to ask you WTF this is on my bedroom wall?

[NoIAmSpartacus]

I've just discovered this on my bedroom wall and above the window... what is it?

There's no damp in the house, I ventilate rooms regularly and am very clean, I clean the house regularly but have never noticed this before.

What is it?

what's above your bedroom? Leak coming from the loft?

Looks more like condensation spots from cooking...is your kitchen near your bedroom?

First thought is that it looks like water damage. Do you burn a candle under/near that area?

@RiverTam there is a loft above the bedroom but I've never been in there, I better check it out

@OnlyFoolsnMothers other side of the house and downstairs, there were similar marks above the cooker when we moved in which wiped away easily but this has only just appeared

@Aquamarine1029 no candles, I have one lit on my bedside table on the other side of the room every now and then.

It's running across the top of three windows and the wall in between

Water damage - the colour would suggest rusty / dirty water. Have you got a water tank I the loft?

Picture 1 looks like there's a cold spot on the ceiling which attracts water, either in the room or in the loft.
Picture 2 looks like drops of condensation.

I'd get a damp trap for that room.

you've never been in your loft??? Well, get yourself up there pronto!!

@userschmoozer I'll order one now, thanks.

I might sound daft but is it better to air the room more ( I usually always one window slightly open ) or to stop having the window open and turn up the heating in here?

@RiverTam I've not lived here long and don't have a ladder, looks like it's a trip to B&Q this weekend

It's condensation. The fact that it is brown, is purely because the walls are dirty. Not that you are dirty, but just dust and crap that builds up on the walls. I am assuming these are all outside walls. Perhaps you have been drying washing inside too. Just needs more heat on in the rooms affected and more ventilation.

oh, fair enough. But I would say that almost certainly you have a leak up there - could be your roof. Airing your room won't make a jot of difference.

As above condensation, wilkos do little bags to catch it, alternatively stopping breathing will help reduce it.

A damp trap will help with picture 2, but picture 1 is happening in the loft. We had a similar problem caused by condensation collecting on the cold water pipes which then dripped on to the plasterboard.

We had this, the roofwas leaking and needed a new liner putting in.

Google says it’s condensation drawing out old nicotine stains through the paint.

If you do a search for yellow drips on walls you’ll see it’s quite common, only seems to happen on painted surfaces.

Condensation moisture. We have it in our bedroom!
Hot breath, dogs, and a closed window cause it in our house! If we open the window it stops. (Very old and cold single glazed house!)

@NoIAmSpartacus ...@pigletjohn is the fount of all knowledge where maintenance of property is concerned. He will come up with an answer for you, I'm sure.

condensation as other's have said

How long have you been there? Did the previous people smoke? It looks like dirty walls and condensation to me. I'd wash the walls and see if it comes back.

If you are washing the walls, use sugar soap. Available from Ironmongers, DIY stores, Wilko etc and inexpensive. The instructions are on the packet.

I had a problem like this, went to a 'damp store' who tested the walls and found no damp. They advised anti-condensation paint, which solved the problem.

it looks to me like the water is running down from the top of the wall. I don't see a particular area of wet like a leaky pipe would give. It might be that the ceiling is not well insulated and the tops of the walls are particularly cold. Are there signs of condensation on the ceiling, or just on the walls?

Have a good look in the loft with a powerful torch, and take photos. Look at the roof timbers and the undertile felt (if any) for condensation.

See if there are any watertanks, and if they are warm and/or not fitted with plastic lids

Does your bathroom extractor blow into the loft?

do your ceilings have holes in them for downlighters to poke through?

There does seem to be quite a lot.

Are you guilty of any of the following crimes:

• throwing buckets of water around your house
• drying wet washing on radiators or airers
• using a bathroom or shower without an effective extractor fan
• persistent breathing

Apparently - according to the surveyor who looked at my house recently - this is where there is a cold spot, caused by gaps in the area where loft insulation isn't pushed right up to the edges of the loft. I have it in my house and the only way to rectify it is to push more insulation in, wipe the ceiling, paint with anti mould paint then re- emulsion.

We have it in our bathroom. I assumed that it's condensation and the reddy colour is due to pigmentations in the paint. Our paint is dark green though. Ours is also beneath our loft, directly under our hot tanks. It is the coldest, dampest room of our house so I've just accepted it. Does your paint have a sheen to it? Ours is worse on our ceiling where it's painted in bathroom paint, which is a satin finish.