Bills v Damp

Cardew

Unless you have ingress of water from outside - leaks etc - dampness is caused by insufficient ventilation. Heating a room  simply allows the air to hold more moisture.

Alnat1

We, like lots of others I guess, have a window squeegee in the bathroom. After a shower we don't just squeegee the screen, we also do the tiled walls and shower tray, directing as much water as possible down the plug-hole. This means there's less water hanging around to evaporate and cause humidity.

Xbigman

This is a subject full of people making all encompassing statements. All properties are different as are all occupiers. I am coming up to my 21st winter in my house and I've never turned the radiators on in the main bedroom, little bedroom or hallway. Its a mid terrace 3 bed and the house never gets much below 10c. Being single I have never been close to having a damp problem but a family living here could be a different proposition. Each household needs to look at their own property and their own life style. They also need to consider the time of year. In the coldest weeks it might be a good idea to heat the unheated areas but I'm talking about odd weeks in January and February not every week October to April. 'The Winter' really does cover a multitude of different temperatures and not all of it is actually that cold. 
A final consideration. If you are really struggling financially its not going to kill you if you get a bit of damp in some odd corners of a few rooms for a winter or two. I would make sure I could buy food before I worried about a bit of damp. A lot of damp is of course a different thing.



Darren

leopoldo_2

Things aren't that bad, it's not an either/or situation really, just trying to strike a balance between cutting energy costs and avoiding any damage to the building.

ariarnia

Xbigman said:

 I am coming up to my 21st winter in my house and I've never turned the radiators on in the main bedroom, little bedroom or hallway. Its a mid terrace 3 bed and the house never gets much below 10c. 

completely agree that general advice wont be suitable for everyone and every house has its own ecosystem but people also need to be careful about false economy making things worse. especially if you are struggling with cash flow and have a family. lots of the suggestions about ventalation and air flow dont cost anything so thats a good place to start but also if you set your radiators in unused rooms to 10c and your house never drops to 10c then the radiators in those rooms wont come on. but if it drops to below 10 then the temp in the rooms will be maintained. if your using the heat in the rest of the house anyway then a little extra on those odd times wont cost much more especially compared to the cost of having to replace wardrobes or clothes when you find there ruined by damp. yes the immediate priority is heat and food now but fixing damp problems (even only cosmetic ones) can be expensive and difficult to sort which can make things even worse a few months down the line. 

littleteapot

Just get a good quality dehumidifier and locate it in or near the rooms which are not going to be heated. If inside a cold room a dessicant dehumidifier is usually better than a compressor type. But if located in a more general area of the house then a compressor type may be cheaper to buy and run.

Chrysalis

I had an email from my LL asking me to ensure I use my heating in the winter to control damp, I replied no problem provided you rebate me the cost as I dont need the heating personally.

Got a reply saying the damp wont be a problem, obviously it was decided they didnt want to pay the heating costs either. 

MattMattMattUK

Chrysalis said:

I had an email from my LL asking me to ensure I use my heating in the winter to control damp, I replied no problem provided you rebate me the cost as I dont need the heating personally.

Got a reply saying the damp wont be a problem, obviously it was decided they didnt want to pay the heating costs either. 

Most properly contracted leases contain a clause that all rooms must be kept at or above a minimum of 12c and it is the tenants responsibility to maintain that temperature regardless of cost. 

Chrysalis

MattMattMattUK said:

Chrysalis said:

I had an email from my LL asking me to ensure I use my heating in the winter to control damp, I replied no problem provided you rebate me the cost as I dont need the heating personally.

Got a reply saying the damp wont be a problem, obviously it was decided they didnt want to pay the heating costs either. 

Most properly contracted leases contain a clause that all rooms must be kept at or above a minimum of 12c and it is the tenants responsibility to maintain that temperature regardless of cost. 

Usually doesnt go below that temp anyway.  But bear in mind that responsibility could be deemed a unfair contract term if the property insulation is poor.  (for reference its not in my ast, hence them sending the begging email).