Mould issues

[DonDonson]

Need advice, was called out to look at at house today with light mould on the walls, beside the bed, around the windows etc, the bed was up against the wall with loads of boxes underneath so I'm guessing there's no air there at all,they have a fridge freezer in the living room!! And there is mould growing behind that too, I'm guessing again that this is due to the heat of the f/f and no air circulation!!
They do apparently keep the trickle vent on the window open..
The property is a 1 bed 1st floor flat with a property above and one to the side.
Any other ideas or info would be appreciated as all I can think of to suggest is to put in some air bricks.

 

[crank39]

Well its clearly condensation but before you start knocking holes in walls you need to ask the occupier a few questions...

1- Do they dry clothes indoors on radiators or clothes horses
2- Do they open windows when cooking or use an extractor hood
3- Do they open the bathroom window or use an extractor fan when bathing/showering along with keeping the door shut
4- Do they shut all the doors to the affected rooms, trickle vents need a through draught to work
5- Washer/dryer - if they have one is it vented or a condensing type, vented is the way to go

There is no quick fix here, trickle vents on their own won't solve the issue nor will air bricks and certainly not if the occupier does any of the above. Have a quick read of this, maybe print it off and give it them to see if they can help themselves first

http://www.ggf.org.uk/publication/condensation_some_causes_some_advice

If they admit to any of the above especially drying clothes indoors and are unwilling to change then walk away as whatever you do will not work and your committed by that time.

Be sure to kill the mold spores too, read this...

http://www.wikihow.com/Kill-Black-Mold

 

[LastMagicBean]

No offense to Crank39, But has anyone else found the wikihow link a bit over the top.


F*ck me, by the time you've bought the masks, spray bottles, gloves, bleach, cleaning fluid, protective clothing etc, etc..... The spores would have killed you many moons ago.

Funniest link I've ever read.

 

[tony1851]

1- Do they dry clothes indoors on radiators or clothes horses
2- Do they open windows when cooking or use an extractor hood
3- Do they open the bathroom window or use an extractor fan when bathing/showering along with keeping the door shut
4- Do they shut all the doors to the affected rooms, trickle vents need a through draught to work
5- Washer/dryer - if they have one is it vented or a condensing type, vented is the way to go

Good advice but, as well as all that, is the room(s) heated properly?
Preventing condensation is as much about adequate heating as well as ventilation.

 

[crank39]

No offense to Crank39, But has anyone else found the wikihow link a bit over the top.


F*ck me, by the time you've bought the masks, spray bottles, gloves, bleach, cleaning fluid, protective clothing etc, etc..... The spores would have killed you many moons ago.

Funniest link I've ever read.

I know but it looked good!

 

[tony1851]

No offense to Crank39, But has anyone else found the wikihow link a bit over the top.


F*ck me, by the time you've bought the masks, spray bottles, gloves, bleach, cleaning fluid, protective clothing etc, etc..... The spores would have killed you many moons ago.

Funniest link I've ever read.

+1.

It reads like one of those 'what-to-do-after-a nuclear-war' public information booklets.

 

[JohnD]

//www.diynot.com/wiki/Building:Condensation-in-Houses

 

[EFLImpudence]

Another one to add to crank39's list which I found in one flat:


Is bath left full of water?

No, I don't know; I didn't bother to ask.



Plus, of course, are there lots of plants?

 

[Erica123]

These people need advice from someone who's specialised in dealing with damp/mould problems. In particular there needs to be money to address these problems once they've been diagnosed.

 

[DonDonson]

These people need advice from someone who's specialised in dealing with damp/mould problems. In particular there needs to be money to address these problems once they've been diagnosed.

To be honest I find replies like this really useless! It's like posting for "advice" on a motoring forum only to be told that you should seek advice from a mechanic!!
I've asked a general question in a general question section in a diy forum for general advice!! And what I have recieved from contributors has been very helpful.
Please don't take this personally but I often see replays like this on forums.
" I've got a problem with my tap dripping any advice? You need a plumber!!"

 

[foxhole]

The fridge heat is not a problem , it's the moisture it removes from inside the fridge and throw out the back which is a problem.

 

[Erica123]

I guess if you've been called out to look at a house, the people who called you out must have assumed that you have some specialist knowledge of damp/mould problems. You're not acting as a clueless homeowner asking for advice.

The replies given in this thread are indeed useful but - do you really think you now have a thorough understanding of the damp problem that exists in this flat?

Or would it not be better to have someone look at it who is knowledgeable and experienced and who can find out where the problem lies?

 

[DonDonson]

I guess if you've been called out to look at a house, the people who called you out must have assumed that you have some specialist knowledge of damp/mould problems. You're not acting as a clueless homeowner asking for advice.

The replies given in this thread are indeed useful but - do you really think you now have a thorough understanding of the damp problem that exists in this flat?

Or would it not be better to have someone look at it who is knowledgeable and experienced and who can find out where the problem lies?

Again same old crap of giving pointless comments!!
I'm a general builder that's been renovating houses for years and a friend who rents a house asked me to have a look at some mould that his tenants have mentioned to them to see what I thought , so I took a look, as a friend not a specialist! I've seen various issues like this before even at my own house and funny enough noticed that our window above towels drying on a radiator had condensation on this morning as a previous poster made a comment about, so very helpfull information and with this information we can now decide what to do, wether we think we know the answer or need to get an "experienced" person in its good to have an understanding yourself of a problem. ( I love learning )
So this forum is a great source of information to decide what to do, if we all new the answers and were specialist there would be no need for a forum of any type!!
Thanks to all that have gave there opinions, knowledge, etc it's been very helpfull.

 

[Burnerman]

The first thing I'd do is to get a dehumidifier.....if the occupants are drying clothes or bathing / cooking without extraction you aint going to get anywhere.
If the problem is as bad as you say, there's got to be some self help here.
John

 

[EFLImpudence]

As well as the aggravating factors above,
unless there are actually any leaks,

I'm afraid the problem is the people.

The condensation - it's not what is generally thought of as 'damp' - is caused by the people.

If they do not wipe up any condensation, which has formed overnight, and remove it from the premises - not leave the wet cloth on the draining board - it will just increase every night until the mould forms, especially or firstly behind furniture.

It's a bit like dust, if you don't remove it, it just increases.
That's just how the world works.

I look after some flats and depending on the tenants the same flat can be either a mould-ridden health hazard or a spotless, trouble-free little palace.


Getting rid of the mould is easy - getting some people to do anything other than complain about it is another matter.

If it's a relatively nice day OPEN THE WINDOWS - no chance.


There are leaflets to be downloaded but they won't read them.