would you just throw it all away and have nothing

[sammyjayneex]

So our house is full of condensation even though I open windows and out heating on. Even though we do this mould still lands on furniture. Would you just throw out all your wardrobes and cabinets and just live with nothing. I'm sick of the mould just appearing on furniture and cleaning it off. Is it unhygienic keeping the furniture and keeping cleaning it? It's getting me down I can't afford to replace any of it....

That sounds like a really extreme situation re the condensation. There must be an underlying cause and a way to fix it.

I've been to the council they never help. Just keep telling me to open windows and put heating on but it doesn't help

That sounds horrible OP. Have you tried using a dehumidifier? I used to live in a damp flat and it was an absolute godsend.

Is the furniture safe to keep bough?

Though

I think that if you are cleaning it regularly and with strong enough stuff, then it's fine to keep the furniture.

I would think so.

Get a dehumidifier asap. Have your gas appliances been checked for carbon monoxide poisoning recently as that increases the ease at which water condenses.

Have you checked guttering etc. ensure that not seems blocked?

I would get into environmental health, especially if it's a rented house as something isn't right with mould appearing all the time.
I have damp in my lounge and had the landlord around twice they put some 'special spray' on it. A week later it was back, I called environmental health they swabbed it and served them notice to get it sorted. They are doing a damp course in January.
Just keep asking, don't throw your furniture away!

i had condensation and damp in my bedroom, the council solution was an extractor fan in the bathroom, new radiators and to finally remove the ivy off the bedroom wall, i had to buy a new bed as mine was covered in damp spots, i also repainted my bedroom with damp paint and moved my new wall from the offending wall, all seems to be fine now, also i have all the windows in the bedroom on open-lock all throughout the year!

Have you got a dehumidifier? We've got a disgustingly expensive one from John Lewis, it's monstrously huge but has changed our lives this past month. It has a massive bucket which we are emptying ONCE A DAY! Madness.

I hear your desperation, I felt the same.

In my previous home (an upstairs 1 bed) this happened to me all the time. I second (third?) the dehumidifiers. I got 2 cheapish ones from B&Q and ran them quite often.

I think it was lots of factors - a small flat/a massive tree on one side (the side where the most mould occurred)/having no outside space so had to dry clothes inside.

I also got a very cheap tumble dryer from Tesco. I used this exclusively for towels as they take ages to dry inside. It really made a difference to the mould.

We also well DH did! used a special anti mould paint on the worst areas.

I feel your pain. We were horrified when we moved to discover mould all over the bottom of DD's cot mattress

We couldn't shift our flat when we moved out so had to rent it for a while. The tenants never opened windows and the problem returned. When we lived there the windows were open unless we were out.

I was thinking about this again just now and how unhappy you sound. I've been there. I left my gorgeous big house for a tiny new place just cos I couldn't bear it anymore. I recently found mould in our new flat last month and almost freaked out but managed to reign myself in. So here's my tips:

-splash out on the best dehumidifier you can. Ours is a Meaco 20L from John Lewis. We run it 24/7 and simply accept the running costs as part of our rent! In turns off when it hits the desired humidity then checks the air every 30mins and comes back on if needed. (We've not had the heating on once since we got it, when we used to have it daily, cos it takes the cold out of the air too! bonus)

-get a tumble drier if you can. We use it 99% of the time. Kids uniform dries on an airer over the bath.

-Keep bathroom and kitchen door shut ALWAYS and the windows open when those rooms are in use, and afterwards. However, open all doors in the entire house while everyone is asleep to allow air to circulate.

-No furniture against outside walls. This has meant for us having the bedrooms not look how we would like, but the sacrifice is worth it. Leave 6 inch gap if you must have furniture there.

-fling windows open wide as soon as you wake up for half an hour if you can bear the cold

-keep heating on a low heat always rather than putting on and off

-Use Dettol mould + mildew remover in green bottle as soon as you spot any mould.

-Do mould checks! We did ours every 2 weeks in the old place- pulled out all furniture.

-less stuff. Be ruthless! Buy 'simplicity parenting' it really helped change how I thought about stuff.

It sounds so grim. YY to all the above especially the dehumidifier. I wouldn't chuck out the wardrobe, I'd think it must be forming a barrier to stop the mould reaching your clothes. Anything like net curtains, get rid. Mould on hard surfaces can be properly cleaned off (I use bleach) and then it is gone. But it can ruin porous things like fabric.

It's utterly depressing fighting it month on month though.

toomuchinternets advice is spot on. I forgot about the heating constantly on low but I did that too when living in my mould attracting flat. Heating on, dehumidifiers on or windows open. And big yes to the regular mould checks. My hallway was always the first place it appeared so when black spots arrived we were ramping up all the other measures. I think my bathroom window stayed open the whole time I lived there!

I would keep on contacting the council.
No one should have to live with mould. It sounds like an underlying problem if opening the windows is not helping it.
Can you contact environmental health and planning??Ask to speak to a different person??