Mould/mildew- can't see any now, but can't get rid of smell.

[peteuk]

Thought I'd do an update on the dehumidifier action:
Set away last Saturday and it initially produced water at a rate of 0.2 litres per hour. It's now (after 1 week's continuous operation) at 0.05litres per hour - a 75% reduction to ~1.2 litres per day. The window and door have been shut except for access.
To get the stats I measured the volume of water collected and elapsed time since last emptying.
I've now opened the room to the rest of the house (all windows closed) and set it away again to see how much is our normal usage.
I expect a spike and then a reduction to a higher level than 0.05litres per hour. We shall see.

No noise when turning off the mains supply into the house, but haven't successully checked meter readings overnight yet. Someone uses the water.....grrr!

We are hoping the damp is due to the mains leak before we bought the house. We plan to replace the fitted wardrobe with a freestanding one and change the carpet which will mean changing the other furniture......a/c to my other half.
Does anyone have any idea how long the room may take to dry out. i.e. how long will we have to keep repeating the dehumidifier use for a while? It might be cheaper for me to buy one.

Thanks again,
Pete

 

[peteuk]

The latest plan is to:
- Empty the bedroom.
- Run humidifier for 2 to 3 weeks
- Remove the fitted wardrobe (and everything else in the room to pacify my wife)
- Replaster, decorate and refurnish.

In addition, our builder proposes to drill a core in the floor to see if he can spot signs of damp in the concrete. He then says he can fill the hole with 'waterproof' material so that when he breaches the damp proof course it won't have a bad effect.

I have 2 questions;
- Does the process seem reasonable?
- Previously I hired an 'industrial' dehumidifier at a good price (£30 pw) Is there a domestic model that it's worth me buying instead of hiring?

Thank you,
Pete