Condensation Mould or Damp

fumken

phill99 wrote: »

As sure as God made little apples, black spore on internal wqalls is condensation caused by:
1. High levels of humidity in the atmosphere caused by bathing, cooking etc.
2. Lack of appropriate ventilation
3. Differential temperatures on the inside and outside of a surface.

It is imperative therefore to do a number of things:
a. When you cook using saucepans etc (pasta, rice, veg, potatoes etc) that you put a lid on the pans, keep the kitchen door closed to avoid the moisture moving all around the house (warm moist air will always be attracted to cold dry air). Either open a window to allow steam out or ideally, use mechanical ventilation (remembering to keep it on for a while after yoy7 have finished cooking)
b. When showering or bathing, keep the door closed, even afetr you have finished, open the window, or ideally, use mechanical extraction. The extractor fans that come on when the light comes on have a major flaw - if you shower/bath during the day, they don't come on. You ideally need one that works independent of the lights and you need to get in the habit of using it. Again operate for a good 20 mins after you have finished showering and keep the door closed
c. The room where you have black spore needs ventilation (trickle vents on the top of DG windows are inadequate therefore open the window) AND needs background heating in order to make sure that there is not a significant differential between the inside and outside temperatutes (ie the wall will be warmer and therefore the air borne moisture will not condense on it.
d. Additionally, insulate where poss both in the roof space and the walls (cavity wall insulation) as again this will minimise the temperature differential.

Basically, you have black spore because there is insufficient ventilation in the houise and there is too much moisture in the atmosphere, both of which are down to the occupiers!

Thanks for this. Indeed its down to occupiers who were my tenants from hell! I think they felt the installation of D/G meant they did not need heaters anymore. I am redecorating. We just removed the infected wall paper. They treated with special paint and we re-lined and painted. I could not afford to remove all the paper and plaster the walls, as I basically have to redecorate the whole house and decide on selling or renting it out. If they follow all the rules is it likely to grow back or not?

Poppycat

Try Polycell mould killer (wilkos sell it). You can also get special paint that has mould inhibitor in it

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0159219

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=11 (B&Q sell it in small tins) or local decorators store for trade, not the dulux centre

phill99

fumken wrote: »

Thanks for this. Indeed its down to occupiers who were my tenants from hell! I think they felt the installation of D/G meant they did not need heaters anymore. I am redecorating. We just removed the infected wall paper. They treated with special paint and we re-lined and painted. I could not afford to remove all the paper and plaster the walls, as I basically have to redecorate the whole house and decide on selling or renting it out. If they follow all the rules is it likely to grow back or not?

If you follow the rules systematically, it shouldn't come back. But there is no such thing as a guarantee on this one.

Mine'sAPintPlease

Poppycat wrote: »

Try Polycell mould killer (wilkos sell it). You can also get special paint that has mould inhibitor in it

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/invt/0159219

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=11 (B&Q sell it in small tins) or local decorators store for trade, not the dulux centre

I second this. I usually get mine from B & Q, but will try Wilkinsons now so thanks for the tip.

Unlike the dettox mould and mildew spray (which is great on bathroom tiles, but don't get on clothes as I ruined a pair of jeans once sadly), this is good to use on painted walls (although depends on the quality of the paint). If you've got really cheap bargain basement paint, it won't clean it off, and will probably just spread it around and make a grey mess.

If the mould killer doesn't take all the black mould off (and it hasn't in my flat), then it's most likely a re-paint job, and it could be a damp issue, which is what I have. Take a look on the outside wall to see if there's any signs of cracks in the brick work, or green staining, or is there a drain pipe running down the wall where the mould is which could be damaged.

It doesn't sound like damp to me, as I have a bad case of it in my flat and have salts as mentioned coming through the paint. The paint itself is all blistered too.

Ventilation is the answer as already suggested. Could you dry them in a different room which has better ventilation perhaps?

fumken

I have followed your advice and we have redecorated.
Many thanks.

dmcb

I had a company called Advanced Ventilation come in and fit a machine in the loft which pushes air into the landing area and then begins to circulate the air in ( it works in the same way as a car de mister they told me) and it works a treat, they also cleaned the Mould Free of charge but I had to ask for this. It started working within a couple of days

dmcb

01204 523354 was their number sorry

amyface

KTJ wrote: »

Hi all,

We have black mould patches appearing in the top and bottom corner of our bedroom. We do not have trickle vents and sometimes dry clothes in the bedroom. My immediate thought is that its condensation.

I have had a few builders around and have had mixed advice. One said the rendering on the outside needed re doing as the rain was getting in, another said the valley in the roof was letting in water and and another. I have rang a damp specialist and they wouldnt send anyone out after i had said the mould was black as they werre convinced it was condensation and not damp.

So......my question is...Whos advice do i take. Is there any clear way of knowing whether its a leak or damp problem or just condensation? I'm loathe to redecorate, get a dehumidifier, install trickle vents if it is a leak and conversly, I dont want to spend thousands on roofing/rendering if its just condensation.

Any advice?

Thanks to the spammer for bringing this back to the top of the board!

Having read the thread, did you ever solve this problem from a couple of years ago?