Severe Damp throughout the property

[Froot]

I have a 2 bedroom flat and both bedrooms and stairway have really bad damp especially the room i share with my son as my ex partner has the 2nd room (seperated but living together) until i can get somewhere else. The inspector came round before christmas and said somebody would be round after christmas to put boards up however i heard that will not stop the damp coming through. My son is only 2 and has had chest problems in the past.

[wales01man]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

speak to environmental health at the council they will do a report to submit to the landlord its A HEALTH HAZARD

[Esio Trot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

speak to environmental health at the council they will do a report to submit to the landlord its A HEALTH HAZARD

Health Hazard? = True.

Landlord Responsibility? = Possibly.

While some houses/flats are prone to mould this is seldom, or more correctly rarely, due to 'damp' in the true sense of penetrating or rising damp.

Penetrating Damp normally only occurs in buildings with solid walls - where gutters leak, or pointing is defective. Where there are cavity walls, unless the cavity is bridged, then penetrating damp is a physical impossibility.

Rising Damp occurs at the bottom of buildings where it meets ground or an abutment and whatever damp membrane is there is defective. Damp 'rises' from the ground due to capilliary action, drawn a bit higher by space heating. Again, laws of physics mean that it is impossible to get rising damp more than 3' (a metre in new money) above ground.

Condensation is the usual culprit of mould, and while the building can be the problem it is often down to lifestyle. This is why Building Regulation for years have required mechanical ventilation to bathrooms and lavatories - not due to to extracting smells, but to get rid of moist air. Most people having a shower/bath will know that the mirror gets steamed up. This is because the mirror is colder than the air in the bathroom. Same in the house/flat - if moist air in the bathroom or kitchen (boiling spuds, rice etc) is allowed to leave that room, or clothes are dried on radiators, natural air circulation will move the moist air around the rooms and it will condensate on walls and windows as these are colder than air in the room. Condensation = wet walls = mould growth.

I let a flat for over 10 years. Within a month of a new tenant moving in the bedroom walls had mould all over them and she was complaining of 'damp' and 'danger to her children'. I called one evening as I was passing to have a look and found every radiator had clothes drying on them. This was despite a built-in tumble dryer being available. When questioned about this, she said she won't use the tumble dryer as it costs too much money especially as drying clothes on radiators was free. She wouldn't listen, got Env Health involved who agreed it was lifestyle. She still wouldn't change her ways so having had enough I gave her notice and got rid - cost me almost £2,000 to do a full redec to get rid of the mould.

Check your lifestyle before involving the council. If it is you rather then the building don't expect your relations with your landlord to be long term.

[jon1965]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

Rather than spending all that money you could have had a neat piece of kit fitted that does the job. Not all landlords are as short sighted as you appear to have been . My neighbour upstairs had serious black mould problems , the landlord tried to blame it on him drying clothes inside , using the shower etc but actually it is still the landlords responsibility to make sure the flat is safe.
One problem is double glazing. Because that cuts out drafts etc it also removes airflow from the flat.

I'm glad you ain't my Landlord

[Froot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I do have a tumble dryer but i always open the windows when it is on i don't know if that makes a difference? I don't have central heating so use oil filled electric radiators. The windows always have bad condensation even before i had the tumble.

[Esio Trot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

Rather than spending all that money you could have had a neat piece of kit fitted that does the job. Not all landlords are as short sighted as you appear to have been . My neighbour upstairs had serious black mould problems , the landlord tried to blame it on him drying clothes inside , using the shower etc but actually it is still the landlords responsibility to make sure the flat is safe.
One problem is double glazing. Because that cuts out drafts etc it also removes airflow from the flat.

I'm glad you ain't my Landlord

Glad you're not my tenant either - you know nothing about this property to make assumptions.

Even though it was built before the regulations for ventilation were tightened, automatic ventilation to the bathroom was retrofitted - including a humidistat fan so that it would only run when necessary, not the required 20 mins for a non-automatic one that operates when the bathroom is only used for a pee or brushing teeth.

It seems you missed the bit about the tenant involving Environmental Health and them siding with me, not her - I could do no more as she was circumventing what was provided.

I bend over backwards for my tenants, and they appreciate this. I keep properties at top notch - it's the only way to protect my investment in the properties themselves.

Shame there is not an anti-thank button on this site, as for your comment I would have certainly used it.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I let a flat for over 10 years. Within a month of a new tenant moving in the bedroom walls had mould all over them and she was complaining of 'damp' and 'danger to her children'. I called one evening as I was passing to have a look and found every radiator had clothes drying on them. This was despite a built-in tumble dryer being available. When questioned about this, she said she won't use the tumble dryer as it costs too much money especially as drying clothes on radiators was free.

I often dry clothes on radiators, and I've never had mould on my walls! I've lived in the same place since 2007, I can't see how there would have been mould after just one month just for that reason. :noidea:

Drying clothes on radiators isn't necessarily free either, as you still pay for the fuel to heat them up and it's not just about money, I have a tumble drier but don't tumble-dry most of my clothes because it can ruin a lot of them, tends to leave them with creases that are impossible to iron out. I only use it for certain items but not for the bulk of my clothes.

Check your lifestyle before involving the council. If it is you rather then the building don't expect your relations with your landlord to be long term.

I would say, check your facts before blaming people's lifestyles.

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I do have a tumble dryer but i always open the windows when it is on i don't know if that makes a difference? I don't have central heating so use oil filled electric radiators. The windows always have bad condensation even before i had the tumble.

I don't think he was blaming the dryer, all the opposite in fact, he was blaming the tenant for not using the dryer instead of the radiators. As per my post above, I do get condensation on the windows in the winter but not mould on the walls. Sometimes a bit of black starts to form in the window area, which is easily removed with Mould and Mildew remover.

Is your flat on the ground floor or top floor?

[Amethyst]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I used to have a similar problem with mould and wet walls and condensation on the windows. It was constantly blamed on me, breathing, not having heating on enough, having doors windows shut to keep cold out and basically the lifestyle argument. Behind pictures and furniture went black and there was literally water streaming down the walls. The house was a Victorian end terrace.


I moved to a 1950's semi detached council house.

I have exactly the same lifestyle now, maybe having heating on a bit more in winter, but have not a single problem with condensation or mould. The double glazing is better and windows have vents on, the loft and walls are insulated better, theres a fan in bathroom and kitchen. There are a couple of wall vents too ... though I do have a pillow over front of it when its really cold as its bit of a gale force wind comes through sometimes.

So I am very dubious about the lifestyle argument, contributing factor definitely, but solveable by a landlord.

The house I left I still pop to now and then and a lot of work has been done on it now because even after it was empty a while it still suffered with the damp. So ha it wasn't me lol.

It is tough when having especially kids in a damp house, my three shared a room and it was the worst for damp, and they did suffer health wise with coughs etc, so I moved them to the smaller room which was away from the gable end of the house and it was a lot better

[Esio Trot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I do have a tumble dryer but i always open the windows when it is on i don't know if that makes a difference? I don't have central heating so use oil filled electric radiators. The windows always have bad condensation even before i had the tumble.

With the drier and oil radiators it sounds like you have a property that is prone to condensation then. It can be a difficult problem to solve.

Have you tried keeping the kitchen (I presume your tumble drier is in there) and bathroom doors closed at all times?

I would also guess that your drier is not one of the condensing models - these ones have a washing machine connection rather than a 4' pipe. Try to think of ways to keep ANY moist air from getting out of the room that causes it.

Even if the walls are painted with special anti mould paint, it will occur again unless you can stop the moist air reaching the walls.

[Froot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

My flat is ground floor. I'll take some pictures and attach them it was bad in my bedroom but i couldn't stand the site of the disgusting mould so i scrubbed and painted over it. It doesn't stop it coming through but looks better and have to paint it every week. The walls near my front door are really bad theres streaks of water marks and black mould high up. I have a condensor dryer too which is meant to be good?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I haven't had the mould problem in any of the last 4 or 5 properties I've lived in over the past 16 years. Lifestyle has been much the same: tumble dryer + radiators used for clothes I don't tumble-dry.

A bit of mould tries to form on the walls in the hall if I don't open the little window and shut the living room door to shut out the cold air in the winter, but it builds up very slowly and it's easily cleaned off.

That's very different from proper damp on the walls.

[Esio Trot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

I often dry clothes on radiators, and I've never had mould on my walls! I've lived in the same place since 2007, I can't see how there would have been mould after just one month just for that reason

Because the number of air changes an hour are quite low due to improvements like good quality windows and doors that eliminate drafts. She even taped up the trickle vents in the windows.

I used to have a similar problem with mould and wet walls and condensation on the windows. It was constantly blamed on me, breathing, not having heating on enough, having doors windows shut to keep cold out and basically the lifestyle argument. Behind pictures and furniture went black and there was literally water streaming down the walls. The house was a Victorian end terrace.

Definitely a moist air problem, rather than damp.

What I am saying is that the CAUSE of the moist air needs to be tackled. It may well be that remedial work is needed to the OP's property (and from the subequent post, I am guessing that this might be necessary). I bet your property above, and probably this one did not have either a kitchen or bathroom extractor, and maybe had had double glazing installed with no trickle vents.

I would say, check your facts before blaming people's lifestyles.

Please re-read my post. There was no blame - just suggesting caution before involving the council. Some landlords are renowned for using s21 notice procedures in retaliation if they think a tenant has gone to the council without good reason (and some bad ones even if they have had a good reason!).

[jon1965]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property

Nuaire is the name of the company that make equipement that cures condensation issues. I have seen it in action and had a surveyor recommend them as well. The most expensive one is about £700 fitted but does need a loft space. They work on the principle of positive air pressure.

I think the comments made suggest that it is not the lifestyle argument. Of course to stop steam you could just bung ready meals in the microwave instead of the healthier option of cooking or steaming veg etc

[Froot]

Re: Severe Damp throughout the property