Why do I have mould on my walls and in cupboards? How can I stop this???

[ILikeYourSleeves]

Argh! We moved to this house in Sept 2007 and we had no problems at all last autumn / winter. However, over the past few weeks I have discovered patches of mould in various places: on the walls (only on the wallpapered hall, esp in where the wallpaper edges join, the painted walls seem fine), in the hall cupboard where jackets and shoes live (discovered mouldy boots that have been sitting there since last winter!) and also in the kitchen pantry (ie cupboard under the stairs) where the wooden baskets with the veg etc in is mouldy, plus there is a thin coat of mould on the shelves YUK! I also noticed mould patches on the roller blind in DS's nursery, I wondered if this is because I leave bath towels to dry on the radiator under this blind?

I don't open windows much and often have clothes drying indoors, could that be a factor? How can I stop the mould and do you know what's causing it? Thanks

Whaaat? Why did you need all the render taken off? I don't get why it was fine last year and not now... Does not having the heating on as much play a factor?

no need to panic completely!! mould - damp atmosphere (and warm too).

it could be condensation - clothes drying indoors etc. Alternatively it could be damp getting in from elsewhere - depends on your house.

if it's just condensation then getting drier air in the house will do the trick - open windows, make sure air bricks are uncovered etc etc. However, you should check for damp - is it a bought house or rented? does it have a damp proof course? did you get a survey?

we get it bad here.

I used to live in an old victorian house with solid walls that were always cold and attracted condensation - is your house modern or old? To minimise the problem, I used to wipe all the windows down in the mornings to remove the condensation, wipe down all the bathroom fixtures and tiles after bathing and leave the sash windows open slightly when I was in the house and treat any real trouble spots with mould resistant paint. Once the spores are in the plaster it can be a pig to get rid of. Wipe anything affected down with a mild bleach solution (after testing for colour fastness).

Depending where the mould is you might have a problem with the damp course.

It is usually caused by lack of ventilation so if you don't open the windows much and leave clothes to dry on airers around the house, you might have found part of the problem.

We now live in a modern house and sometimes get a patch of mould behind heavy furniture where air cannot circulate or behind the blackout blind in the spare room that DH insists on leaving closed.

A dehumidifier in the room where you air the clothes might also help.

We often get condensation these days so is there too much moist air indoors then? What are air bricks? Is that the air vents? I have just opened the vent things at the top of the windows, I closed these last year as I thought they were making the house too cold (I didn't know what they were for!) and even put sellotape over them Maybe that's playing a factor in it all? It's a bought house and damp wasn't mentioned in the survey. Ummm, what's a damp proof course?

Sorry for being thick!

Good ideas ajm, I will start to wipe down the windows to get rid of excess water and open windows for a bit each day to get some air circulating

Do you know if I can use a mild bleach solution on wallpaper?

The air vents in the windows are called trickle vents I think. Now that we have double glazing, our houses are too well insulated (for mould purposes anyway!) and mould has become much more prevalent apparently.

I have windows open all the time in the summer, and whenever possible in the winter. If you do have your windows closed, you should leave the trickle vents open.

If you leave the window open where the clothes are drying, they will dry faster, even on a rainy day.

Personally, I would be reluctant to use bleach on wallpaper. I got rid of all the wallpaper as soon as it became apparent that we had a mould problem. Paint is so much easier to washdown or refresh.

I have patches of mould all over my kitchen. They wipe of very easily and I'm putting it down to the fact that we've had so little heat this summer. My whole house feels damp. The chairs in my lounge feel damp and the duvet on my bed feels damp. I usually don't have the heating on until it's freezing but have been outing it in for an hour or so every now and then just to try and dry the house a bit.

I would buy or borrow a dehumidifier
My Pa lives in corwall and has this problem - that's what he uses.
I would perhaps open a window too if your drying clothes.

I hope you don't need render touched

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