think my house as more problems than just damp

[saladsandwich]

i moved into my house in august time last year, it was all painted through out and looked lovely brand new everything in it within a month i had mould and black spots in my bedroom on the wall, i came to put my little boy in his cot and saw some green bits of mould along the edge, moved it out it was covered, it was no where near the mould on the wall, i moved him into his own bed that night and i had the spare room.

ever since been having problems you can now smell it through out the house only parts that dont have it is my little boys room and the room i moved into, the landlord as done a damp course round the outside wall of the house but it is just getting worse, underneath my kitchen table is going mouldy now and i am bleaching it and drying it off so i dont know why im getting it thats why im thinking its more than damp?

only suggestion the local council have had is to ring environmental health but i'm worried about being evicted it's a nightmare

It sounds like poor ventilation causing condensation and mould rather than rising damp. If this is the case a damp course won't do anything.

Buy some mildew/fungal/mould killer (b+q will have it) and try that. had similar problem in a house i rented at uni abd that sorted it. if it carries on you should get it looked at though as some mould can be toxic- id be worried about the affect on your and dcs health if it was long term. And i agree with nancy re ventilation

Do you have windows open in the bathroom/ kitchen for ventilation?
Are you drying clothes on radiators?
What heating do you have?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to see if there's a way of reducing condensation etc in the house.

As you're renting, your landlord should be buying the mould killer and treating it, not you. sorry, should have said that - their responsibility to have house habitable - my opinion as an ex landlord is that yours isn't until they treat the mould.

are you being unreasonable about what?

what are you asking?

so far this is everything i've tried - bleaching the walls, furniture ect, i have little humidifiers on my window sills to suck up water because my windows do tend to get condensation on them but my windows have been open all summer and i have got it throughout the summer, wet clothes very occasionally go on a radiator but the majority of the time they go to my dads to be dried. i have gas central heating in its brand new when i moved in.

i just don't know if aibu in thinking this is a bigger problem than just damp, i've lived in damp housing before but never had mould coming on my furniture

What are the gutters and down pipes like? When we had a bad mould problem it was caused by cracked down pipes.

If you get alot of condensation on your windows it is most probably a ventilation problem. Do you have airbricks and are they open? Do you have an extractor fan in the bathroom and in the kitchen?

It sounds like you're doing everything right, is the house detached, is it rendered?
Also do you know what form of damp course your LL did?

Mould can be a real problem. It's very hard to actually get rid of, because the spores can stay inactive and then reactivate at any time. Virtually anything can trigger them - fluctuations in moisture, light, temperature...it can also be exceptionally dangerous and your landlord should be looking into this very seriously. It carries quite a catalogue of health risks. I urge you to discus it with your local council's commercial environmental health department.

The walls need sealing so it doesn't come through, a tin cost £7.00. Then you paint over it and it doesn't come through again.

Have you told the landlord about the problem?

From what you've described, there would seem to be external water penetration occuring somewhere.

If your landlord does not resolve the problem within a reasonable period of time, or fobs you off with some crap about you failing to open windows, air the place etc, contact Environmental Health who can at least investigate the problem and establish its cause.

BTW, if the landlord seeks to evict you because you have the temerity to complain about the damp conditions in the property,you will have a case in law against him/her and should consult a solicitor, or a law centre if you're fortunate enough to have one in your area/borough.

thanks for the replies - the guttering is new, it's semi detached and the house i am ajoined to doesn't get damp and i dont get damp as bad at that side of the house. it is pebble dashed, they did a damp course where they injected the bottom bricks with something?

the landlord knows about it, everytime they come for the rent i show her and tell her, i'm looking for a new house, my dads offered to loan me the money for a deposit if i need it, it's getting me down now all the mould, i could live with dam but i'm getting mould on anything wooden in my house, even when it's in the middle of a room!

Injecting the bottom bricks is good for rising damp, but if thats not the problem it won't fix it.
I had a similar problem in a house i lived in years ago, coincidentally an end terrace with pebble dash on the Gable end, the rain was driving in through cracks in the pebble dash and getting behind it..presumably the pointing behind was shot (maybe thats why they'd pebble dashed )..

Whatever the reason, you've told the LL, and they don't seem to be investigating the problem... i'd move!- The mould sounds horrendous, and will be really bad for you and your DS to be breathing in daily. You'll end up with Chest infections and all sorts.

Good luck with finding something dry and cosy soon