To think more cold houses will mean more damp houses?

[NamelessNancy]

Lots of talk about delaying turning the heating on, dropping thermostats, heating people not the home. Whilst to a degree (no pun intended) that's all doable, if combined with things like drying washing indoors, won't it cause a lot more damp? Obviously I don't think we need to heat out houses so much we're wandering around in t shirts with snow on the ground outside but it's still going to be necessary to heat the buildings rather than just the inhabitants. I'm a bit worried that people are going to not only suffer with being uncomfortably cold this winter but it will mean more are exposed to damp, mouldy living conditions. No answers I'm afraid (would appreciate some if anyone else does?)

Big problem in Cornwall - even with positive input ventilation and dehumidifiers.

I spent best part of a decade in a flat that was so High up that a fall would mean instant death for my children.
it was so damp, mouldy and the bathroom didn't even have a window.

I used to have to towel down all of the windows and open the windows when we went out to air it out and it was really stressful. Council told us to just open the windows (not easy with small children. We managed but in the end (when we were getting close to moving out) I just left the windows closed and let it get more mouldy. selfish but I was upset with paying my rent (which was the same as my friends 3 bed house, also council)
We bad to throw out curtains away as they just got soaked through every day and moulded up. in the end no amount of washing was worth it. we went without curtains for years. luckily we were so high up nobody could see in anyway.

Now I live in a house with single glazing and we won't be able to affordrto replace the windows for years (and I'm worried about getting into debt to pay for new windows right now with interest rates going up and the cost of everything rising so rapidly so we will wait it out and save or just make do more likely)

They are fine in summer but even now the windows are all soaking wet, even if the windows are cracked open a bit they still steam up. I'm not talking about slight condensation, the whole windows are full of water. I need 3 towels to towel them all down and then I need to keep the windows open all day.
it's OK now its still mild but if it snows we will be buggered.
we won't have the heating on though, not unless its really cold. never have before. but obviously in a flat we were well jnsulated from above and below and the sides. Definitely feeling it more now.

yes,
and in fact we didnt heat our flat <<very much>> and it became horribly damp
there was only electric fan heaters, so i refused to turn them on.
we did admittedly use one of those portable gas heaters but still got horrible damp which needed sorting.

Nearly everything that's been built in I don't know how long has been built with the expectation it's going to be heated. So yes, long term, not heating properties in winter will impact the quality of the house, in the short term will impact the people within

Oh yes I forgot about washing. We only had a little clothes airer for all of our clothes. it was so damp, out wardrobe which was the opposite side of the room to our wet windows got mouldy.
We even had to throw our mattress away (bed that side of the room by the window) because it started going black! stuff under the bed was always cold and wet.

My dh suffered terrible nosebleeds due to damp and when he wasn't subjected to it anymore they stopped completely.

Damp and mould can lead to health issues in those who live with it.
So it's not just a financial issue.

that is the price we all must pay for the fossil fuel crisis

I have thought this too. I actually put the heating on the other day as we had a day where it poured with rain all day, so opening the windows for ventilation just made everything damp. The house felt much colder than it was due to the dampness in the air.

Everyone saying old houses weren't built for central heating...they were built for fireplaces (very drying heat) and draughty single glazed windows. People used to wake up with ice on the window in the morning - a grim way to live.

Yes it will. I live in a 1930’s house which used to have a major damp problem until we bought it and sorted it. Old person living in one room using the gas fire. No other rooms were heated.

We diy'd ours. Cost about £350 and it heats the air that it blows through too.

The failure to have invested in improving housing stock, renewables and possibly nuclear isn't the fault of those who will suffer through this. I'm not sure the price is going to be felt fairly tbh.

We have a Victorian terrace flat - the back bedroom is prone to damp. We've had it investigated but there's nothing to be done except regular ventilation and heating.

@Momo8 do you know how much electric the eating unit uses? I've been put off one of those as I assumed electric heating of the air would be expensive but would definitely consider one in our new house if it isn't.

I'm not a mould expert, but my sibling ended up with mould everywhere during extended rainy weather in a warmer climate, warmth alone won't stop it. Ventilation is important but doesn't work if humidity is higher outside.

I wonder if other countries have this issue or if it is our very wet winters?

Also wonder if better build specifications and heating systems in other countries help with this. Our Canadian friends have a heating system with hot air vents and some kind of climate control (HVAC?). Radiators heat the air, but do they heat the building as well as other systems?

Yes and it will add to rising numbers of children in A&E with bronchiolitis and other chest issues.

Its a huge issue in Cornwall pre energy crisis. So it'll be worse than ever in colder months.

The damp and mould can make you very unwell...

Those with COPD will really suffer with the heating off, mould spores and damp

Please don't bleach mould. You actually need to kill it rather than just make it invisible. Warming the house for 25 mins every morning and open the windows for 20 mins will be enough to help keep condensation from damaging your house x

Our old house (built 1970s) used to get just a few spots of mould in the built in wardrobe, but nowhere else.

We bumped into the new owners and they'd had terrible trouble with mould on the walls and condensation running down the walls in all the upstairs rooms.

They'd had the roof and walls checked and gutters cleared so it wasn't a damp issue, just built up condensation. They sorted it with a dehumidifier in the end.

We always had our bedroom window open permanently, and the windows in the bathrooms too unless there was snow outside. We heated the house for an hour in the morning and two hours evening rather than tick over at a lower temperature.

Our new house is triple glazed. Great for heating, poor for ventilation!
We won't be having the heating on as much now (for obvious reasons) so we will see what the winter brings. And maybe get a dehumidifier ourselves.

There was one year I had a dodgy boiler so the heating broke down often and I was struggling to afford oil for the heating system. The house got damp very quickly and it was awful. Furniture, bedding, clothing all got damp and smelled. Thankfully I now pay monthly installments for my oil so I can order more whenever I need it and my heating system has been replaced. I will have enough money for oil this winter but will have to be more careful with electric.

You'd change your mind if you lived in my old flat.

December 29th, thick fog/low cloud had been around for the best part of a week and I slept in a room where, despite the heating being on as hot as it would go and there being full ventilation (from the inch wide gap running underneath the window sill where a window had been replaced by the council), the thermometer said it was minus five in there and water was running down the wall because I was selfish enough to want to breathe.

The council's suggestion? Knocking another hole in the wall for a ventilation mushroom. You couldn't have got it much colder if the entire window had fallen out of its frame and it still wouldn't have made the slightest difference to the moisture in the air.

That was the most miserable winter I had ever experienced and since then, the suggestion that 'all' people need to do is open a window because it's better to be cold and it'll solve the mould issue instantly makes me wish they actually knew what the reality of living in inadequate housing is like.

I open the windows every morning for at least 15 minutes. My first job was in a care home where the manager insisted that one of us went round and opened all the windows every morning to air the place out. I'd never been taught this when I was growing up.

When I opened the windows this morning, the thermostat dropped down to 17.5 from 18, and was back up to 18 about 15 minutes after I closed them again.

I have a few friends who never put their thermostats on above 14 - 16oc, and they don't get mould.

• Open windows for at least 5 minutes every morning. Don't do it when the heating is on, otherwise it will work extra hard to try to heat the room up.

• In the bathroom, keep the door closed and leave the window open or extractor fan on for at least 30 minutes after a shower or bath.

• Put your washing on an extra spin cycle so it doesn't come out sopping wet.

• Dry clothes outside if you can, or in the bathroom or kitchen with the window open or extractor fan on and door closed. Don't dry clothes on radiators.

• Use a karcher window vacuum to get condensation off the windows in the morning.

Never ventilated a house in my life in autumn/winter or any cold days. Never had an issue with damp. Mostly lived in very modern houses if that makes a difference.

Probably, but not everyone lives in a modern house so...

Your timings probably depend largely on the house. My old house needed venting quite a lot but we’d have to do it in the middle of the day and it would take hours to get back to a decent temperature. But we struggled to ever get it over 18. My current house is 1950s and is constantly boiling. We’ve had lots of doors and windows open this morning and it took about five minutes to get back to a decent temperature.

Probably, but not everyone lives in a modern house so...

That's why I stated what type of house I live in otherwise it would be a moot statement! No point telling everyone to ventilate.

I very much doubt it, mould remediation is very expensive if done properly, and redecorating isn’t cheap either. Mould can also have a major effect on your health. I’d look at better ventilation if you’re wanting to avoid the heating and keep temperature/humidity meters in the rooms.