Mould help!

[lovetheweekends]

My stepdaughter (21) and her boyfriend recently moved into a flat which has had problems with mould in the past.
They don't have much money and have been using the heating as little as possible.
They have no tumble drier so have been drying clothes inside.
She has found mould on her new mattress bought around 3-4 months ago - which has really worried her.
What is the best way to prevent mould / damp??
I couldn't advise much apart from ventilation / airing bed and they are going to try to afford a tumble drier.
Any advice v gratefully received. Thanks

They need to stop drying clothes inside all the time. Either outside (weather permitting) or in a tumble dryer wether that's at home or a laundrette. Also heating and ventilation will help but its the moisture levels that really need lowering.

Do they have and use an extractor in bathroom and kitchen?
Is their anyway they could borrow or afford to buy a dehumidifier?

Pretty sure there is no bathroom extractor fan but I think there is a fan over cooker in kitchen (not sure whether they use it??).
It's not really got much space for drying outside so tumble drier seems their best bet.
Thanks for the help

A dehumidifier is cheaper and smaller than a tumble drier!

Stupid question alert!
Will a dehumidifier also help to dry the clothes quicker??

Should do as there will be less moisture in the room. We have problem with mould in our bedroom and found we have less condensation in the room if we sleep with the door open.

We struggled for ages with condensation damp and mould in our ground floor flat, losing clothes and other belongings because of it. We got a dehumidifier to help which has a drying setting and clothes dry really quickly on an airer next to it. It makes it easier to heat the flat too as the air is less damp. We also got a washer/dryer which has helped a great deal.

Lakeland do a heated airer that costs around 5 per hour to run. According to dd it dries clothes very quickly. There are threads on here about the heated airer. I second a dehumidifier and opening windows to air as much as possible.

Oh and if she can borrow a steam cleaner to get rid of the mold on the bed that would be better than using chemicals on it. Vinegar works to kill mold or lakeland do a HCG ?mold remover for bathrooms but it is very smelly and I don't think I would use it in the bedroom.