Cold, damp and full of mould

[NumptyDumty]

Hey, hope this is okay to post here,

We're privately renting an old terraced house, there has been problems before regarding damp. The landlord then fixed the gutter and all seemed a bit better.

However now things have got cold again after such a lovely summer the damp has reappeared, in one room the wall is actually wet to the touch. Dispite keeping ontop of cleaning everything gets mouldy. Around the windows is a particularly bad area.

In the kitchen all of our cupboards along one wall stink of damp, I went to get our grill pan out the other day and it is covered in mould, It made me heave!

What I am wondering is should the landlord take any responsibility and actively try to resolve the situation or is it nothing to do with him?

If it is just down to us what can we do to make it better? We already leave the windows open for small periods, but it's so cold and I have a small baby so don't do it as much as we could.

Thanks in advance x

We had similar problem in a house we rent out and it turned out the tenants were drying clothes indoors and not opening windows and wondering why things were getting mouldy! We've installed a dehumidifier fan in the landing ceiling which is on all the time and it's sorted the problem. It's fitted in the loft space so noise doesn't disturb occupants. Cost around £400 all in but well worth it. Installing a well vented tumble dryer also helped. HTH.

Brandy, your damp sounds terrible. As you use a tumble drier, have vents and open the windows, I am sure there is another major source of moisture, most likely a leaking pipe, which may be in or under the floor, or might be a downpipe making the walls wet; or quite a bad roof leak (which would be easier to spot, so probably not in your case).

If you are in a flat, the water vapour might be rising from below, as it is lighter than air. This is more common in conversions with wooden floors, especially if downstairs has holes in the ceiling for downlighters.

How do you identify if it's something your doing (drying washing not ventilating) or if it's the property?

I have the same problem op, been here four years but problem started recently.
Landlord gave me anti-fungicidal wash and some anti-mould paint to clean it up with, but we are still getting water droplets all over upstairs ceilings where windows are!
I have a condenser tumble drier so i can't see that as being the cause.
We have recently had new heating fitted, so i'm wondering if that is the cause?
Such a pain when one problem crops up after another

I'm the ground floor flat, the brick work outside looks damp to if that makes sense. The HA sent someone round (how I got the vents) and said to shut my doors when I cook or have a bath because the warm air travels to the coldest point (the bedrooms) but its getting worse and worse and worse. Yesterday I cleaned mould in the dc bedroom that had come through the Lining paper through the border and through the 3 coats of paint and I peeled more paint off to clean the mould. I don't know what else to do tbh if I could move I would.

numpty

to identify other sources of damp, it will be easier if you can get your home mostly dry, then you can spot and smell localised dampness. It will quite likely be a leaking pipe or drain, often near or under the sink or bath. It might be in or under the floor. A concrete floor will show patches of damp if you roll the carpet back, a wooden floor you need to lift floorboards in several places, sniff, use a torch to look for wet, feel the joists and especially the concrete or earth underneath. It can be a leaking radiator pipe, especially out of sight under the floor. This can be detected because the heating system will need to be toped up, either automatically from the feed and expansion tank in the loft, or in a sealed pressurised system, using the braided hose by the boiler. The radiators will need frequent bleeding because adding fresh water causes internal corrosion.

It may be a leaking or spilling gutter or downpipe making the wall wet, which you can see if you go outside during heavy rain.

There will be condensation in the bathroom from steamy baths and showers unless it is all sucked away by an effective extractor.

there may be a roof leak, including over bay windows or porches. You will probably be able to see damp ceilings, which may be a long way from the leak.

Older houses, where the walls are in bad condition and there are cracks or gaps in the brickwork, pointing or rendering, can make the walls wet from rain. This is not very common. It can also happen with good walls in windy coastal or mountainous areas where driving rain blasts against the wall.

in an old house, or one that has had replacement windows shoddily fitted, water may get in through gaps at the top of sides. This is less common in older parts of London where since 1666 window frames have been set in from the outside surface of the wall and there is no deep internal window-board to put flowers and knick-knacks.

...and to identify if the damp is coming from the room (condensation) or from the wall, tape a piece of clear plastic tightly to the wall.

If water forms on the room side, it is condensation. If it forms behind the plastic, it is coming from the wall

Clear plastic like cling film?

that should do. I use those plastic document wallets, slit open. It is very clear and does not wrinkle when wet.

If you stretch the clingfilm tight it should be OK.

I think ordinary sellotape falls off when wet, vinyl tape ("insulating tape") is more durable. It might pull the paint off.

Thanks pigletjohn