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Original poster

What can I do? Everything in my home going mouldy

249 replies

AngeloMysterioso · 13/09/2021 18:55

I live in a 2 bed flat on the ground floor of an Edwardian house. We’ve had problems with condensation for a while- we only have single glazed windows (double glazing going in this week after a 6 month wait) and we don’t have a tumble drier so until now, unless the weather has been nice enough to hang laundry outside we’ve had to dry it indoors.

We first noticed a problem when I realised that some of my shoes and boots which are kept on shoe shelves in the bottom of my wardrobe were going mouldy. Then it was the clothes which I keep in the drawers under my bed. I’m 6 months pregnant and DH and I have just checked the pram bassinet which was in its travel case under the changing table in DS’s room- mouldy. A cooler bag in the cupboard under the stairs- mouldy. Clothes of mine in a drawer in another wardrobe- mouldy. Stuff I’ve already washed once when it got mouldy has gone mouldy again.

I’m at my wits end. My shoes all stink because I’ve had to spray them with white vinegar. There’s piles of shoes and clean laundry everywhere because I’ve got the mould out of them but I’m too scared to put them away in case they go mouldy again (which they will, it’s already happened once). We’ve bought a bunch of those little disposable dehumidifiers that you put in drawers and on shelves which appear to have made no difference at all. I’ve bought a heated airer with a cover and plan to use that to dry clothes (with a small electric dehumidifier turned on underneath) but with things like the bassinet, I can’t put that in the washing machine so will have to find some other way of cleaning it.

What else can I do? We hoped that the new windows would help solve the problem but we spoke to our neighbour in the other downstairs flat the other day and it’s a big problem for her too, and she already has double glazing. I’m terrified that when I get out our next 2 me cot from under DS’s cir or the old baby clothes from his wardrobe that they’ll all be mouldy as well. Clothes can be washed, but how do I deal with the things that can’t? We can’t afford to replace everything.

Help!!

OP posts:
Tangledtresses · 14/09/2021 10:01

Do you have fireplaces? Are the blocked up? Do they have air bricks or vents in them?

I lived in many old Victorian houses.... fireplaces really help with air circulation

Out side walls really should have french drains www.permagard.co.uk/advice/installing-a-french-drain

... this may be why you are getting slugs.

Check any gutters and drains outside if they are blocked or broken this will affect the amount of water splashing up into your walls. And can cause damp

NewYearNewTwatName · 14/09/2021 10:05

I'm not a big advocate for condenser dryers. after 10 years without, we got one, and luckily it was tucked away in a extended little add on bit to the house, it was horrendous for humanity that whole small room was almost dripping with water everytime we used it, emptying the water reservoir without spilling it everywhere was also tricky. we got a different make one later thinking it would be better...... it really wasn't.

So I would always recommend vented tumble dryer or a modern washer dryer if no room for stand alone tumble.

BarbInCarriage · 14/09/2021 10:11

We've got a condensor dryer and it's fine. You do have to clean out the big filter at the bottom of it - like a big box - every few weeks.

It's not as good as a vented one - but we can't vent ours so a condensor it is.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

2nd trimester General pregnancy
BarbInCarriage · 14/09/2021 10:11

And we are in an Edwardian house and no mould problems.

Tal45 · 14/09/2021 10:13

You need to stop drying clothes in the house as much as possible and have the windows open as much as possible - on vent at least all day and some all night also. Leave a gap between the wall and any furniture to allow air to circulate. Make sure there is nothing pressing up against outside walls and that there are no leaking gutters. I highly recommend HG mould spray for getting rid of mould on walls.

ZealAndArdour · 14/09/2021 10:14

@NewYearNewTwatName
@wedwewerpink

Survey came back absolutely sparkling, not a fault on it apart from needing a CO2 monitor installing.

The house didn’t have that damp, moist air feeling when we’ve been round, it was quite dry and warm inside so hopefully it’ll be fine. The vendor is a plasterer by trade and he’s lived there 17 years so I doubt he’d have been able to tolerate damp or mould or mask any of that when it’s entirely within his skill set to rectify it all.

It was just all those people up thread saying “oh, I had this problem with my Edwardian place”.

Calmdown14 · 14/09/2021 10:18

Buy a dehumidifier. I had one from Argos for about £80 and it took litres out of the air.
You could also buy a cheap window vac.
Make sure your cupboards are open a fraction.
Lack of circulating air is usually the problem and north facing walls. You need to allow air to move behind your furniture.
The small dehumidifier pots are good for corners of cupboards. Can pick them up in pound shop.
It is essential you open your windows

NewYearNewTwatName · 14/09/2021 10:18

BarbInCarriage
yeah I cleaned the filter regularly and had the window open in there too, (impossible to put dryer near window with a vent pipe) we must have just got unlucky with the 2 we had. we also wouldn't have been able to afford to run dehumidifier next to it either.

As I said in hindsight I'd have bought a good washer dryer instead.

CrotchetyQuaver · 14/09/2021 10:23

You need a proper decent electric dehumidifier and I would also consider getting a professional round to see what's going on. Are you owners or renters, do you all own a share of the freehold or is there a landlord. Something isn't right clearly.

GivenUpEntirely · 14/09/2021 10:37

Your dehumidifier is too small for the job you need it to do. It's probably removing the clothes being dried as a contributing issue but isn't touching the rest of the moisture.

We have two 14 litre dehumidifiers that rotate around different rooms in the home and from the autumn onwards are on permanently. The one next to the cupboard under the stairs is filling up within 5 hours at the moment. That's a scary amount of moisture that would just be sitting on the walls waiting to cause problems.

They really are a game changer, and in the winter they help with keeping areas slightly warmer (because the central heating is only trying to warm dry air).

mylovelydd · 14/09/2021 11:00

Freezing items kills the mould on them.
We had this in the last house and I ended up really ill from the mould and damp.
2 big dehumidifiers from Amazon, those sachets and tubs that have the crystals and opening windows and ventilating help. As well as drying it out with the heating on now and then.

PigletJohn · 14/09/2021 11:40

@GivenUpEntirely "The one next to the cupboard under the stairs is filling up within 5 hours at the moment. "

look for a leak.

Babamamananarama · 14/09/2021 12:05

OP you are focusing on the effects of the damp - things that have already been wrecked - and refusing to take on board all the good advice you've had about tackling the causes.

Unless you spend some £ tackling the causes, you are gonna end up with more stuff going mouldy and being ruined.

  • get an electrician round to rewire/reinstall your extractor fan
  • get a decent size dehumidifier
  • get a tumble dryer - you don't need an external wall with all tumble dryers, only vented ones. You might find a cheap condenser dryer on FB marketplace.
  • open windows and crank your heating up for a bit to dry out the existing damp.
  • look into air bricks.
Babamamananarama · 14/09/2021 12:12

OP am I right in thinking that you've got a wardrobe in front of the radiator in your bedroom?
That's probably not going to be helping matters.

Do a big declutter of stuff under the stairs and fit tumble dryer in there. You'll still be able to pile stuff on top of it.

Runrigdan · 14/09/2021 13:03

Might be worth checking on local for sale pages to see if you can get a second hand washer dryer.

We really struggled when our second child was born as there was just damp washing everywhere all the time, we just couldn't dry it fast enough and it made things so much worse.

Like you I had always thought they were too rubbish to be worth it, but it has made an absolutely massive difference. If the alternative is no tumble dryer at all I would 100% recommend it.

GrinchAnInch · 14/09/2021 13:05

I had a massive problem with condensation and mould for years. I had to vac my windows every morning and the bottle would be full after each one, all my walls and ceilings would go mouldy, then two years ago I bought a nuaire dry master and I have had no condensation since. Google it and read the reviews I know they aren't cheap but it has been so worth it.

wetfloor · 14/09/2021 13:10

I lived in a new build and had this problem. My daughter constantly had a bad chest as a result of it. Just before we moved someone came to inspect it and told us the solution was to move. That it would always be bad. We did get humidifiers though. Could you move?

Elizabethr54 · 14/09/2021 14:25

Thanks Nosquirrels. I realised I'd put it under the wrong place. I have done new thread now and already had good advice.

GivenUpEntirely · 14/09/2021 16:19

[quote PigletJohn]@GivenUpEntirely "The one next to the cupboard under the stairs is filling up within 5 hours at the moment. "

look for a leak.[/quote]
Thank you, there's no leak but the stairs are external ones (we're in a downstairs flat) and there's no venting in that space at all. It should be an outdoor space like the other ground floor flats but our front door has been extended out to meet the bottom of the stairs. We've not been here long so blitzing that area as a priority before the cold weather makes it worse. We're long term renters so have learnt the hard way how to make poorly ventilated homes damp free zones.

Original poster
AngeloMysterioso · 14/09/2021 16:37

Well the window company have just confirmed the new windows do not have vents

OP posts:
Guacamole001 · 14/09/2021 16:49

Keep the trickle vents open for every window with the new double glazing.

Upgrade bathroom fan if problem still persists.

Guacamole001 · 14/09/2021 16:49

Oh sorry op just read that. Please insist they sort or cancel the order.

icedcoffees · 14/09/2021 17:15

@AngeloMysterioso

Well the window company have just confirmed the new windows do not have vents
You need to change them to ones that do or you'll just make the situation even worse.
Original poster
AngeloMysterioso · 14/09/2021 17:19

Are they a difficult thing to install? The new windows have already been made bespoke so we can’t just change them, I take it it’s not as simple as just cutting a hole in the frame…

OP posts:
BlackKittyKat · 14/09/2021 17:44

Hi, I can't figure out to DM you on my phone. I only ever use Mumsnet on my phone.
Is the bassinet you have one attached to a pram or a cot bassinet?
I have an icandy pram bassinet that I was going to send to a charity shop that I could post to you. DM me if interested (free of charge). You sound stressed by this and I'd only be too happy to help by sending it.