Red / brown dust in bathroom

Lorian

Buy a cheap hygrometer (like thermpro on Amazon) and put somewhere you see it often in the bathroom and if the humidity is above 60% you need to be ventilating.

ThisIsWeird

MisterNick said:

TIW - if the problem persists, I'l post some pictures of the dust.
The paint is F & B Sfiffkey Blue. Thanks for the compliment - my wife's choice

Thank you. Nice. You're wife has taste, but you knew that... :-)

MisterNick

You asked for pictures of the dust and below are two as best i could get them. the dust on my finger is not representative of the colour so I have attempted to get a better picture of it on a shelf. 

i have had a look at the extractor. The grill in the ceiling was covered in dust which I hoovered away. Although the extractor runs it I can’t feel much suction, so I will go up into the loft later and see whether motor is gummed up. I’ll also check the ducting, it is the flexible hose type.

If the motor does need replacing i saw a Vent Axia one at Screfix for £140. Is that the type I would need?

On another note, I can only think there are four places the dust could come in. 1/ the door - I don’t think this is the case as there is nothing in the hallway, 2/ The window - I excluded this due to the fact that the dust is so dispersed, 3/ the lights - I think they are well sealed and also have loft lids over them 4/ The extractor - I can only think it is this and somehow the dust is being blown from somewhere back through the grill (rather than the other way around). 

stuart45

Dry rot spores are a rusty red colour. Behind wood panels in a damp environment is a popular place for dry rot.

MisterNick

Thanks Stuart. i'm not quite sure where to look. the dust is evenly dispersed along all the dado rails, the bath, the window cills, etc. Does all the wood need to be ripped out?
The one difference is that I put more insulation in the loft which does now get condensation, but I can't see how that would get into the bathroom. 

stuart45

You might need to get a specialist in to check it. They can tell you if the spores are dry rot. 

MisterNick

stuart45 said:

You might need to get a specialist in to check it. They can tell you if the spores are dry rot. 

OK - thanks. I'll check the extractor today, and sort out next steps.

One further point, there is no musty (or any other smell) in there,

stuart45

It might not be dry rot. It's just a possibility. Hopefully it isn't. Be a shame to have to take out some panelling.

ThisIsWeird

MisterNick said:

Thanks Stuart. i'm not quite sure where to look. the dust is evenly dispersed along all the dado rails, the bath, the window cills, etc. Does all the wood need to be ripped out?
The one difference is that I put more insulation in the loft which does now get condensation, but I can't see how that would get into the bathroom. 

Very hard - impossible, actually - to tell from these pics. But my gut tells me that this is... dust.

Really - is it at an unusual level in this bathroom? Why can't it be normal household dust? In which case, it's coming in the door.

Do you have other bathrooms you can use? If so, could you close this door for a week or more, even applying masking tape around the door edge tobesure? Ditto not using the extractor, and taping plastic over the grill. Process of elimination.

As you say, there is no other suggestion of 'rot' existing anywhere, and that would be a highly unlikely event in any case.

Is your extractor a surface-mounted type, or in-line? Pic? When it's running, and you lift up a flat sheet of bogroll close to it, how close before it gets sucked against the grille?

A different issue here is what you say about your loft - adding more loft insulation on top of the house ceiling - which I presume is what you've had done - should reduce condensation up there, as less moisture should permeate the ceiling plasterboard to get up there in the first place. Are you sure this condensation isn't just a seasonal issue, it now being winter?

Did you add the insulation, or did a pro do the job for you? Are you sure the eaves are kept unblocked?

stuart45

Adding insulation increases condensation in the roof space.