Mould on bathroom ceiling

[Curlybrunette]

Hi,

We moved house last February; we bought the house from my aunt and uncle so we had a pretty good idea of what the house was like. They are very sweet and showed us round the house showing us all the 'dodgy' bits that you live with in your own house but wouldn't normally show the person buying your house!

We have a main bathroom and an en-suite in our room. DS1 doesn't like the shower in the main bathroom so he nearly always uses the our en suite shower. Both of the kids spend far too long on their showers and it drives us crazy. There is no extractor fan in there but we do/did open the window (not sure DS did every time but it definitely spent a lot of time open as we would do it at some point in the day if DS hadn't).

Anyway....in about November we noticed mould growing on the en-suite ceiling. I got a dehumidifier Christmas present, I was very excited! and just after I cleaned all the mould off with a bleach wash. The ceiling was clear, and we use the dehumidifier for hours most days (and open the window immediately after showers for some time).

Sometime in Feb the mould was back. Again I bleach washed but it came back again a few weeks ago, so seems it's returning more quickly.

I can't work out if it's come back now as it's been cold over the winter, though we do have a radiator in there but we don't have the heating on lots. We moved in end of Feb last year so I suppose the main winter was over.

I'm trying to deny to myself that there may be a roof leak!

What do you think?

A) Clean again, paint ceiling with an anti mould paint, hope for the best
B) Get someone in to check for a leak in the roof
C) Both of these?

Thanks

It’s probably just condensation from the shower. Can you post a picture?

We made this mistake. Bleach doesn’t kill mould it just bleaches the colour out of it. All you’ve done is spread the mould around!

Use a mould remover
Add in proper ventilation if possible
If it’s just a towel warm thing get a proper radiator
Get one of those plastic ceilings which are easy to wash

Its almost certainly condensation from the shower. As pp have said, proper mould killer rather than just bleach. And can you try and heat the room more (we turn off all the radiators in the house except the bathroom ones around this time of year).

Rather than investigating this roof for a leak, I'd get a quote for having an extractor fan fitted and see if you could afford it. Will work much better than just opening the window.

NEVER have a shower without having the windows open. Use your heating.

It is the only option.

Why do you need to get a professional to check for a roof leak? Just go up in the loft and have a look yourself, and call a professional if you find any signs of a leak. If it’s causing mould on your bathroom ceiling it would have to be pretty wet! You wouldn’t miss it. It’s far more likely to be condensation though.

Can you get an in-line extractor fan fitted? One that vents to the outside?

The best thing you can do is keep the window open for at least an hour after each and every shower!

Edited to say- the window should be kept wide open, not just a little bit.

Thank you I didn’t realise about the bleach. I’ll get some proper mould remover.

I used one of those electric scrubber things so yes will have properly spread it around

I’ll look at getting an extractor fan

Thank you

You really need an extractor fan. It's far more likely to be condensation than it is to be a leak.

HG Mould Remover is good. I would actually use it every week for a while, whether you can see mould growing or not. Treating it regularly helps get rid of it much better than just treating it once.

The ceiling was clear, and we use the dehumidifier for hours most days (and open the window immediately after showers for some time).

Do you only open the window after a shower?

I would look at getting an extractor fan, ideally a large one fitted in the roof space if feasible.

Also worth getting a humidity meter, (very cheap) to see what the humidity actually is. (we human's aren't good at telling what it is accurately)

You can also get ones that log over time which helps even more. link

(tip. Apple home pods also detect humidity, which you can see in Apple Home, if you have it, or Home Log will plot the humidity over time)

Have you checked the roof/gutters?

Is the loft above the en suite? I would check what insulation you have above the bathroom because if there isn't any, or only a very small layer, then the ceiling will be cold and the steam from the shower will immediately condense and form a damp patch.

You could also get an extendable microfibre duster and use it to actually dry the ceiling after the shower. Where is the dehumidifier? Is it as close as possible to the en suite? You might be better to have the window open for a relatively short time to clear the steam and then actually open the door with the dehumidifier nearby. Heating the room before and after the shower for a decent period will help a lot.

@Anotherdayanothernameagainbleach definitely kills mould. It’s the main ingredient in mould remover.

A strong solution of white vinegar and water also works.

Without a powerful extractor fan you need to limit how much steam you are producing from the shower - so quick showers, and make sure the window is fully open during showering and also left open for at least 15 minutes after. Try to keep the bathroom heated as much as possible.

Clean mould area with anti-mould spray (the stuff from HG is very good), and perhaps a new coat of anti-mould paint would be a good idea as well.