Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Damp/mould now in my 5 month old dd's room! advice needed!

19 replies

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 11:31

I'm stated to get really annoyed and stressed out about my house I'm renting. I moved in July just gone so only been in the house 6 months or so, the house was quite nuce when I moved in. The previous tenant let ua come round a few times so we could play the house, she bigged it up a lot. More then she should have. The kitchen is from the stone age, I mean it has a skirting board around the work tops!! It hasnt been replacex since the house was built. Its unhygienic and just plain ugly! But when we moved in the lardlord said she was thinking of maybe replacing it and the previous tentant said she was offered for them to fit a new one but she said no as she didnt want the hassell with a new born. There was thibking we'd get a new kitchen, asked the landlord last month and she said she cant afford too. So annoyed. You don't understand how digusting it is. I also opened my food cupboard to fond mould on the wall behind!!

Also in me and my patners bedroom there is mould and damp, not only rounf the window (which I'd expect due to condensation) but on the ceiling where the wall plates are. Its black mould, looks a bit furry (yuck!) And its acutlaly dripping down the wall!!! If we leave clothes on the bed or anything over night they are cold and damp!

The bathroom condensation is so bad that the whole windowsill is covered in water. If you put anything on the window seal it will be completely soaked. Every single day I go through loads of toilet roll or towels to clear it up! Its also that bad that the condensation is on the toilet and drips onto the floor. Im so fed up of walking into a massive puddle everyday! There isnt ventilation but we keep the window open all day which is bloody freezong so during the day its not bad but bloody cold! Close window over night and wake up to puddle!!! Angry

And we've done everything we can to try and solve the issues, we dont have the heating on a lot, only to warm the house up of a morning and evening before bed. We only have the hot water on when we need it thsn turn it off once we're finished. We leave windows open in every room upstaires during the day as much as we can!

We rang our landlord and the response we got was ,well it was never a problem when the previous tentant wad there, it must be something your doing! You need to keep the heating to a minimum, open the windows and paint over it and buy a humidifier'

Firstly, we have a 5 month old daughter, we keel the windows open anymore its going to be far too cold for her if its not already. We co constantly was it down with hot water and bleach but just comes back within a few days! And we do not have the money to just go out and pay for things thats not our fault!!

Walk into my daughters room this morning and bamb ther it was. Next to her cot!! I really dont know what to do because I cannot keep her bedroom window open constantly or turn the radiot down or she will freeze of a night. I do a bit and have tk wrap her in 4 blankets of a night! Open it anymore she wont be able to sleep in there!!

Im so fed up of this stressful house! :(
We dont have the money to afford tk move or we'd be out of here like a shot. Is the mould likely to be a health risk? Should I be aloud to live in these condisitions with a baby? Please any help and advice would be really appreciated :(

(Apologise for typos etc not used to touch screen phone yet)

OP posts:
Mycatistoosexy · 28/01/2014 11:40

Same problem here. Try not to open the windows too much as making it colder is only going to add to your condensation problems and cause more mould.

I open my windows for about an hour per day in 15 minute blocks on a rotation basis. I also akwats run the extractor fan and open the kitchen window a crack when cooking. Same when taking a shower, open the window and keep bathroom door shut. Dry washing outside wen possible or in a room with door closed. I have a utility room which works fine. I don't let the house get too cold but I don't have heating on all day. Just enough to maintain a reasonable temperature.

I also bought a dehumidifier and that runs on low to keep damp away. Since then only a few isolated parches of mould on which I use HG mould remover. That stuff is magic.

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 11:46

Landlord told us to open windows all day! Nothung seems to help, we do all that youve mention apart from the dehumidifier as we dont have the money to buy one! :(

OP posts:
Mycatistoosexy · 28/01/2014 11:50

I wouldn't open the windows all day. Just making it too cold. Cold surfaces have lower dew point.

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 11:58

Yeah I see your point. Thing is it was bad before we started opening the windows all day so I really dont know what to do!

OP posts:
addictedtosugar · 28/01/2014 12:13

err, why are you keeping the radiators off?
I'd be turning them up, or having them on low all day. Not keeping the house cooler.
I'd open the windows after a bath/shower etc, and maybe for an hour in the morning, but then warm the house up. Washing dried outside, or in a room with window open and door shut.

How much could you find £ moneywise? I notice you say you don't have £200 to buy a dehumidifier. How much to rent one to dry the house out over the rest of the winter, and then see what happens in the summer?

Apart from the mould, why is the kitchen unhygienic? Once scrubbed clean, it should be OK

Mycatistoosexy · 28/01/2014 12:14

Can you ask your landlord to buy you a dehumidifier? He needs to address why there is so much damp in your house too. Explain to him that openig the windows all day in mid winter is not a reasonable solution especially with a baby.

JuliaScurr · 28/01/2014 12:22

www.wilko.com/insulation/kilrock-slimline-moisture-trap-500g/invt/0135521

I used this type in sink unit after slow leak had made the chipboard literally soggy like wet bread - bone dry after about 1 week
def. worth a try

sympathy with all private renters; it's grim

MoreSnowPlease · 28/01/2014 12:30

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 12:39

The raditors arent off they are on 2, we do have heating on so its not cold but have the windkss open as thats what we've been told to do. But even before hand when the house was warm and the windows weren't open we had the same problem. So opening or closkng windows and different temperatures in the house does change a thing, which we've tried to explain but shes instant ita our fault not the house. And she won't buy a dehumidifier as its because of us apparently..

The kitchen is unhygenic as theres a lot of crack and holes at the edge of work tops. As I siad theres a skirting board around the worktops so food, dust etc gets trapped until them as they arent sealed just fixed on them and you cannot get them out. No matyer how much I scrub and clean. Theres mould in a large cupboard due to no ventalation so we have to keep that cupboard door constantly open. The bottom of the cupboard are like slates, so they also have cracks in wherre food gets trapped. Not to mention the kitchen walls are all stained, matked and faded. Its vile. And our only solution is to spend more of our money to re decorate! :(

OP posts:
Mycatistoosexy · 28/01/2014 12:46

I've got a little thingy that measures the temperature and humidity levels (I'm sure there's a proper word for that bit I'm too sleep deprived). Got it for a fiver off amazon. Get one of those and record the humidity in your house when the windows are all open. A reasonable humidity on winter is 50-55%. Maybe 60%. Above that an you will always have mould/condenstaion and even dust mite problems.

There must be damp getting in somewhere if you do all the suggestions so far on this thread and still the humidity is high. Not sure what to suggest else now bar moving. We are moving when the contract is up as well.

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 12:48

Oh gosh thats terrible thats what im so afraid of! Its one thing in our room but in hers! Made me loosing it. Unfortunately I cant make my landlord buy me one, wish I could. Also im private renting so dont have estate agents for this property. Is there some sort of enviromental health I can contact about it? :/

OP posts:
stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 12:50

And yeah were trying our hardest to save every penny to move vut I dont think it will be anytime soon :( and its because the windows need replacing in my opinion. When we have the heating on its still cold upstaires, horrible draft!

OP posts:
MoreSnowPlease · 28/01/2014 12:53

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 12:54

Thank you. I'm scared to ckntact them because if she gets notified what if she asks us to leave? We'd have no where to go. Can she do that?

OP posts:
specialsubject · 28/01/2014 12:54

no, you don't paint - that's what landlords do. Not the answer.

if the kitchen is as it was when you decided to rent it, you've no comeback on that.

if it wasn't damp when the previous tenant was there then either it is your lifestyle or something has gone wrong with the building.

is there an extractor fan in the bathroom? do you ventilate and dry that?
ditto the kitchen.
do you dry washing indoors?

you need to heat it properly, ventilate morning and evening (you don't need windows open all day). You need to let out the warm moist air, (laws of physics)

building - leaking gutter? damp coming in?

person who says 'all private renting is grim' can...deleted. I am a private landlord and rent out a newly renovated, clean, tidy, energy efficient house.

MoreSnowPlease · 28/01/2014 12:58

This reply has been withdrawn

Withdrawn at poster's request

ghostofawasp · 28/01/2014 13:03

We had this in a house we rented, it was horrible. Even our clothes started to grow mould while hanging on the rails!

The landlord has a duty, private or otherwise to make sure that their properties are maintained to a decent standard. Like MoreSnowPlease says, take photos and contact Environmental Health at the council, which is what we did. I hope you get it sorted, it's horrible. We were all ill all the time in that house and I'm sure the damp was a lot to do with it.

stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 13:11

In reply to specialsubject

Yes we knew how the kitchen was but she did say she was going to fit a new one. She gave us the image that many changes to the house was coming and if there was problems it would be fixed. But I guess thats not gonna happen as we was living with an unsafe boiler for 4 months which she had to replace last month as I didnt pass its gas safe. So we had to go without hot water for 3 days with a 5 month old.

It was damp when the previous tentant was here.. it was left up to the tentnat to fix which she told the landlord she did but clearly she didnt and I dont blame her. Its not up to her.

There isnt ventilation in the bathroom but as I said we open the window. Its when you close the window of a night that we get the puddles.

We dont dry our clothes indoors we have a tumblr dryer which yes we ventalalted.

And we have had the house warm as I said and the damp was there, but then was told to open windows..

OP posts:
stumpsxo · 28/01/2014 13:14

Moresnowplease I will ring and ask thank you!

Gostofawasp we have taken pictures they are minging! We'll look at contacting them thank you!

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread