Is mould just a given??

[Whathefisgoingon]

We recently moved out of a very damp, old property. Mould always growing on the front walls of the property, and just gross. We always cleaned it off and tried all sorts of cleaning solutions/paint but it always came back.

We have just moved in to a new rented property which is only about 30 years old, and whilst there doesn’t appear to be any mould at all on the walls, it is now growing on the window and door frame crevices. Is this just how it is in the UK??

I grew up abroad, where it is very hot, and I never experienced this growing up.

If there has not been mould before you moved in, it's highly likely it's your household activities that are causing it.

No. I have lived in properties dating back 200 years to new builds. Never had mould in any of them.

Nope. No mould in my house. Or the previous 2.
i did live in one horrendously damp flat that had it though.

I would make sure you are ventilating your rooms, especially when cooking or drying clothes

Think about buying a dehumidifier- they work wonders

We found you need to close the door when having a shower or drying clothes, but then open the window.

I think it depends on the house. We had rising damp in our Victorian basement flat, but no black mould. Our Victorian cottage only had a tiny bit around the windows if we forgot to open them. Now in a 1950s semi and there’s lots - it’s manageable but once a week we do a quick wipe around with anti mould spray, and that’s with windows regularly open/heating on. And we need damp absorbers in the built in wardrobes.

Like I say, manageable, but you have to keep on top of it. Very much house dependent though. My parents’ 90s buikt detached has never had any (although they keep it roasting, which must help!). MIL has a brand new build and she still needs damp catchers on the radiators. All in the south/south west.

No that’s not normal. You need to ventilate your house. Open windows for 10 mins first thing, don’t dry clothes inside, get a dehumidifier etc etc

Nope. I've never lived in a house with mould in. Lived in Victorian, Edwardian, 1930s and 1960s houses.

I suspect it's likely the way you use your house.

So ensure outside guttering is clear and free draining
Shut door for showers and use extraction fans
Windows open (we have sash windows and they always open at the top in bedrooms and bathrooms and utility room. All year round. Just an inch
Heat your house when cold.

Another vote for a dehumidifier - especially if it's not too bad at the moment

So to answer your question, yes it is damp in the UK and all the above posts listing how to manage it in your home show that (you may not need to take these precautions in drier climates). It's also more humid in the west of the country which makes a difference.

Do you regularly open windows? Turn on the extractor fan when having showers? Or do you do lots of washing and hang wet clothes on radiators, etc? British houses need to air and you need to use extractors when washing and cooking. Second the recommendation for a dehumidifier. Also HG Mould Spray to get rid of what’s there and stop it returning.

60s semi, fucking loads. But probably because I can’t afford to heat it more than a couple of hours at a time.

No, it's not a given. My house is 300 years old and I put the heating on for a token hour a day at the moment, so it's bloody cold. But there's no mould (I think older houses are actually built for colder temperatures as they were built long before central heating).

I suspect it's to do with ventilation. My house has built-in ventilation because it's old and leaky. So there's a constant stream of air through it. I don't need to open the windows when I'm having a shower or cooking because the draught means I don't need to. Which makes me think it's actually all about ventilation, as a house of my temperature (10 degrees) would otherwise be mouldy.

Thanks all. Bit worrying to read!

The previous place was definitely not our fault. The landlord has actually only just told me that there was always a mould issue on the front walls. I had the windows slightly open all year round, 24/7 and it still always grew back. I didn’t dry any clothes on radiators, we did have a condenser tumble dryer but again; the window was always cracked in the room and the mould wasn’t actually in there, it was elsewhere.

The current place I doubt is is either, as the first sign of mould was when I saw it coming through the freshly painted white on the bathroom window wall, obviously painted over before we moved in. It only appears to be there and on the kitchen door frame (leading to outside) as well as the window frames in the bathroom.

Freshly painted would indicate they've used Mould paint.... Prob the windows that need replacing imho

I'd blitz it with Ronseal Mould Killer (though Cillit Bang Black Mould Spray also has its uses, and is cheaper). Then I'd go all out on ventilation. If you're in a house that's 30 years old, it's presumably early 90s, so will have been built in the expectation that the heating is on for several hours per day in winter. Nobody can afford this now, so I'd do a double whammy of heating (an hour in the morning, and an hour in the evening) plus ventilation. You might not feel very warm, but it's probably what the house needs. I've resigned myself to being cold, because my house is telling me this is the way to go, and that all I'm doing if I put the heating on is heat the garden.

We've had it in this one (1950's semi) but have recently had the guttering cleaned out as I think it was that and got a dehumidifier. It's rented. It seems to be ok atm 🤞We had it in one other house as the bathroom had no window in it.

Do you open the kitchen and bathroom windows regularly?