Mould everywhere

[Rainbowhoney]

I live in a rented flat, 2nd winter in the flat, 1st winter we had a little bit of mould but was controllable. This winter has been horrific. Covered a whole wall, the ceiling, furniture, pram, clothes, toys, rugs, kitchen cubord doors have even grown mould. My babies unslept in cot mattress has gone mouldy so he's now co sleeping with me, I can afford to replace it but I feel like what's the point for it to go mouldy again and have to buy annother!

The estate agents have been out and have blamed it on not having my windows open enough and not having heating on constantly. My bathroom window never gets shut, kitchen window is open wide when cooking, I open the bedroom windows in the morning for 2 hours and close the doors to keep the cold out the rest of the flat, I open the windows as much as I can but it's cold and I've got 2 children under 2 and heating I'd costing a fortune as it is!

Environmental health have been out and given them 6 weeks to get a mould/damp servay done. They said its most likely due to poor installation and leaks in the roof. That was a week before Christmas and I've not heard anymore.

I'm sick of cleaning mould. I cry every time I find mould on things. I feel like all I'm ever doing arround looking after my children is cleaning mould. I feel like I can't buy anything new/nice for my home as it will just grow mould. It's affecting my mental health and I just don't know what more I can do. Do I send annother email to the estate agents and explain how its affecting my mental health and I'm finding it difficult to keep on top of cleaning all the mould constantly and they need to send someone out to clean it as I just can't anymore. I'm currently on mat leave so I have some spare time but when I return to work in a few months I'm not going to have the time!

It has a damp problem. A property without a damp problem doesn't go mouldy like that just because you haven't had the heating on. That's bullshit. Landlords like to blame tenants for condensation, it's their get-out clause. You're opening windows enough that it isn't that. This property isn't going to cope with you drying clothes inside though however mub ventilation you create, so if you're doing that stop and take it to a launderette. Unless you can afford to have the clothes on the radiator and the radiator on with the windows well open the whole time until it's all dry.

Is it private rented? If so there's realistically nothing you can do. They'll blame it on you and not renew your tenancy, they'll also keep your deposit. I'm sorry, it's shit. They will not care one jot about your MH. It's no point appealing to LL better nature, they haven't got one. If they did they'd not be renting out a damp mouldy flat. Estate agents work for the landlord, not for you.

The landlord is out to make money and is never going to do whatever major work is needed to stop the damp problem. All you can do is look to move elsewhere. They'll drag out the survey and works until you've left, then bodge it with anti mould paint, windows that are never shut etc and rent it to the next unsuspecting person. Buy a damp meter, cheap from DIY stores, and test the walls of anywhere you plan to move to. The damp will be picked up before there's mould appearing. Be suspicious of anywhere freshly decorated. People don't decorate for renting to tenants unless they really have to.

If you have to replace anything try to buy plastic or metal, shelving is fine. You can keep almost anything on shelves. Get some plastic boxes (Really Useful Boxes are good) and keep clothes etc in there. Plastic covers (both sides) for your mattresses, binbags for your pillows. Go minimalist, don't replace anything until after you've moved if you can help it. If you must, buy cheap or second hand because it's probably going to end up in the bin anyway.