Humidity and dampness and musky smell, oh my god, this is awful

[Fragggggie]

I live at home with my parents. It's an older house with no insulation in the loft. It gets cold and it's damp.

I think my mother contributes to the dampness big time. She likes to hang wet clothes on radiators and I asked her many times not to be doing that but she's stubborn and she won't listen. I bought dehumidifiers but she refuses to have them plugged in because she views them as the same thing as heaters on the electricity. She's paranoid of electricity bills even though I help towards the bills too. She is also an OAP and gets an electricity benefit to pay % towards the bills. So there's no need to be nervous of bills.

Anyways I started off topic big time there.

Yesterday morning, I didn't see an issue when I first got up. But as the morning went on, I noticed there was a lot of condensation in the bathroom.

It was a wet and very drizzling morning and day yesterday. I read somewhere before thatfor ventilation of the a house 10 minutes twice a day should be enough. I also read that leaving windows open in the rain, it can lead to higher humidity within a home.

If the bathroom had condensation it was likely happening in other rooms too. I asked my mother to to ventilate the place for a short while and then shut the windows but she was very agruementative and defiant on it and she refused. She did the opposite of what I asked her to do. She left windows open all day yesterday.

Anyways it's Christmas eve and I have a fire on and I am sitting in the sitting room watching some movies and having some drinks.

I smell a terrible smell of musky and dampness. This is only really a new-ish smell. It actually smells of a swimming pool. That kinda of a dampness. That's what it reminds me of the most. Without the chlorine.

Today is still drizzling heavy and today she left the windows closed like I asked her and she saw in the bathroom that there was less condensation on the walls. A lot less. Yesterday and all the tiles were so wet.

There's just such a horrible smell. How can I get rid of this smell. It's awful. It's not very strong but it is there.

Is it wet clothes/towels/bath mat? Is everything dry in the house? Could it be damp coats?

I have a Lakeland DrySoon heated airer for clothes drying. It works very well and keeps the room warm too.
Check they are not overfilling the washing machine as that can lead to smells.

It is hard to know what to do since your parents might disagree to the measures you want to implement. Is it wiser for you to try to manage the ambiance in your own room and spend your free time there?

Have you had a look behind the furniture to make sure it hasn't gone mouldy? We've had bad condensation this year and one chest of drawers got green, dusty mould on it - had to clean it with bleach multiple times and buy (and run...) a dehumidifier in conjunction with the heating to stop it happening again. It's got quite a distinctive smell - slightly sweet and musty. I thought one of my kids had left an apple to go mouldy somewhere but no such luck

Perhaps someone else can advise but doesn’t vinegar kill mould? I’m sure I heard that somewhere.

Well I think some people might come along and suggest you move out, is that an option for you?
A lot of elderly parents are a bit difficult and set in their ways, I doubt you can change them.

Buy them a dehumidifier, and and air purifier to filter out the mould. it's not healthy living like that!

There's no laundry drying today because we didn't do a wash. Condensation was so bad yesterday and I really think it was from opening the windows and leaving them open all day. I could be wrong but that's what it looked like.

The window in the bathroom stayed closed today and little condensation today.

The smell in the sitting room, I only really just got it today. I never got it before now. I reckon maybe there was condensation in all of the rooms.

I was able to plug a dehumidifier in this evening in the sitting room and I think that has helped a lot. I had the heating on as well for a while. I don't know if there is a damp or mould spot. I will have to look at some stage. It's only a new smell I got today and I really think it came about from yesterday and all day rain.

I don't know what the protocols are for humidity and old houses. It kind makes sense to leave the windows closed while there's high humidity outside otherwise all that high humidity just comes indoors and run dehumidifiers but she won't she use a machine.

It's just so hard.

You are correct - I use a hygrometer inside and out. When humidity is significantly higher outside I don't open windows. When it drops I fling them open, particularly on bright cold days - colder air carries less moisture.

I also run a dry house as much as possible I use one dehumidifier per floor, including in the room where I hang washing. I dry outside as much as possible in summer.

I window vac the shower after every use. Put lids on pots, vented fireplaces etc. I am very conscious to leave ventilation gaps behind furniture and not put stuff/fitted cupboards against outside walls. I regularly air/dehumidify inside clothes cupboards.

My house is also old and not insulated but I find if I keep the humidity controlled it heats up very quickly when the heating goes on. I NEVER let the temp go below 17 C so dew point isn't breached. Damper air takes longer to heat, and uses more energy.

Difficult to know how to convey this to your parents though, I know mine are very set in their ways, but luckily I don't live with them!

The smell likely is mould, possibly behind furniture tight up against an outside wall.