Mould everywhere.

[itsonlysubterfuge]

I'm tired of mould in this flat. I'm not sure what to use to wash the walls. We keep the furniture away from the walls as best as we can We have too much stuff though and have a hard time with air circulation. We run a dehumidifier almost constantly. We don't dry washing inside, but we never open our windows. It keeps coming back in the same areas, I'd rather not use harsh chemicals. In some areas it's black mould, but others it's green/yellow. I know there is a special paint you can get, but it's very expensive. Just wondering if anyone has any solutions to a non-chemical we could use to help keep it at bay.

yes, open the windows, just a little bit and let it all air. keep heating on to dry it out a bit

why do you never open windows?
do you heat?

you need ventilation, an extractor fan in bathroom and kitchen (do you have them and are they working?).

heat the rooms and open all windows as far as they go a few times a day for a few minutes.

to wash mould away ordinary bleach would do, but you absolutely need ventilation to keep it away.

Dettol mould and mildew is great but if you want natural solutions is lemon juice plus sunlight

We had this problem on our bedroom wall under the window, got fed up of washing the walls all the time so stripped the wallpaper off and got some of the special mould paint. It hasn't come back since. We do however get mould on our bedroom curtains and blinds now not as easy to de mould these! We have the windows open a lot as the windows get really wet inside.

Do you get condensation on thie windows? You should wipe this down every day and you need to open the windows. I know it's a pain because I have to do the same but it really does make a difference.

We can't open our windows. My husband has a huge phobia of insects/spiders, so we can't open our windows at all. We don't have any extractor fans, we do put the heating on sometimes. We have zero cavity wall insulation and have just got some loft insulation, however I think it's made the mould problem worse, even though it is helping to keep the heat in. I did wash the walls down with really hot water and eucalyptus oil. I guess I'll have to wipe the windows down at night.

I used wickes anti mould paint in my utility room over a year ago and the mould hasn't come back (yet).

But you also need ventilation or a dehumidifier.

We do have a dehumidifier, we pretty much run it constantly.

I've got same problem, only at the back of the house though but you do really need to open the windows do it when he's out!

I'd rather have a few creepy crawlies than black mould what on earth does he think is going to come in, funnel web spiders or black widows?

if creepy crawlies want to get in they will, regardless of wehther or not the windows are open!

personally i'd keep them all open a crack while he's out, to let it ventilate and then shut them while he is home.

mould can cause really bad health problems, it needs sorting

Too right mould is far scarier than a few spiders.

My husband has AS and if a spider or fly gets into the house he stops eating and drinking and all the food in the house has to be thrown out. I wouldn't open the windows when he is out that is a huge breach of trust and gives more chance for bugs to get in.

Besides having a phobia is an irrational fear, he knows it's silly, but that doesn't stop him from thinking that all the bugs have crawled all over his food.

Thank you for some of your more helpful suggestions.

That must be awful to live with, you can clean walls with bleach but it won't cure it as houses do need ventilated

We have the same problem. Agree insulation makes it worse as apparently older houses need to 'breathe' as they weren't built with damp proof materials but rather with the anticipation that tere would be chimneys/ open fires to use up the moisture. We use dettol spray and have to do it regularly oterwise it reappears.

How about putting insect screens on some of the windows?

that sounds more like an OCD thing :( must be really hard to live with.

ohhhhhhhhh i have an idea!!!! screens for the windows??? you can get really, really fine mesh screens that stop insects getting in... do you think he'd go for something like that?

nemno!!!!

how did you sneak my great idea in before me? lol

i swear that wasn't there when I posted.

He throws the food out?!?!

Puppyfat, until you've lived with an Aspie with a fear of insects, you just can't imagine...

I'd also suggest insect nets plus CBT.

Argghh, sorry Op and DH, not everyone likes Aspie as a term (DS does so I tend to forget).

Do you have airbricks?

We live in a 1930s house which has airbricks on the outside, but the inside has the original wooden frames with fine metal mesh in them. That might be an idea?

Or extractor fans fitted in the kitchen and bathroom?

Don't place items ie furniture etc against outside walls as these will get cold and the mould will build up behind them.

We dry our clothes in the kitchen and have the extractor fan and dehumidifier on almost constantly in the winter when we are home. We also try to keep the kitchen door closed so that the damp from the kitchen doesn't escape.

We had horrendous mold, finally virtually cured. Are your windows double glazed and do they have trickle vents? If so leave them open. Also, if you have a ground floor check that the damp proof course, if relevant, is clear by at least two bricks below all around outside.

If you have airbricks outside these must be left clear, as a previous poster has said use mesh if need be.

Extractor fans are your biggest friends, kitchens and bathrooms create a huge amount of moisture.

We too used a dehumidifier which extracted a lot of water but did not solve the problem.

I also put a vent in the rooms that did not have them. Good luck.