove window mould with vinegar

When aiming to get rid of mould around your windows using vinegar, you should always wear gloves to avoid irritation. 

Step 1: Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar. Alternatively, wet a cloth with the vinegar and wipe.
Step 2: Thoroughly spray the vinegar over the mould.
Step 3: The vinegar needs time to break up the mould so leave if for 1 hour.
Step 5: Use a scrubbing brush and warm water to scrub away the mould.
Step 6: Wipe the surface down using warm water and leave the area to dry out. 

If the mould reappears, try the whole process again. You might also want to combine vinegar with other products such as baking soda or salt to increase your chances of successful black mould removal.’

That section is above the bit about wooden window frames, so I assumed it was referring more to the plastic kind.

Either way though, will try vinegar and see how that goes

Snookie12cat

You might need to invest in a good dehumidifier. They are like £150 but absolutely fantastic. We needed to get one after having a baby and the additional condensation this brought as we had water running down the walls and Windows in winter. 
100% solved the problem. I still need to wipe the windows down every morning to get the condensation off.

user1977

user19860331 said:

user1977 said:

Can you reduce the amount of water vapour you're producing? Steam from bathroom/cooking, drying clothes etc? How is bathroom ventilated?

I don't do an awful lot of cooking but maybe I should leave the extractor fan on for longer after I've finished?

Perhaps it's due to my laundry but I also have a dehumidifier which picks up quite a lot of moisture.

The bathroom just has an air vent on the ceiling (no extractor fan), this is at the other end of the studio

Yes, more extractor fan, more dehumidifying, less drying clothes indoors. This is just physics - all the water has got to go somewhere, and it's going to end up on cold surfaces such as the window if it's not removed by other means first.

csgohan4

we used a dehumidfier in our rental, not very energy saving, it's either that or freeze in winter opening windows or having mould on the walls. Bathroom had no window

KeepOnKnitting

The window vacuum things are great too. Hoover off the shower glass and tiles when you are done, hoover off the windows in the morning. Then you get to tip all that condensation down the sink rather than having it sit to create mould.

MrsBrush

user1977 said:

Producing too much water vapour / not enough ventilation are generally for the residents to sort out (even if there are arguably things which could have been done better in the building design).

I totally agree. Even with chronic condensation it only takes a couple of minutes to keep everything wiped, and following the steps others have outlined will keep damp and mould under control. In these cases, prevention is a much better solution, but it is possible to dry out, remove the mould and sort this out, even where the building design isn't the best. I get cross where I hear about people moaning about condensation, leaving it for years so it becomes a huge issue, but they do absolutely nothing about making the small changes that would help make a huge difference.

The dehumidifier, the window vacuum and using the extractor are a good start. Wiping everything weekly with vinegar will kill off the mould spores and keep that down, and make sure that where possible, keep trickle vents open and open the widows regularly. 

ProDave

user19860331 said:

csgohan4 said:

no air vents above the windows?

Oh I think there is one on the ceiling actually, one of those small circular ones

Have a look around.  Do you have one (or more) of these round circular vents in the ceiling of every room?  If so you might have a proper mechanical ventilation system.  Get up close, can you feel any airflow coming out of it?  The vents should be supplying fresh air to living rooms and bedrooms, and extracting stale air from kitchens and bathrooms.  Holding a piece of paper up to the bathroom extract vents is a way to tell if they are extracting.

Just to be clear, these should be running continuously at a low level of ventilation.  There is usually some boost function to speed up the ventilation rate while cooking or showering, sometimes manually and sometimes with a humidity sensor.