Minor mould issues, tips please!

[BendydickCuminsnatch]

Moved in to a beautifully maintained house, 6 months later and it's staring to look tatty

The main thing that's bothering me is mould (mold???).

• Black mould on the sealant around the bath: cillit bang black mould remover isn't having any affect, so what else could I try?

• mould around the windows and on the bathroom ceiling: it's wipe-off-able for the most part but keeps coming back. We have those UniBond Aero360 dehumidifier/absorber things, one in the bathroom and one in the spare room where I dry clothes, but the window mould (maybe mildew, I don't know the difference) is around all the windows including in the baby's room. In our old house I painted around the window sills with bathroom paint and never saw this mould again, but until we get round to doing that here is there some way to stop this kind of mould?

I open the windows and air the house daily. We moved into a lovely newly renovated house and I'll be kicking myself if I can't keep in nice!

Do you have extractor fans in the bathroom/kitchen? So you dry clothes indoors on airers?

Dettol mould and mildew remover is good for mouldy sealant - spray on and leave for a few hours

Thanks demented.

Yes I dry on airers most of the time, outside in nice weather. I have a heated airer and racks that go over the radiators.

I will try the dettol! Thanks!

No extractor fans!!!!!!!

Drying washing indoors is like chucking buckets of water at the walls - I always remember reading that in a post by PigletJohn on here. Install an extractor fan in the bathroom and you can dry washing on racks over the bath with the door closed and extractor on and it doesn't cost very much. Or invest in a tumble dryer.

Do the windows have trickle vents? If so, make sure they are open.

Consider getting a dehumidifier if you get a lot of condensation in specific rooms.

Hmm, maybe we will look into a tumble drier then. I use cloth nappies and you can't tumble them, but that's only 3 washes a week so would be good to tumble everything else. I will look at getting extractor fan too, see which is cheaper.

Are you sure you can't tumble dry them? I find most things can be safely tumble dried if they have already been washed and left to dry naturally a few times.

I think you can but they won't last very long, which sort of defeats the point. It's the waterproof but that can't be tumbled. I will look into it further!

Bleach will kill the mould around the bath but it will be a constant battle until you replace the sealant with an anti mould type. I also dry my washing indoors and do not have any extractor fans. I leave windows on ventilate and some are open 24 hrs where security appropriate. I don't have condensation or mildew issues. You just have to keep the air flow moving. The fact my house is an older Victorian property probably helps with ventilation issues!
Don't tumble dry those nappies, my friend ruined hers that way!!

The alternative to a tumble dryer for your cloth nappies is to run a dehumidifier in the room where you dry them with the door shut. You'll need a good efficient one though.

You can tumble dry most of them but it does effect the elastic and velcro I had that problem with mine but didn't have anywhere else to dry them. But don't tumble dry the wraps you'll damage the water proof layer and they won't work.

Bleach doesn't kill mould; that's a myth - it just bleaches it. Try different types of mould remover, and you may want to use bleach as well - not at the same time obviously.

I am dubious about the efficacy of mould-resistant sealant, because online reviews have suggested it still gets mouldy. Worth trying perhaps if your sealant desperately needs replacing but otherwise possibly not.

Main things are keeping the house warm, drying things inside as little as possible, and cleaning windows regularly, wiping away any condensation etc. opening a window if you're boiling something on the hob.

And dear god, get a tumble dryer or a washer dryer. I lived in a place with a bad mould problem and no fucking way would I dry anything other than the minimum of clothes inside now.

Oh and that heated airer everyone raves about on here will make no difference to the amount of water escaping into the air. Just means it escapes quicker, is all.

Get a bottle of this stuff for around your bath. It's marvellous stuff.

www.diy.com/departments/hg-mould-remover-spray-500-ml/136829_BQ.prd

I get the problem around the Windows, they're badly fitted which doesn't help. I just keep wiping it off and open windows loads.

Get a window vac (Karcher is good but there are lots of perfectly good imitations now) and use it on steamed up windows.

Bleach definitely does kill mould on bathroom surfaces. In fact it is probably bleach that makes the branded dettol sprays etc work! Bleach doesn't work as well on spores under the surface such as in wood.
And the anti mould sealants and grout etc also do work although the effect wears off over the years and you will end up cleaning more often to keep black mould at bay.

Agree that bleach does remove mould - it doesn't just remove the colour. That is a myth!

For the sealant around the bath, strip it off and replace with anti-mould sealant (spray the old stuff with WD40, leave it for 10 minutes and it'll soften up enough to be easily scraped off with a butterknife). Another vote for Mr Muscle mould & mildew spray, it's very effective, but air the room out very thoroughly after use. And yes, if you can afford to spend about £50, an extractor fan for your bathroom will make all the difference.

Has the house been damp-proofed/damp-coursed?

Get the best dehumidifier you an afford, you'll have no regrets! We have a Meaco 20L from John Lewis and it's literally changed our life, mould wise. Honest. You'll dry your cloth nappies on a rack in half the time and your mould and condensation will disappear :)