Mould in our two bed

[munchsmum2017]

I have got mould and damp caused by broken vents in my bedroom all along the window and two walls. I have had 3 people from my HA come out so far and explain that the vent is broken and when cold air comes in and the heating is on it is causing the mould to grow. On all occasions they have said that they would order a new vent. However the last visit was on the 8th he said he believed it was from the guttering and that caused the mould but also that the vent was a factor as well. He took pictures which reassured me that something would actually get done, this time.

Unfortunately I received a letter today (14/01) saying that they believe the mould in the bedroom is due to me allowing my 21month old son sleep in the room which is causing me to over occupy the room and leads to more water vapour in the air?

Now I’m unsure how true that is, it may be to some extent but I highly doubt that this is the cause , how can a young baby cause mould, especially when on 3 occassions I was given an actual reason (trickle vent, guttering) etc. Therefore they came to the conclusion that it was my responsibility and they would not assist me further.
In my opinion it appears that they are lazy and don’t want to waste the resources / money to actually treat the problem. I have attempted on multiple occasions to treat the mould by cleaning it with products I also bought a hygrometer and humidifier. The readings from the hygrometer was in the right range and never went above what it should’ve been. I’d personally rather move out due to all the stress and the lack of help im receiving, additionally I don’t dry clothes in my bedroom I air out my room when I’m cleaning and afterwards to allow fresh air in , even though with the broken vent air is coming in anyway. I have taken all the steps necessary to prevent / treat mould and if not surely it would be in other rooms?

I have wrote to my local mp as well as the environmental health agency.
I was wondering if anyone has any further advice or has had any luck or there own stories.

It really is awful

Most of the condensation that causes mould comes from our breathing hot air. If you have more people staying a lot in one room, the worse it will get. Also if there's a lot of furniture so that air can't flow well.

What you need to do is ensure you ventilate the room and that means opening the window as often as possible. Ideally you'd live it a tiny bit open at night and then have the window wide open for 20 minutes each morning. Getting a dehumidifier will help too.

My previous tenants complained of mould in one small room. I was surprised as it had never been an issue before. When inspected, we noticed that there was furniture all around the room so only a small place to walk and the windows were closed despite drying clothes on the radiator. We advised them that this would have caused it but they wouldn't hear it, complained we were not fixing the problem, threatened to stop paying rent. In the end, they left, we cleaned the room, repainted, and had new tenants. Two years on and not one bit of mould.

I've had it really badly but none now, on company said I needed a £2K damp proof course. Then another person said it was just condensation, it was thankfully. It was that bad that a lot of the wall paper was black with it.
This is what I did to get rid of it, washed the walls with mould remover. Its like a strong bleach then paint when its dried with anti mould paint. Open the windows for at least a hour or so everyday. in the kitchen keep them open when cooking etc. I've got condensation traps throughout the house, a Unibond 360 and a dehumidifier. I put the dehumidifier on once a week or so.

If I was you I'd go to my M.Ps surgery and get the HA to get an independent person in to do assessment of whats wrong.I think you are getting fobbed off by the sound of things. You need to find out exactly whats causing it. The HA will not ignore or fob off the M.P they start shitting themselves in my experience.

Get the Unibond 360 and some refills and stick it next to the mouldy patch. They are cheap and you can get them for Wilkos.Also get all the windows open. I hope you get it sorted soon, its awful.

Thank you for all your responses @rudgie47 & @swingofthings

Sorry to hear that you had mould really bad 2k is a lot of money, but glad you got it sorted ! I’ll look into the unbond 360 thank you
I keep my windows open 2-3 hours every morning, I never dry clothes on the radiator in my bedroom as I have airers in the hallway, my bedroom is the only place affected. I only sleep in the room with my little one who is 21 months. I’ve tried mould remover products and the mould just keeps coming back.
The vent is broken and will not close meaning cold air is constantly coming in and when the heatings on it’s causing the mould. I’m unsure if that’s the exact reason but I’ve been told this twice that it was the cause but my HA refuse to help.

I’ve contacted the local mp and got a response today saying they’ve contacted my housing association to do the repairs ASAP. So hopefully that gets it sorted !

Cold air is a tuslly a good thing which is why they recommend to open the windows. Do you have heating on all night? If you do and the windows are then closed, this is when the damage will mainly happen.

The best remedy is to get a good humidifier. After cleaning, this should do the trick.

@swingofthings

I have a dehumidifier I also bought this small machine unsure on the name but it measures water vapour and mostiure within the room and it has stayed inside the normal ranges.

I do not have the heating on over night , but the vent in the window is broken meaning that cold air is constantly coming in when I have the heating on throughout the day, if that makes sense?. I’m unsure if that’s the cause but I’ve been told it is twice by the HA but they still won’t replace it.

I keep my window open ajar throughout the night but it’s freezing and I have my son sleeping with me so I usually close it around 12/1am but surely there’s no need for me to be opening them so much anyway when the vent is broken and is constantly letting cold air in?. I do open them throughout the day anyway when I’m cleaning/cooking and just to let fresh air in .

I’m unsure what else could be causing it but my HA are refusing to fix the vent , every time I clean the mould it comes back and also as a single mum it’s hard to get the time to clean it and also it just isn’t very nice, the products are so strong it leaves us coughing all day but I still clean it and just have to put up with it.

The broken ventilation should be such an issue if you do open your window as you say. You mentioned the guttering, what happened with that? If water is overflowing and hitting the wall, it could make things much worse. Did they fix it?

You need to open an official complaint with your HA. Details will be found on there website

Their not there

@swingofthings

Exactly what I was thinking which is why I believe that there’s another issue. Which is what one of the men who came out said - the guttering was one of the causes but then I recieved the letter a few days later saying that it was my fault due to my son sleeping in the room🤷🏽‍♀️ And that they wouldn’t take it further.

@woohoo1

I’ve made a complaint , wrote a letter to the environmental health and also wrote to my local mp and spoke to my support worker, my local mp and support worker have been in contact with my HA but they are still saying it is my fault due to my son sleeping in the room and apparently tissue in the vents which is a lie and when me and my support worker checked there was nothing blocking the vent and if I’m honest the guy who came out barely looked at the vents and was more focused on the guttering.

Housing ombudsman if your complaint was rejected. They will advise you

@woohoo1

Thank you for your advice ! 😃 I’ll definitely seek them for further advice / info !

is this a double bedroom with two people in it? one of the people smaller than normal?

@blackeyedgruesome

It is a 2 bed - one double room and single , the single room isn’t in use as my little boy sleeps with me as I breastfeed throughout the night - it’s just the two of us in my room

ask them how many people do they expect to sleep in a double room ffs

Is this a newer built property?

All very familiar story to me this.

And what a lot of rubbish. It’s a room for two people and two people are in it. Tell them to get it sorted

@nottosureaboutthatthough

No it’s not a new built and exactly my support worker argued the point that it is a double room to occupy a couple and me sleeping in the room with my son is not the cause which is when they then went on to argue there was tissue and paper stuck in the vent , even though they never stated that in the letter or on the visit. My support worker checked and argued this back as there as no tissue in the vent and they said there’s nothing they can do.

It’s a joke I feel like there’s a bigger issue as I’ve spoke to two people today in my block who’ve said they have mould (it’s a low rise so only 6 flats) . I think they don’t want to waste the money / resources and leave us like this