Is mould a landlords problem or the tenant?

[Mealsonabudget]

Recently moved into a ground floor flat and although we have yet to turn the heating on, it’s still quite warm inside (around 21 degrees). Every morning the windows and window sills are absolutely dripping with water. This has just been recently since the weather started to turn (wasn’t a problem in the summer!). It took me a moment to catch on so we had black mould on the window sills and doors in every room. I cleaned it all and now make a habit of going round wiping it up in the morning however have already noticed some black mould starting to appear on the wall above.

i air the house out everyday but when it rains the rain trickles in so this is a problem in itself! I’m also reluctant to have the windows and doors open when it’s really cold as we can’t afford the heating bills!

i know the answer is dehumidifiers but we just don’t have the money to buy them. We don’t hang laundry here because it takes a week to dry so I’ve been going to the laundromat Instead. Is there any other solution to this? I don’t want to pester our landlords as I’m guessing it’s our problem?? But what can I do?!

7 month old DD has had an awful chest infection which mysteriously coincided with me cleaning the mould so I am very very paranoid about it!

This is condensation and for you to deal with.

the house should be ‘air and water tight’ so I’d push this to the landlord.

^ referring to rain trickling in. That’s not condensation, that’s a leaky window.

Rain trickling in is a landlord problem.

Condensation from day to day living is a tenant issue and can usually be resolved by ventilation.

Are air vents / bricks installed and not blocked?

The rain trickles in? Surely there’s a problem with the property - what does your landlord say?

Are there extractor fans in the kitchen and bathroom? If so, make sure that you switch them on every time you cook and every time you use the bath or shower - and leave them running for at least 20 minutes afterwards, with the bathroom/kitchen windows open and doors closed.

If there are no extractors, then it would be reasonable for you to request that the landlord has some installed.

I know you said no to the cost of a dehumidifier but mini dehumidifiers aren’t too expensive in comparison, about £40. Sit it by the window in your sons room and see how much of a difference it makes. (It needs to be an electric run one, not a really tiny one with crystals.)

Do the windows have trickle vents?

It sounds like your ventilation isn't adequate. You really do need to open the windows regularly, even if just a little during the day. Are there trickle vents on all the window frames?

Condensation is made worse by things within your control, like drying laundry, long showers, and cooking without pan lids, but just breathing/existing will produce moisture. You might need to take it up with your landlord, assuming you are doing all the right things. But also resign yourself to wiping up the moisture every morning (you can get a window vac which makes this easier).

Rain actually dripping in is definitely a landlord issue.

Sorry, misread that you had a 7yo son!

@CointreauVersial i do! They’re open for most of the day and only really closed at night. I call them windows but they’re actually doors leading out to a ground floor balcony type thing. So two sets of doors in the living room, and one set in each bedroom. There’s no vent things on them. Will give the extraction fan thingy a try , although I do always use it whenever we shower/cook but never for twenty minutes after! And definitely plan to buy some dehumidifiers once we have some spare cash but at the moment we’re literally counting the pennies (as most are!)

The water coming in the window — do you mean if the window is open rain drips in or is the window frame leaking?
If the first, there’s not much you can do apart from a bowl or thick cloth to absorb the water.
if the second report to your landlord as it could case damp to spread.

Try small dehumidifier, not electric, they’re plastic tubs filled with something that draws the moisture about the wall. You’ll get a pack of 6 for under a tenner in places like B&M.

Do you open your windows at night? If not you should

We have a small window open in our bedroom at night. That helps I think. What floor is your flat on?

Draw moisture out the air, not wall

If you are taking reasonable measures (using extractor fans, airing house) then mould is definitely a landlord problem. It might be that there aren't any vent bricks/trickle vents on windows. In my old UK rented flat we ended up with black mould on our bedroom wall with damp coming from outside. We couldn't open windows during the day in the week because we both worked full time and were on the ground floor. The landlords came round, heard my hacking cough, and treated the wall and added trickle vents.

You might find that having the heating come on first thing helps dry the air.

Some places are just constructed badly. I lived for a while in a gorgeous flat in a converted Victoria schoolhouse - lovely vaulted ceilings and pretty windows, but oh, the condensation. It was literally pouring off the glass every morning, and I could barely keep the mould at bay. It just hadn't been converted with any ventilation in mind.

The landlord needs to fix the leaking window. But condensation is a tenant thing.

We lived in rented property flat and while in summer was ok ( it
looked lovely during summer) as soon as Autumn hit, a huge condensation appeared everywhere especially on the ceilings, windows etc.
The flat was single glazed with the sliding thin windows, which would not even shut properly, so when it rained it rained inside, no air vents as old windows.
One morning we woke up by water dripping on our heads, we couldn’t believe what we saw when looking up the ceiling.
A thousands of water drops like steam on the ceiling.
The ceiling got all soaked from this, we couldn’t even use the lights as too dangerous.
When we contacted the EA, they just said to open windows which we did every day for few hours but did not solve the problem as it was freezing outside.
The bathroom turned black from mould as the bedrooms too, my clothes in wardrobe were all damp and moldy.
I still remember my friend came in to pick up some paperwork and when I handed it to her she asked why it’s wet…it was wet as everything in the flat was badly damp …
The roof was flat and it was a top floor.
We got environmental people in and they said the flat is inhabitable and we had to move out asap. The last night we stayed there the temperature was 3 degrees Celsius ( with heating fully on, however the heating system was old and it didn’t really warm the place up at all)
This is where my chronic fungal lungs disease started, sadl it’s now forever and my lungs are damaged for ever and I have to take medication forever cos of this.

How much do electric dehumidifiers cost to run for an hour?

It would depend on the individual wattage of the dehumidifier I think. This article says:

An example dehumidifier that can extract up to 20 litres a day, with a wattage of 480w would use 0.48 kWh, meaning that an hour’s usage would cost just under 16p.

In comparison, an example dehumidifier that can extract up to 12 litres a day, with a wattage of 157w (0.157 kWh) would cost just over 5p an hour.

www.idealhome.co.uk/property-advice/how-much-does-it-cost-to-run-a-dehumidifier-298272

I'm the same situation OP.
Just moved house. No window vents, bedroom windows on the catch 24/7 and open during the day if I'm at home.
I can't really have the windows open overnight, although the kids are teens.

My asthma over the last 2 weeks has been horrendous, I'm really hoping it's not connected