Mouldy wardrobe

Gotkeys

I built a wardrobe in my bedroom in the summer, but it has recently developed some mould on the inside.

The mould is on the external wall, and the sloped ceiling (direct onto the roof, no loft). I was planning on putting stud on the external wall and ceiling l,insulating it and boarding it, leaving a 50mm air gap. I may also add a wardrobe heater as well. Would this prevent the mould?

Where would the 50mm gap be? Should it be external wall, insulation, 50mm gap, board or should it be external wall, 50mm gap, insulation and board?

Mutton_Geoff

Wall, gap, insulation, board. Make sure the gap is ventilated top and bottom (you can buy small grilles to go over the holes).

twopenny

Do you ever leave the wardrobe door open to ventilate?

Is the door fitted so tightly that heat can't get in there from the room?

Sounds like you are covering up the problem and you may get mould behind the fittings.

Gotkeys

twopenny said:

Do you ever leave the wardrobe door open to ventilate?

Is the door fitted so tightly that heat can't get in there from the room?

Sounds like you are covering up the problem and you may get mould behind the fittings.

We hardly ever close the wardrobe doors to be honest, it's got 3 sliding doors which always have gaps in them.
It's an old house. We had new windows fitted and get mould on them if we don't keep on top of the condensation I'm the winter, and we always open the windows for ages every day. I was hoping insulating the inside of the wardrobe would solve the problem rather than hide it!

Gotkeys

Mutton_Geoff said:

Wall, gap, insulation, board. Make sure the gap is ventilated top and bottom (you can buy small grilles to go over the holes).

Thank you. Silly question but how do I ventilate the gap? Do I just make sure the insulation stops short of the floor and ceiling, then put vents in the board at the top and bottom?

greyteam1959

I installed PIV many years ago to overcome the same problem.
Works very well.

ThisIsWeird

If the mould is due to condensation and not water penetration, as it sounds as tho' it is, then I see no requirement to have a ventilated gap.
It would help to see the inside of your wardrobe, Gotkeys, but in essence if you were to cut, say, a 1" thick sheet (you can go a bit thicker if you can afford the cupboard space, but 1" should be very effective) of Celotex or similar, and glue it to the wall and ceiling. Ie, 'line' the back and top of the cupboard.
Use a sharp craft knife, and measure accurately - get it fitted snugly between the cupboard sides. Ditto where the two panels meet - mitre the back-to-ceiling joint to be as snug as possible.
Much better, tho' presumably a lot more work, would be to first remove the cupboards, and fully line the wall and sloping ceiling, then refit. If a cupboard side is also against an exterior wall, then line that too, ideally straight to the wall, then side panel replaced.
If you aren't too bothered about finish, it should be enough to caulk any joints and simply roller-paint the Celotex, tho' you could always line it with paper first. Fill any obvious gaps in your cutting with carefully-injected exp foam first - you don't want cold spots.

You do appear to have other issues, tho', so any cond that no longer forms inside your wardrobe will now go somewhere else! Your new DG windows should not be running with cond. It's good that you open them to ventilate the room, but does this include overnight?! That's the problem time, a mix of temperature drop and more moisture being produced by yer warm and sweaty bods...
So, if you don't have your windows on 'vent' overnight, can I suggest:
1) bedroom windows on vent or even ajar all day and eve. Bedroom door closed, radiator off. Yes, it'll be chilly in there, but should be dry - I bet your windows will be fully clear.
2) a half-hour before bed (adjust time to suit),  rad on and window closed. Leccy blanket on too (mine's on a timer )
3) get ready for bed, and last one under t'duvet turns off rad (or CH goes off) and cracks open one or two windows to 'vent'. Dive and snuggle. If it's really cold, then leave your all-night blanket on '1'. Don't be cold.
4) wakey, and short-straw peep is pushed out of bed to close the windows, and CH on. Have bedroom welcoming in the morn.
5) gaze in wonder at your dry windows.
6) on leaving bedroom, rad/CH off, and window open/vent again. Door closed.
Jobbie almost certainly jobbed.
There are two ways to prevent your bedroom condensing up - one is to keep the CH permanently on high 24 hours, which is not only unhealthy for a bedroom but crazy expensive, and the other is to thoroughly ventilated it all night. Chilly, but dry. And warm under the duvet.
If you don't currently do the above, please at least try it for a few days, and compare the results in the morning.

Albermarle

ThisIsWeird said:

If the mould is due to condensation and not water penetration, as it sounds as tho' it is, then I see no requirement to have a ventilated gap.
It would help to see the inside of your wardrobe, Gotkeys, but in essence if you were to cut, say, a 1" thick sheet (you can go a bit thicker if you can afford the cupboard space, but 1" should be very effective) of Celotex or similar, and glue it to the wall and ceiling. Ie, 'line' the back and top of the cupboard.
Use a sharp craft knife, and measure accurately - get it fitted snugly between the cupboard sides. Ditto where the two panels meet - mitre the back-to-ceiling joint to be as snug as possible.
Much better, tho' presumably a lot more work, would be to first remove the cupboards, and fully line the wall and sloping ceiling, then refit. If a cupboard side is also against an exterior wall, then line that too, ideally straight to the wall, then side panel replaced.
If you aren't too bothered about finish, it should be enough to caulk any joints and simply roller-paint the Celotex, tho' you could always line it with paper first. Fill any obvious gaps in your cutting with carefully-injected exp foam first - you don't want cold spots.

You do appear to have other issues, tho', so any cond that no longer forms inside your wardrobe will now go somewhere else! Your new DG windows should not be running with cond. It's good that you open them to ventilate the room, but does this include overnight?! That's the problem time, a mix of temperature drop and more moisture being produced by yer warm and sweaty bods...
So, if you don't have your windows on 'vent' overnight, can I suggest:
1) bedroom windows on vent or even ajar all day and eve. Bedroom door closed, radiator off. Yes, it'll be chilly in there, but should be dry - I bet your windows will be fully clear.
2) a half-hour before bed (adjust time to suit),  rad on and window closed. Leccy blanket on too (mine's on a timer )
3) get ready for bed, and last one under t'duvet turns off rad (or CH goes off) and cracks open one or two windows to 'vent'. Dive and snuggle. If it's really cold, then leave your all-night blanket on '1'. Don't be cold.
4) wakey, and short-straw peep is pushed out of bed to close the windows, and CH on. Have bedroom welcoming in the morn.
5) gaze in wonder at your dry windows.
6) on leaving bedroom, rad/CH off, and window open/vent again. Door closed.
Jobbie almost certainly jobbed.
There are two ways to prevent your bedroom condensing up - one is to keep the CH permanently on high 24 hours, which is not only unhealthy for a bedroom but crazy expensive, and the other is to thoroughly ventilated it all night. Chilly, but dry. And warm under the duvet.
If you don't currently do the above, please at least try it for a few days, and compare the results in the morning.

One thing I do not understand with these condensation/mould problems, is why some people/houses seem a lot more affected than others for no obvious reason ( to me anyway)?
The OP lives in an old house ( as do I ), and normally they are a bit more draughty/less airtight, which should reduce condensation/mould issues.
Apart from a bit of steaming up after a shower, I never see any condensation, even at night in the bedroom with the windows closed. In 25 years the only mould has been on the bathroom window gasket/sealant, and even that has gone since we had a new window.
Am I just lucky and some houses are just prone to these problems. The OP has the windows open all day and still has issues, even with new windows.

ThisIsWeird

A darned good Q, Albermarle.

Not sure I have answers. I guess it'll come down to things like poorly insulated external walls, so more likely to have condensation form on them. Or perhaps lifestyle, so more moisture is formed inside the property in the first place.

Really not sure.

Like you, our house is pretty draughty, and that seemingly helps to keep it cond-free. It doesn't take much to change that, tho' - if my son doesn't crack open his (new) bedroom windows to 'vent' at night, he wakes up to wet windows. I very rarely see any cond on our sitting room windows, but that can change if I (ok..ok...) put clothes on a 'orse to dry in the room. Or, we can get a thin line of cond along the bottoms of the lower panes when we put decorations and the tree in front of it - that clearly slows air flow over the window.

Albermarle

ThisIsWeird said:

A darned good Q, Albermarle.

Not sure I have answers. I guess it'll come down to things like poorly insulated external walls, so more likely to have condensation form on them. Or perhaps lifestyle, so more moisture is formed inside the property in the first place.

Really not sure.

Like you, our house is pretty draughty, and that seemingly helps to keep it cond-free. It doesn't take much to change that, tho' - if my son doesn't crack open his (new) bedroom windows to 'vent' at night, he wakes up to wet windows. I very rarely see any cond on our sitting room windows, but that can change if I (ok..ok...) put clothes on a 'orse to dry in the room. Or, we can get a thin line of cond along the bottoms of the lower panes when we put decorations and the tree in front of it - that clearly slows air flow over the window.

We have a lot of washing . Some gets dried on a clothes horse and the thicker stuff on radiators. The latter being normally a no no due to condensation, but still does not cause any issues. Also it is not really that draughty, but the ceilings are on the higher side and there is a largish hallway, as is the first floor landing so it is quite 'airy' 
I suspect the air volume of the house is big enough to cope with any moisture production, helped with a bit of natural draught.

Mutton_Geoff

ThisIsWeird said:

our house is pretty draughty, and that seemingly helps to keep it cond-free.

Yet you contradict my suggestion to ventilate the space that's getting condensate?