AIBU re Estate agent and 'condensation'

[StudentMumArghh]

Morning all,

I had an inspection carried out the other day in the house I'm currently renting.
The EA noticed the damp/'condensation' on the bathroom ceiling, particularly in the corners. I pointed out that the specks of mould were there upon moving into the property and have been recorded on the inventory by an inspector.
EA agent said to me that I need to keep my bathroom window open at all times and to get some bleach and clean the ceiling.
I pointed out that keeping the bathroom window open all the time isn't an options a) it's too bloody cold b) it's a security issue. I also said I wouldn't be scrubbing any ceiling and if they want it cleaned they need to get someone else to do it as a) it was a problem that should have been dealt with prior to me moving in and b) at 5"2 there's no way I could reach the ceiling anyway!

WIBU?

Another thing I use to prevent condensation damage is drip strips along the bottom of window frames.

Dettol mould and mildew remover works wonders for me. Supermarket own brands don't seem to be powerful enough.
Keeping the window open at all times is a bit ott but as pps have said you need to take measures to prevent mould.

My mums house had tenants in it when she passed away. After they moved out, we moved in for a year.

When they were living there, there was mould all over the ensuite ceilings and inside a built in wardrobe as well as a wall downstairs. I cleaned it up with mould cleaner, it all came off (I'm short too - I used a step ladder, no big deal).

In the year we lived there, we didn't get one spot of mould in any of those places. All we did was keep the bathroom door open after a bath / shower and open windows when practical to do so. That was it. Clearly the tenants didn't even bother to do that. This is something you can manage yourself, and I find the idea of them getting someone in to clean it up is bonkers.

Isn't there a 'rule' that an extractor fan must be fitted in all bathrooms or is that just new builds?

Has it got worse since you moved in or do you think it was all caused by the previous tenants. If the former I think you have to take some responsibility for preventing it and cleaning it off the ceiling. If the latter then I'd expect the landlord to take care of it, so long as you are confident your way of living is not contributing to it at all.

If there was mould when you moved in then it is reasonable to ask the landlord to fork out for someone to clean it off, and ideally even repainting with mould resistant paint. However, you should agree to then take on responsibilityI for maintenance since that is a normal part of being a tenant, provided the landlord provides adequate ventilation eg a fan.

We rent and have major issues, not with mould (yet!) but with condensation and dampness. The bathroom has no window, the house is very old, and we have no garden or tumble dryer so no option but to dry laundry inside.

www.lakeland.co.uk/20284/HG-Mould-Remover-Spray-500ml
This is the best thing I've found by the way

Being told to leave your window open is ridiculous, it’s frosty here today
Frosty here too, but i leave my window open all night and shut in the day when i go to work, never considered not doing that?

Your EA is correct, my DM used to have to deal with complaints from HA tenants claiming the house was damp and mouldy and they were told the same. When they stomped their feet hard enough an inspector would go round to the house and say the same thing. it's 99% lifestyle.

I had a mould problem in my student house last year. They also told us to keep the windows open and not to dry clothes inside (we had no dryer and it was the middle of winter raining every day so we couldn’t dry outside.)

In the end the council came to do an inspection and found the letting company at fault and they were forced to make improvements.

Is there anything on the inventory to suggest it was mould free when you moved in? Have you emailed them about it before? A written trail showing that the problems weren't of your doing is helpful, though in the event of a deposit dispute the onus is on them to prove it was in a certain state before you got it.

That said, you're the one who has to live with this, so I'd consider investing in a dehumidifier and I'd open the windows a bit more. Even 5 or 10 minutes a day is worth doing.

I’ve found leaving the window on the catch - locked but tiny bit open solved my problem completely

Frosty morning here too but i opened the bathroom window for half an hour after a shower.

Closed the door so the rest of the house did not get cold.

Do you open the windows every day?
All upstairs and bathroom windows opened for half an hour a day should sort it.

I've got one of these for cleaning the ceiling, OP. it's brilliant, no step ladder needed.

5. Don't dry damp towels in bathroom

What do you do with your towels after use?

Redpony - you can’t do that if your bathroom is on the ground floor though.

And it would invalidate your insurance if you left a first floor window open and went out

Here you go OP, ideal for reaching ceilings.
www.wilko.com/mops-buckets/wilko-sponge-mop-with-handle-white/invt/0454159?nst=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpc3ckeqp1wIVxxXTCh0r4AhlEAQYASABEgId1_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

you don't seem to know how to tackle simple household jobs so here's a how-to.

1. Spray mould cleaner of choice, I'd use dilute bleach, onto sponge mop to damp it, you don't want it running down your arms or splashing your face. Practise with plain water first if you need to, but make sure the mouldy area is dry before you start.

2. Apply to the mouldy patch on the ceiling.

3. Wait 15-20 minutes. In that time rinse your mop with clean water and squeeze it dry.

4. Tie an old towel or grip a microfibre cloth to the mop head.

5. Gently scrub the mould away.

Hi op. Exact same situation here! Same convo with our EA and landlord. One of the EA said the la dlord should put an extractor fan in as we cant keep the window open 24/7. The other EA said we can keep it open and so did the landlord! The landlord told me to paint over it! I said yeah because that worked for you didnt it.... and we are still talking about it. Bleach wont get rid of it forever. You have to bleach it and buy some special paint

The LL really should have an appropriate fan installed the is powerful enough and runs for long enough after the light is turned off.

However, you do have to take some action e.g. shower with window wide open and leave fan/light on for as long as you can (like, all the time during the day).

Some people on another thread were saying these help
www.robertdyas.co.uk/unibond-aero-360-moisture-absorber-white-dehumidifier?istCompanyId=bf3344d9-83f5-4abd-b69a-da131f7567d1&istItemId=xliwppqap&istBid=tzxi&source=&gclid=Cj0KCQiArYDQBRDoARIsAMR8s_RVaRlcdD4iVa30W6F9IQESPXqgnKFI8pmaFIUUSDRNlLHNgc89F0kaAjKDEALw_wcB

I also second hg mould spray. Its very good. Cant get it in robert dyas too

YABVU.

You want all that damp mould in your lungs?
Do you have children?

I have horrendous condensation which causes mould. I have a Karcher window sucker thing which helps loads and then I wipe down the mould so we don’t all get ill.

It’s ridiculous to tell them they need to get someone in the wipe the mould off

When I moved in here, there were tea stains all over the side. Should I have asked someone to come in and clean all the tea stains off and all the tea stains I had created myself in the mean time?
No of course not because that would be ridiculous.

My dcs have rented quite a few places both when they were student and now that some of them are working. They have had mould problems in nearly all of them. Internal bathrooms with extractor fans that are just not powerful enough, bathrooms with windows but no extractor fan. This may be ok when there is a family sharing a three bedroomed house but when it has been changed to a HMO for five people sharing in London where all five want to shower before they go to work, it’s ridiculous. Yes, I agree you can leave the window open for a bit in a lot of cases but you can’t if they all shower then leave the house as they are leaving themselves open to burglary. I’m sorry to offend any landlords on here but in the experiences my family have had, it’s often greedy landlords wanting the most they can get out of a property without wanting to make the changes necessary to make that work. They just take it out of their deposits and still do nothing about it. In ds1’s current rental property, the last tenants obviously did open the window as there are water marks around the window. No doubt they had money taken out of their deposit for that but they were not painted over by the landlord, he will have pocketed that money.

Window does not need to be open all the time. Window does need to be opened for a while. Common sense.

If people didn't whine for absolutes and understood basic science there would be lot fewer problems.