Damp and Mould ...here comes the hysteria

[noseall]

I think this the problem, there are very few well built properties. Even the top end houses out of our reach are generally of bad construction.

I have been spending a large part of the last two decades, ridding homes of black spot mould.

The fungus thrives in poorly built, cheaply renovated shít holes that Rigsby landlords fill with the unwitting and charge a fortune.

 

[Odds]

'Wipe it down and clean it up'?

Are you ****ing kidding me?

Even the rats had moved out.

It's all very well trying to be 'rational' about this case but the coroner leaves no room for doubt where the blame lies.
Two years spent trying to find someone to fix this out of control mould is unacceptable and experienced tradesmen on this forum must be well aware the problem has to be caught early to stand any chance of curing the wall before it gets beyond hope.

And it isn't made clear whether the problem existed before the family were housed at the property: you'd think someone from social services would make sure the place was fit for living.

The only cure for that toilet is a can of petrol and a ****ing match.

This family were let down by the landlord for not explaining the importance of ventilation in the house. They were let down by the RBH for not resolving the issue quickly, and let down by medical services for not backing up the families claims for proper care.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

The fungus thrives in poorly built, cheaply renovated shít holes that Rigsby landlords fill with the unwitting and charge a fortune.

But the property in question is on an estate in Rochdale which (from memory) was built in the 1970s or early 1980s and which more recently has been renovated, so outwardly not in bad condition.

Last night I watched a TV report where a tennant (elsewhere) was complaining about black mould. There was a lot of it at ceiling level above the windows and also at floor level, but without the usual tell tale "tide marks" of water ingress. The property had CH radiators. My missus immediately turned to me and asked why the lazy so and so hadn't opened the windows and cleaned off the mould from time to time. This is something people who live in "poorly built, cheaply renovated ****holes" (known as Victorian terraced houses) are or should be acutely aware of in places where the rainfsll is often

It isn't always the fault if the landlord, and in any case a landlord isn't the social services. Rochdale gets rain on average 205 days a year and receives about 1200mm rainfall per annum (compared to Norwich, about 560mm), so it's wet up here, and you have to learn to cope with that

 

[noseall]

But the property in question is on an estate in Rochdale which (from memory) was built in the 1970s or early 1980s and which more recently has been renovated, so outwardly not in bad condition.

Last night I watched a TV report where a tennant (elsewhere) was complaining about black mould. There was a lot of it at ceiling level above the windows and also at floor level, but without the usual tell tale "tide marks" of water ingress. The property had CH radiators. My missus immediately turned to me and asked why the lazy so and so hadn't opened the windows and cleaned off the mould from time to time. This is something people who live in "poorly built, cheaply renovated ****holes" (known as Victorian terraced houses) are or should be acutely aware of in places where the rainfsll is often

It isn't always the fault if the landlord, and in any case a landlord isn't the social services. Rochdale gets rain on average 205 days a year and receives about 1200mm rainfall per annum (compared to Norwich, about 560mm), so it's wet up here, and you have to learn to cope with that

Homes can be made mould proof, but it costs a lot of money and usually involves losing space. 'Renovated' can mean a coat of paint.

 

[Diver Fred]

'Wipe it down and clean it up'?

Are you ****ing kidding me?

Even the rats had moved out.

It's all very well trying to be 'rational' about this case but the coroner leaves no room for doubt where the blame lies.
Two years spent trying to find someone to fix this out of control mould is unacceptable and experienced tradesmen on this forum must be well aware the problem has to be caught early to stand any chance of curing the wall before it gets beyond hope.

And it isn't made clear whether the problem existed before the family were housed at the property: you'd think someone from social services would make sure the place was fit for living.

The only cure for that toilet is a can of petrol and a ****ing match.

This family were let down by the landlord for not explaining the importance of ventilation in the house. They were let down by the RBH for not resolving the issue quickly, and let down by medical services for not backing up the families claims for proper care.

Look to the upper right of the picture - is that not a towel on the radiator? Do you agree? There is the source of the problem.
What people do not realise that is drying Towels/air clothes on radiators the moisture has to go somewhere - without ventilation it will settle on the walls (and eventually cause mould).

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Homes can be made mould proof, but it costs a lot of money and usually involves losing space. 'Renovated' can mean a coat of paint.

Removated in those flats meant a lot of extra insulation, new DG, doors and heating. I recall the work being done. We have similar, but older, maisonettes where I live which have also been renovated. A friend of mine lives in one. He says you do need to run the heating and you do need to go round in the morning and wipe the condensation off the windows (especially if you dry a towel on the rail) and open the windows to air the property regularly - we do the same in the morning in our terraced house, for the same reason. He has no mould. Neither do we most of the time, although when the bathroom fan went on the fritz a few years back in the winter, black mould started appearing pretty darned quickly

 

[Odds]

Look to the upper right of the picture - is that not a towel on the radiator? Do you agree? There is the source of the problem.
What people do not realise that is drying Towels/air clothes on radiators the moisture has to go somewhere - without ventilation it will settle on the walls (and eventually cause mould).

The source of the problem is way beyond a towel.
Instead of passing the buck it should be obvious to the landlord his property is unfit for habitation and the tenants accusation of racism is harder to shift than that accursed mould. He simply let it go to arbitration to avoid spending the money to fix the problem which may well have existed before this migrant family were resident at the property.

A simple solution would've been to leave a notice or two, upstairs and downstairs, to leave windows open and ventilate rooms properly to remind tenants instead of spending money on lawyers to decide who's to pay for renovations.
Or better still; spend the bloody money on fixing the property.
Would anyone here honestly say they'd allow a house they owned get into this state?

 

[Dork Lard]

Complex problems do not have simple solutions. Your MSM wants you to simply think that landlords = bad & all tenants are exploited.

A child has died as a direct result of black mould, the coroner said so. The child didn't put the mould there & you wouldn't expect the child to maintain their environment so's it's mould free.

Everybody failed this child.

There is NO simple solution, there is NO simple cause of this childs death. Personally, I'd like to take the left & right wings of our politics & BANG their heads together, place a family of scumbags in the lefties home & decorate the rightwings home with black mould.

The very nature of social housing needs to be overhauled.

 

[motorbiking]

I have two older double glazed windows in the Front 2 bedrooms of my place, both seem to create a lot of condensation. Nothing that a rubber blade and a cloth can't take care of. We have to remember that we have only really been properly insulating builds for the last 20 years or so. We have houses built in the previous decade that are pretty hard to heat and ventilate.

The lesson here is people need to recognise that mould can be dangerous for health and to wipe up condensation and occasionally get the pink stuff out.

 

[Ihavenojob]

which more recently has been renovated.

i.e insulated to within an inch of its life, so hardly any air flow.

 

[Pat ex]

We’ve been drying clothes on airers upstairs, the weathers cold we dont have windows open much……we get a bit of condensation but never seen a hint of mould anywhere and house is bone dry.

I find it hard to believe in a well built property high levels of mould could happen whatever the living style.

Insulation is the key, it's also, coincidentally a viable solution to greener homes.
But the government won't consider the same sort of grants that are available in other countries.

Broadly speaking, the grant provides assistance towards works of insulation, heating and ventilation. There is also financial support for an energy audit, which in many cases will be compulsory

Home Energy Conservation Tax Credits in France (crédit d’impot développement durable)

Find out about the different tax credits, loans, mortgages, grants and other assistance in France for energy conservation

www.french-property.com

 

[ic1927]

You get problems with condensation and mould in new builds where the building regs mean these properties are air tight and pressure tested to ensure this. Hence you have no air flow if the windows don't open and can get mould problems, seen this many times. Older properties had chimneys and fireplaces, even in bedrooms, which allow the building to breathe.

 

[noseall]

i.e insulated to within an inch of its life, so hardly any air flow.

Insulation is 80% of the fix. Ventilation should be controlled and added in retrospect, to mitigate the air-tightness.

 

[Ihavenojob]

Why is there localised mould above the radiator-damp towels maybe (most likely)?

 

[Diver Fred]

The source of the problem is way beyond a towel.
Instead of passing the buck it should be obvious to the landlord his property is unfit for habitation and the tenants accusation of racism is harder to shift than that accursed mould. He simply let it go to arbitration to avoid spending the money to fix the problem which may well have existed before this migrant family were resident at the property.

A simple solution would've been to leave a notice or two, upstairs and downstairs, to leave windows open and ventilate rooms properly to remind tenants instead of spending money on lawyers to decide who's to pay for renovations.
Or better still; spend the bloody money on fixing the property.
Would anyone here honestly say they'd allow a house they owned get into this state?

The towel was used as an example. Most, if not all tenants prefer to ignore the need for ventilation. I've seen opening windows taped up to stop air movement, trickle vents not just closed but sealed up. Most people use radiators as a means of drying clothes (Oh for heated airing cupboards in houses - how many have disappeared with modern boilers). How many people realise that paraffin heaters produce water vapour along with CO2 as a product of combustion; Also the Calor 'Heat Cabinets' (mobile gas heaters) - they produce at least 1.5kg of water vapour for every 1kg of gas burnt (This link is in imperial measurements unfortunately).

Really the only solution to these problems is forced, heat exchanging, permanently running ventilation. Permanently running means that the tenants cannot turn the ventilation fan off.