Cleaning mould?

fizzel81

sorry not quite sure where to put this, its something ive never tacled before

cutting a long story short myself and the boys are now classed as homeless so monday i had to look and sign forms for a private let for councils private letting scheme

however it needs a good clean i have no idea how previous tennat lived with it but the house has a huge mould problem and to put it bluntly its been left, landlady has said it will be delt with when weather is good as weather in the last year hasnt been good enough to sort the problem

how do i clean the walls and windows well enough so that it doesnt effect my 3 boys? never had to worry about this problem before, the walls are black in places and the windows are furry (sorry poor choice of word)

i shared my concerns with the person who runs the private lettings scheme as he was at the house, i was just told to speak with the landlord

any advice on cleaning this please xxx

thank you

Gingernutmeg

If the mould problem is that bad, then you're really only going to be able to tackle it on the surface as it sounds like there's more serious problems with the house. The landlady really shouldn't be it leaving for a year till the weather gets better ... I'd ask her again, and maybe, if nothings done, speak to your local Environmental Health Office. Try again with the Lettings Scheme guy too, as a house has to be fit to live in. You can't deal with mould properly just by washing it off, as the spores get behind the wallpaper and skirtings etc. You can clean it, and keep on top of it reappearing, but in the long term living in a house with a serious mould problem will affect you and your children's health - it really needs sorting asap.

However, to clean mould, the cheapest thing to use is a bleach solution - use thin bleach (not thick) and water. Wipe the mould off carefully (check a 'hidden' spot of wallpaper first, as it can take the colour out), use disposable cloths and when they get grotty, chuck them. If you're able to spend a bit more money then I really recommend the Dettol Mould and Mildew Remover spray, it's in a bright green spray bottle and it's normally on the cleaning aisle in the supermarket. It has fungicides in it and will keep the mould away a bit longer. I've used this (carefully) on the walls in my last flat and on the window frames, and it's fine. You also need to ventilate the property well and keep it warm and as dry as possible. If there is a damp problem in the house, then I really recommend the humidity traps you can get - they're like little plastic boxes with water absorbing stuff in them, they collect the excess water and then you empty them when they're full. They really helped in my last flat, which had a real condensation problem. I got mine from Homebase, but I've seen them in Wilko's too.

rob16d

I have a little damp...nowt thus bad

squeaky

This is sort of industrial strength advice - but it will give you some idea of what sort of job you'll be facing...

[Expired link removed]

Olliebeak

Did the Council's Letting Service actually examine this property that you're moving into, fizzel? I find it disgusting that they would actually use this private LL to house a single parent with children .

It could be that the previous occupier just never opened the windows - it's amazing how many people think that opening windows will injure their health in someway! You would think that 'a draught' would kill them by the way that they go on. A draught is nothing more than 'an exchange of fresh air' and is really beneficial both to our health and our homes - providing that you are not surrounded by draughts coming from all directions at the same time.

Hope that mould problem can be dealt with quickly. Have you asked the LL if you can check behind the wallpaper where it's particularly bad? If that was happening in my home, I would want to get as much paper as possible off the walls altogether so that the walls themselves could be thoroughly cleansed. But that can be a problem when it's not your own place. If the LL is going to do a thorough job of getting rid of the mould then surely it would also involved removing the wallpaper, sorting out the plasterwork and redecorating with either more paper or emulsion.

Good luck with it all

pink.1970

I would just like to say BE CAREFUL if you do use Enviro Health, we did this last year as we have the same problem in our rented accomodation, the LL didnt like the results of the survey and promptly ended our tenancy with them.

We are however still in the property, and still have a damp/mould problem, only this week have been washing various items of clothing to get rid of mould. If we could find somewhere we could afford to move to we would. Only OH is working at the moment and I do not claim benefits, things are tight but we manage ok.

I use the Dettol Mould and Mildew spray but you do have to ventilate the rooms as it is very very strong bleach and it does smell.

fizzel81

thank you for the ideas.

yes the council are quite happy that i take this house iykwim
rung them yesterday and explained my concerns, i was told that the landlady will be asked to make it a priority when the weather is warmer so well ive just got to hope she does, i was little short of being told its this or nothing, in court this morning so i guess yes i have to take it, though was a little shocked that in 2008 this is accepted as being ok to let

once ive got keys etc im just going to go up and scrub it, tempted to ask if i can then paint to a neutral colour once ive done what i can with the walls

donny-gal

No experience in any of this at all Fizzel, but if you get the chance I would mention in court what you are going to have to move the children into. The judge may be interested I do not know.
DG

Olliebeak

fizzel81 wrote: »

thank you for the ideas.

yes the council are quite happy that i take this house iykwim
rung them yesterday and explained my concerns, i was told that the landlady will be asked to make it a priority when the weather is warmer so well ive just got to hope she does, i was little short of being told its this or nothing, in court this morning so i guess yes i have to take it, though was a little shocked that in 2008 this is accepted as being ok to let

once ive got keys etc im just going to go up and scrub it, tempted to ask if i can then paint to a neutral colour once ive done what i can with the walls

fizzel - make sure you take photos BEFORE and AFTER anything that you do!

Are you expected to be responsible for the rent of this place while you're attempting to make it habitable/hygienic? It's just that I work for a Housing Association and I know that as far as we are concerned, once a tenant signs for the keys they are then responsible for the rent/council tax on the property even if they are still living elsewhere and just getting the new place ready for moving in - which can take a week or two.

Make sure that you know where you stand on this issue. You need to avoid complications as regards rent/council tax payments - even if you are in receipt of Housing/Council Tax Benefit. Housing/Council Tax Benefit will only pay up for one property at a time - if you are living in one place WHILE preparing another, they won't both be covered!!!

Good luck with it all!


Been googling (yet again) and came up with this site. Don't know if any of it is of any use to you, fizzel - or to anybody else.

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/condensation.htm

Triggles

We have had a significant mould problem in our bathroom. This was due to plumbers installing the overflow valve on the toilet upside down so that water was overflowing into the wall, soaking the insulation, and eventually caused unbelievable water damage to the bathroom wall. By the time we noticed the damage (under the sink and behind the toilet), it was too badly damaged for an easy fix. We live in a council property, and it has taken us almost 3 years to get this fixed, but it's finally being taken care of within the next couple months. They are basically gutting the bathroom and redoing everything - floor, walls & ceiling (replastering), all fixtures & plumbing, etc. I scrubbed the walls on a regular basis with that Dettol Mould & Mildew remover and it certainly helped keep it at bay, although our situation was too far gone for it to really help much, as parts of our wall are literally crumbling from the damage (which means we can't scrub it). I wouldn't even want to venture a guess as to how much money we spent on cleaners over the last 3 years.

But more to the point, when the company came to check on the damp levels, the employee told us there is an additive that you can put in pain that prevents the mould from returning. It's a small container and costs about £5 or so, but he said it's absolutely brilliant and he uses it at home. They don't sell it, but they get it from another company. We're planning on moving soon (council swap to another area) but are going to contact them and get a few of these containers and repaint the property when we first move in. Ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure, is my thinking. Once you get it all cleared out, ask landlady to get some type of mould resistant paint or paint additive to repaint with so that it doesn't happen again. You also may want to speak to landlady and suggest that since she is waiting til weather is better and the cleanup IS her responsibility, if you have to buy cleaning supplies and paint (either mould resistant or a separate mould resistant additive) then have her pay for them or take them off your rent.

Good luck with this. I know we have been really concerned about health issues over this, as both DH and DD have ongoing respiratory problems.

Tom_Greene

Although its probably better to hire a professional, if your handy you can do it yourself. I noticed a lot of people mentioned using bleach in reply to this thread. Bleach is no longer considered effective for cleaning mold from porous surfaces.

What I suggest is you get a few professionals remediation companies to come to your home and give you a free estimate and evaluation. This way you will learn whats involved in the removal process. You can judge by what they say if its a project you can handle yourself.