Purple mould, rising damp and mould removal advice required. 1 March at 5:20PM in House buying, renting & selling 15 replies 1.3K views

Debi_m_

I noticed a weird stain that wouldn’t come off my living room wall. When I properly inspected it there’s a tide mark and lots of wet looking circles. My housing association came out and they’ve said it’s the cold communal hall that’s to blame. They’ve said they will treat and clean it but not for 8 weeks. I’ve been told it’s technically toxic, the purple colour is apparently significant. 

Should I have to wait 8 weeks for them to do anything to address the issue. He told me not use bleach etc as it makes it worse as it’s coming through the wall. Everyone I speak to says it can’t be treated it needs replaced. It’s not a brick wall its plasterboard.

MikeJXE

If it is a plasterboard wall the it is 2 sheets of plaster board, the communal hall side and your side with a gap between the studs, maybe it needs filling with insulation and a barrier. Not a minute fix 

Debi_m_

I’m not expecting them to fix it straightaway. If they wanted to put something on it while they fix the issue then I’d be pleased. I’m more concerned about the mould spreading over the wall that doesn’t respond to cleaning and the fact they don’t think the wall needs replaced just treated and cleaned.

Looby77

Don’t wash the wall.  Get some mould killer on it. 

youth_leader

Sorry you've got this.  I bought a bungalow two years ago, and unbeknown to me the floors were covered in mould, My clothes in the bottom of the fitted wardrobe were covered in it. 

White vinegar kills some forms of mould completely, plus there are sprays you can use. 

I'd pull the sofa/chair away from the wall and anything else that is nearby so air can circulate, and get a dehumidifer to dry it out as much as possible while you are waiting.  

tacpot12

HG Mould Spray is the stuff to use, but it is form of bleach so can affect the colour of the paint on the walls. I would spray it now, and then again when the root cause has been fixed.

If redecoration is needed, I would leave it until spring 2024 so that you can be sure that the problem has been fixed.

ProDave

Don't mess about with special potions.  A wak mixture of housegold bleach and water kills all mould dead.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

ProDave said:

Don't mess about with special potions.  A wak mixture of housegold bleach and water kills all mould dead.

Mould sprays usually have another ingredient that kills the roots of the mould more efficiently preventing it from growing back.

£1.50 in the pound shop last time we needed some. Spray on the wall, let it soak in a bit and then wipe off. 

Apparently the purple comes from a mixture of black and blue mould, it’s a very small spot, could it not have come from a bit of food, drink, etc splashing on the wall? 

Debi_m_

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

ProDave said:

Don't mess about with special potions.  A wak mixture of housegold bleach and water kills all mould dead.

Mould sprays usually have another ingredient that kills the roots of the mould more efficiently preventing it from growing back.

£1.50 in the pound shop last time we needed some. Spray on the wall, let it soak in a bit and then wipe off. 

Apparently the purple comes from a mixture of black and blue mould, it’s a very small spot, could it not have come from a bit of food, drink, etc splashing on the wall? 

It’s been confirmed it’s mould due to ventilation/insulation issues also rising damp in that particular wall. I tried cleaning it with a specialist spray but the mould doesn’t disappear. I can scrape the paint and plaster off and the wall is dark underneath. The surveyor from the housing association said to leave it and they’ll treat and clean it once the issue causing it has been resolved. I’m unaware of how this type of damp and be washed off, I’ve not read anything to say a plasterboard wall can be treated for rising damp but I’m not an expert on such things.

FreeBear

Debi_m_ said: I’ve not read anything to say a plasterboard wall can be treated for rising damp but I’m not an expert on such things.

Plasterboard walls suggests either a fairly recent build or a refurbished older building - If the former, it will have modern components such as a damp proof course close to ground level. The most likely cause of your "rising damp" will be elevated ground levels breaching the DPC or a build up of debris in the cavity. It could be that the external ground level is close to the DPC and rain is splashing up the wall and the damp is penetrating.

Even with an old refurbished building, I would take the suggestion of rising damp with a healthy dose of skepticism. Very few buildings actually suffer from it, and it is nearly always a misdiagnosis by one of these damp surveyors salesmen trying to flog ineffective and expensive "cures".

Debi_m_

The surveyor didn’t specify rising damp, they confirmed it wasn’t caused by me. I understand it could be penetrating damp. There’s a tide mark on the wall. The property is nearly 5 years old. The building looks damp outside but I’m not an expert. I live in a damp area of the UK.