Damp and Mould ...here comes the hysteria
- Thread starter ^woody^
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Sure, but it can contribute - by reducing 'adventitious' ventilation. Trad chimneys, leaky floors , etc.
I wasn't suggesting they don't need ventilation. Please don't twist my comment to suggest I ever said that.
It was always naturally occurring in the older houses, and did not require a regime of consciously 'ventilating' to obtain it. That was the conditions in which most of us were raised.
It's the cross-over from excluding draughts (much publicised on advice sites of how to keep warm) in older houses, which prevents ventilation, to more modern houses that have ventilation built-in.
Modern houses have ventilation built in and do not require a regime to maintain it.
First and foremost, outside walls should be well insulated to prevent cold surfaces in the first place.
Next - adequate heating.
Zero drafts. Keep the surfaces up to temperature.
Controlled ventilation mixed with passive ventilation.
You will achieve much more with insulation that you will with ALL the other remedies put together.
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Apart from a regime of NOT closing and taping over ventilators, or turning off fans
Which some people do.
And it is made much worse "Especially when water vapour is delivered inside them, from bathrooms and most expecially from drying clothes."
Which some people do.
There's no suggestion that there was such modern techniques built in to the house in question, Quite the reverse.
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OK in the most modern house with humidistats and super everything, there wouldn't be a problem. But in the other 90+?% of houses, it's a normal ISSUE to DEAL WITH and not ignore.
Nobody is suggesting this or any other landlord is guilty for not providing top 10% accommodation like that.
Tenant bears responsibility - especially after he's SEEN the problem.
Nobody is suggesting this or any other landlord is guilty for not providing top 10% accommodation like that.
Tenant bears responsibility - especially after he's SEEN the problem.
OK, but the thread was about the Rochdale house, and this incident.
It's relatively easy to educate a new home owner into a correct regime in a modern house where the benefits are easily illustrated.
But trying to persuade someone in an older house to turn up the heating and open the windows is one heck of a more difficult task, especially when there is so much advice about stopping draughts.
Or effective dehumidifiers.
There is a total ban on drying anything on radiators, or boiling without lids in this house. The only place indoors where items are allowed to hang to dry, is in the utility, where there is a dehumidifier and that runs the entire time until clothes are dry. No mould here at all, ever.
No matter how well build and insulated, if you introduce too much moisture, mould will appear.
I agree, but it can take many, many months of a strict regime to dry out a saturated* house.
* A house is saturated when the moisture condenses on surfaces. Which can be a very temporary or a long term situation.
Too dry atmospheres also cause problems.
Our house is of 1920s solid wall construction and can suffer from mould on the walls, ceiling, windows and skirtings. However, a simple cleaning regime involving cleaning away the mould with normal household mildew and mould removing spray removes the mould when it occurs and keeps it at bay. We get it in our bedroom in the corners of the room where there are external walls. We don't dry washing in the house, but nor do we open windows when its cold. We get the mould once a year or so, clean it off with the mould and mildrew remover and that generally sees us through the rest of the winter. I've only ever lived in old houses, and they all had much the same mould problems and solutions, particularly in the bathroom.
The photos of the household where this poor unfortunate child died looks like very little, if any, attempts were made to clean up the mould.
Whilst i accept that the construction and maintenance of the house may not have been up to scratch, a simple cleaning routine surely would have reduced the amount of mould spores in the home that were causing the health issues that this child ultimately succumbed to.
The photos of the household where this poor unfortunate child died looks like very little, if any, attempts were made to clean up the mould.
Whilst i accept that the construction and maintenance of the house may not have been up to scratch, a simple cleaning routine surely would have reduced the amount of mould spores in the home that were causing the health issues that this child ultimately succumbed to.
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I love my dehumidifier.
Clothes washed and spun at 700rpm (can't go higher due to floor.)
Put clothes on screens in the kitchen.
Set dehumidifier to run for 7-9 hrs (overnight) time dependent on what's been washed.
When I go into my kitchen next morning, clothes are usually 80%+ dried. Even towels.
Similar to my regime in winter, but I add a fan - the fan moves the air, making the whole process more efficient, plus allows more clothes to be dried at the same time - logical really, clothes hung up out doors dry much more quickly if there is a breeze. The fan adds little to the cost of running the dehumidifier.
My utility is no cavity, double brick, so is fairly cold. If the dehumidifier is not turned on, then I can guarantee moisture collecting on the internal plastered walls of the room.
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