Black Mould Help

[Sleepyandexhaused]

Moved into an old house a few years ago and have had issues with black mould.

Our property is very humid, windows can be almost completely wet in the mornings and our bathroom is a wet room that I’m sure is covered in mould (tiles have tiny holes in them and constantly look grimy and dirty). Mould grows all around windows, under the stairs and behind wardrobes and heavy furniture. At my wits end with it, just discovered a big patch behind DS wardrobe.

Have the heat on regularly, dehumidifier and air purifier in DS bedroom. Have put an oil radiator under the stairs but it’s just a constant battle.

Looking for advice please and tips please.

I’m desperate to get the bathroom done as I think the wet room being regularly damp is just a nightmare for this and wondering if our windows need replacing as the condensation in the mornings seems so excessive.

Its really getting me down and DH doesn’t want to address the issue which isn’t helping

Dry windows in the morning then fling them open for a few hours. Heat on in the evening. I got some fab mould spray on Amazon, you spray then wait 30 mins and wipe. But when you go back to wipe the mould has nearly always gone. It's just keeping on top of it unfortunately

In my experience managing a number of properties black mould is almost always caused by condensation. Be careful about making the windows too airtight as airflow can help to stop mould growth. It depends how rich you are. If you can afford to keep all the rooms at a steady 20 degrees, put a dehumidifier in each room and get a builder to sort out the wet room then I'd do that. A wet room in an old house probably isn't the best idea. The bathroom probably needs a constant extractor fan running rather than the timed one most bathrooms have. Can you go ahead and sort it out without your husband's involvement?

Buy a karcher window cleaner for the excess water, keep the windows a bit open, use mould spray, have you got carpets that are mouldy. Move furniture away from the walls, do you know what the house is constructed of, have you got airbricks, clean gutters

Our bathroom seems to hold a lot of residual water first thing in the morning and after showers etc despite leaving windows open for hours.
We've been advised to have an extractor fan fitted with a vent that goes outside via the roof. The person who suggested it has had it done and said it made an enormous difference so we're having it done in the new year.

Karcher window vac for the windows and so the tiles in the wet room- physically remove the water. Drying them with a cloth that then dries in your house won't help.
Open all windows for at least 20mins every morning.

How do you dry your laundry?

Do you have a decent humidifier? Do you understand there are 2 main types? One is designed for cold temps and one for inside heated buildings. Make sure you have the right one for efficiency. A decent one is around £200 but can do a small house.
No furniture on external walls.

These are all short term solutions, long term if you have a serious damp issue you'll probably need proper builing work. Do you have blown render, a roof leak, damaged/ covered up damp course etc.?

Clean mould off things with distilled white vinegar (it kills it and it has worked very well in my utility room, solid stone Victorian cottage). I buy 5 litre cartons and it's good for laundry, general cleaning too.

It's hard in winter..but you MUST open windows and ventilate. I do it the German way, air shock, five solid minutes of every window and door open all at once every morning (enough to blow air through but not to cool down the fabric or the building and increase heating bills). This is essential.

I have two dehumidifiers, Meaco ones,upstairs and downstairs.

Keep furniture away from walls. Check under mattresses and air/stand then up once a week with a window open. Make sure clothes are stored fully dried. Open windows when cooking, showering etc. I would seriously scrub your tiles in white vinegar and then apply a transparent sealant (mould proof) if you can't afford to sort it better.

I'm currently dreaming of being able to install a household ventilation system (I think it's called PIV?). Which apparently solves mould issues. Also check for leaks.

I forgot the holy grail, the window vacuum! Every day in winter I have to suction the water off the windows. I'd replace it in an instant if it broke! Mine is a Karcher one like previous posters.

Thanks very much all appreciate the tips, I dry the windows and open in the mornings and have heat on a lot. But the karcher vac looks great, I hadn’t heard of this. We have a dryer so use this a lot and try to avoid hanging up washing indoors if we can

@RabbitsEatPancakes I had no idea there were two type of dehumidifiers, honestly we just have a rubbish one from Amazon which is in DS room, do you have any you could recommend? Unfortunately most walls in our house are external walls so we can’t avoid having furniture there :(

I think there are most likely damp issues going on. There are other signs of this like silver fish in some rooms sometimes.

@MissMoneyFairy we had new carpets put in but apart from that I’ve no idea about what the house is constructed of I think I need someone to come in and take a look at the issue to figure out underlying issues

@Lovelyview DH agrees bathroom needs to be done but is much more laid back about the whole thing whereas I see it as a big problem we need to address asap. I need to take the reins with it really to get it going. Our extractor fan is good but even the bathroom door doesn’t close completely (think old cottage door) so a lot of additional moisture is still getting into the other rooms

We use Karcher window hoovers , damp traps in every room . We ventilate every morning. Heat in the morning for an hour and 2 hours at night . Mini dehumidifiers in each the bedrooms and we use Astonish mould spray , it's excellent. What I will say is you have to keep on top of it day in day out , or it just spreads . Good luck OP

Your survey will say what the house is built of, maybe also the estate agent info or conveyancer

Send DH this:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/damp-and-mould-understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-for-rented-housing-providers/understanding-and-addressing-the-health-risks-of-damp-and-mould-in-the-home--2#health-effects-of-damp-and-mould

And this

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63642856.amp

As others have suggested, a window vac would really help in your bathroom. I use mine on the shower and tiles every day.
I would buy one of the larger Meaco dehumidifiers, they are around £300. I use a small meaco to dry laundry in a small utility room. I had a cheaper dehumidifier before this one but it barely did anything. The Meaco is fantastic, but you need to make sure its big enough for your home.

Yes to the window vac. I find it I do it consistently for a few days we get a lot less condensation, which I take to mean it's a really effective way to cut down the damp.

For the wet room you could consider getting a big squeegee on a broom handle, and squeegee the floor. If you look at your extractor fan you (maybe look up its manual online) you should be able to adjust how long it runs for after the light is switched off. Set it to max. However, if you have mould growing round windows and behind furniture I find it difficult to believe that would all, or mostly, come from one bathroom with a good extractor. We had a bathroom with no extractor for 12 years and the house is worse for mould now than it was then. I think it's because we've turned the heating down a couple of degrees.

I spray down shower tiles with a bleach-containing bathroom cleaning spray once a week or so, and leave to dry. It seems to help prevent mould setting in.

Thanks again all, definitely ordering a window vac and will look into a good humidifier will check out Meaco @TheNuthatch and the damp traps sound very much needed in our house @MaryGreenhill
@Alstation I have the extractor fan running a most of the day so like you I don’t think that the extractor fan is actually having much impact there seems to be more at play. We have a squeegee mop but will opt for a cleaning solution that has bleach to hopefully help.
Thanks very much everyone, I’m feeling a little less defeated and more determined to tackle this awful mould. I’m also arranging a damp specialist to come out as I really want to get to the bottom of this.

@SlSleepyandexhaused just to give you the heads up apparently bleach is not good for mould . You are better off using the mould spray from Astonish or a similar mould spray hth 😊

You need to "shock air" the house at least three times a day.

Open all the windows and get a draught running through the house.

Keep the windows open for 20 minutes.

Dry air is easier and cheaper to heat than damp air so it will be worth it.

Germans have a special term for it and also have this written into rental agreements!

www.ecofmr.com/articles/never-use-bleach-to-treat-clean-mold/#:~:text=Bleach%20can%20contribute%20to%20further,areas%20that%20were%20previously%20unaffected.

This link explains about the bleach 😊

You need a big powerful dehumidifier to sit on your landing, we have one and it's great. Ours is meaco and would recommend! We still get condensation on windows in a morning as bedroom doors are closed so use a karcher window vac and open windows. But generally as long as we keep on top of things (have bedrooms doors open during the day to let dehumidifier work we don't get mould. We also have a really good extractor fan in the bathroom that goes out through the loft. We dry our clothes in the bathroom with the dehumidifier on constant mode and doors shut and it's done by the morning.

Agree with everything others have said.

Ventilation is key. Dehumidifiers is key. Wiping and cleaning is key. We also repaint the starting points every summer with mould resistant paint in an attempt to keep it on edge.

You do have to keep the furniture away from these walls, we put the beds next to them rather than wardrobes, for example, and plant pots behind couches. Anything up against the wall will just create a mould breeding ground.

Good luck!