mould problem - letting agency blaming me!

[peacelover]

I really don't know what to do at the moment. We have lived in our current flat for just over a year and it is a relatively new block. The bathroom doesn't have a window and as a result, black mould has been growing on the ceiling right from moving in. However, these last few months I've found green furry mould growing in the built in wardrobes, behind the sofa, bookcases etc. I have had to chuck out a heap of stuff which couldn't be washed to stop regrowth and have to go round with mould spray once a week.

I have read up on this and I know that it is probably due to condensation although it seems like water actually comes in through the window panes when it's wet outside too. There is always mould around the windows because of this. I have a dehumidifier, try my best to dry washing outside(I do live in scotland though so not always possible), open the windows and doors all day on my days off ( I work shifts so cannot really open windows before/after work as it's night-time and cold) and use the extractor fan in bathroom and kitchen. It is a very hot house anyway so we don't need to use the heating that much.

I decided to have a change around today so moved my large bookcase, only to discover mould an inch thick behind it. It has covered the bookcase and because it's only chipboard, the books have definitely acquired a damp smell.

I phoned the letting agent to say that despite all the preventative measures, the mould is still growing. She was very abrupt with me and told me it was completely my fault for not opening my windows. She told me that whenever she was in the area, my windows and curtains were always closed (Either complete lies or coincidence!). I explained that if I am working, I leave the house at 5:30am and DP is still in bed and he sometimes forgets to open the curtains before he leaves. However, I work 4 days on/4 off so I always ventilate the flat then. I actually saw her visiting another tenant earlier today (through my open curtains!) but she has obviously not noted the fact that all my windows etc were open. Anyway, I have spoken to another tenant now who has exactly the same problem. She has quite poor English though so I think the letting agency has been able to successfully fob her off.

How do I deal with this, there is nothing else I can physically do to stop this mould! Does anyone have any similar experience?

It will be due to condensation, but obviously it is just not practical to open your windows all day and night throughout the Scottish winters!

Your first job should be to look for another property, ASAP.

Meanwhile, check the airflow round all your furniture. Is it all crammed in, IYSWIM? Or is there plenty of space between your furniture?
Avoid piling things up in corners of rooms.
Keep doors open inside the flat, including keeping your bedroom door open while you sleep.
Keep your bedroom window open a crack while you sleep as well.
Mould grows in damp, warm conditions. If the flat is always warm, can you lower the temp? Turn off the heating?
Having said which, the heating will also help to dry it out, so you need a balance of dryness and warmth!

I really sypathise with you, OP. I have had the same problem in a flat I rented. In the end, I decided it was making me ill, and moved out. The endless spraying with mould spray is not good for you either!

I have this again, now, in my bedroom. It drives me up the wall, but I can't move this time as it's my house!.

Gosh, I hope someone comes along with some better advice, just wanted to say what a horrible position to be in.

No expert, but that sounds wrong.

I would have thought mould is dangerous to your health. Perhaps someone else may know better than me, but I would try Enviromental Health Dept at your local council, and also CAB.

Good Luck

Oh and take pictures of it all too, don't know if it gets better in summer, but might be worth keeping records. And keep records, of all communications with LAndlord etc.

Yeah it is always warm and we don't really need the heating on very often. It's a bit of a sun trap which we originally thought was a good thing! However, you open the windows and get an arctic blast from outside! I just think there must a a problem with insulation or something somewhere. We have lived in some seriously dire flats in Glasgow while we were students and never had this problem but I understand it is very common in newer builds due to double glazing etc.

I just don't appreciate the letting agency putting the blame solely on me. They have just acquired these properties from another agency and don't seem to realise the effort I am putting in to keep the place ventilated! It would happen no matter who was living here. I was told today that they were very concerned about how my living there was affecting their property. As if I was a bad tenant! I think I will have to start looking elsewhere although I am scared that they will penalise me when giving back my deposit!

My first flat was like this, in fact all the houses and flats on the estate were infamous for it. I was in a private rental with a nice LL so didn't have an issue wrt deposit etc.

If you are doing everything to combat the mould through condensation then I would be looking for structural causes of damp.

Is the guttering leaking, are the air bricks clear and have plenty or space, i.e there isn't a shed against the building or something like that?

If you hardly have the heating on then I suggest you put it on all day and night at 15 deg (in my rental property there has been signifigant water damage and the specialist repair company said that is the best temp to dry the house out after the big dehumidifiers have done their job).

Agree that it might be time to look elsewhere though, if thats the attitude of the agent.

Oh and obviously if you locate a structural reason for the damp get them on the case asap!

Look for another place - it's unlikely that you could be to blame for that much mould. I suspect a structural problem. Agent would not be able to make an assertion like that stick so I wouldn't worry re deposit etc. Agree about effect on health so probably best to move.

we have this problem in our house, ours is due to double glazing and too much isulation in the loft (who knew you could have too much!).
We have managed to get rid of it by moving furniture so that it does not sit flush to the walls, and leaving wardrobe doors open, I also make sure that no washing ever goes near a radiator.We have also bought a dehunidifier that is recomended for a house twice the size. At the beginning of the winter we scrubbed all the walls with anti fungicidal wash then painted over the mouldy areas with oil based paint and then normal paint - I have to say this is the first winter that we have had no mould

We have had this problem from both sides - as landlords and as tenants.

The first time as landlords, we felt it was the tenant's fault as we'd previously had a family in there with no issue and then suddenly there was a load of mould when she moved in, although the flat was also generally really dirty with her there. We had about 4 or 5 different 'experts' round to assess the cause and were told it was due a different thing each time (leaky roof, no insulation, 'lifestyle'). We took it to adjudication when she moved out and were awarded about half each. After she left (about 18 months ago now), we had the walls scrubbed with anti-fungal wash and repapered with polystyrene-backed wallpaper before painting(to stop keep the walls a bit warmer and less prone to condensation). It's made a big difference, and although the mould is starting to reappear now, considering how bad it was before, I'd have expected it to come back much sooner.

Now we're in a similar position as tenants and the shoe is on the other foot somewhat. Our mattresses (including DD's fancy organic cot mattress!) have got it, clothes, bags, furniture. We had to get rid of our bedside tables and chest of drawers they were so bad. We do windows open all day, low level heating in the day, warm blast in the evening, wipe excess water off shower after use, wipe condensation off windows in the morning, no furniture too close to the wall, keep stuff out of the corners, wardrobe doors open as pps have said. I've also taken it as an opportunity to declutter and get rid of as much stuff as we can. I think once you've got mould in a house though it's really hard to get rid of it.

When it comes to dealing with the landlord/agent, I'd suggest keeping records of all correspondence, trying to keep it factual and unemotive. I think our tenant didn't do herself any favours as her statement was really frothy and full of indignation about how we were so disrespectful and accusing her of lying, whereas ours just set out the timeline of correspondence/actions and included some photos. It's good that you are speaking to others in your block - if everyone is having the same problem it will make it much harder for them to claim that it's your fault. I'd also maintain that a normal part of living in your flat does involve doing washing, and sometimes having to dry it inside, and that it would be unreasonable to hold you at fault for doing so. Another point - if the landlord does make a claim to hold back some of your deposit, be aware that if you offer to compromise to avoid going to adjudication, the amount you offer will be the minimum that you will be required to pay (I think - at least that's what our agent told us, although it may be different for tenants rather than landlords. Someone else may be able to confirm/correct this).

Sorry this is so long. Mould sucks. Good luck.

well if you have condensation, damp and mould on your bathroom ceiling, leave the fan on 24hours. A typical bathroom extractor is about 20W so will run for 50 hours for about 14pence. Find a smoker to hold their revolting fag by the extractor to confirm that it sucks the smoke out. Leave the bathroom door shut as there should be a gap under it to allows fresh dry air in.

If you are in a modern build the windows should have trickle vents. Leave them open.

Wet washing draped around the house generates vast amounts of damp. You can put it in the bathroom with the fan running and the door shut which will at least prevent it diffusing through the flat.

Thanks everyone, some really good feedback! I am definitely going to go round and speak to more neighbours as not all may have reported it yet. Funnily enough, the neighbour I have spoken to has lived in the flat since it was built 6 years ago and has only had a problem with mould for the last couple of months. She says it has taken hold very fast and they have had to repaint.

I already leave the bathroom fan on all day but the bathroom is next to our bedroom so it keeps us awake if we leave it on at night. Our bathroom has a big problem with condensation but I've managed to stop the mould growing. It really is tiny though so we couldn't fit a clothes horse in. I would actually prefer the bathroom mould to the horrible fluffy stuff throughout the rest of the house now though!

In addition to all the other problems, I managed to inhale a big cloud of mould dust while cleaning the bookshelf yesterday. I wasn't expecting it to be so dusty and I have now got the sore throat from hell. Fantastic.

the extend you describe sounds like it is structural.
are there new windows or cavity insulation?

• take photos of the extend of the mold
• give ll a reasonsble time to investigate/fix he damp
• contact environmental health of the council

mould is really bad for your health, do anything that reduces the damp.
open the windows every day, even when it's cold. keep the extractor fans on all the time. use a tumble dryer or dry clothes outside.
and remove the mould with mould remover stuff from the diy store. you might have to throw out book and other mouldy stuff as they can re-infect the flat.

We had almost the exact same issue with our ex-landlady. In our case she had had most of the windows painted shut so ventilation was really difficult (and there was no bathroom extractor either).

I think I would second the advice to get looking for a new rental. If that's not possible then don't take any c**p from the agent and say you want an accredited expert round to look at the problem. Threaten them with enviromental health if they don't play ball. Sorry to sound so combative but I think that the ball is still largely in LLs' courts.