Damp specialists.... I need you!

[ThatPeskyElf]

Council property...

I know it’s rising damp.
I have photos, it keeps coming back.
Council sent someone to look at it today and they have blamed the following:

• having 2 sofas in lounge (is this unusual?)
• not using one of my 3 external doors and having a dog crate in front of it (dog crate spotless as I hate the smell of dog) also, no mould at all in hallway
• say I should dry my clothes by putting the clothes horse in the kitchen not in lounge (no condensation mould here at all) as I don’t have a tumble drier
• shut the toilet door (no mould in toilet room)

Errrrr what??!!

There is condensation mould in bathroom since upstairs neighbour redid their bath room/knocked down walls etc (might be related, might not) but no where else. This isn’t my issue- bathroom window stays open at all times.

Main mould problem is in my room, photos attached.

• White fluffy mould growing in plaster
• mould all over new laminate (laid in August) and skirting board
• plaster has fallen off wall

It’s textbook rising damp!

Please send advice and wine.

Oh and I forgot, the 5 inches between wardrobe and wall isn’t enough... wardrobes should not be near walls apparently.

Please also send designs to suspend wardrobes in mid air as I haven’t a clue on how to achieve this!

Wall mould photo behind metal bed (not even divan, so lots of air flowing!

Doesn’t look like rising damp as it’s above a doorway. More likely to be penetrating damp or a leak. Rising damp generally rises around 3-4 feet before gravity pulls it back down, so the fact that it’s above your door suggests something else altogether. Could also be condensation, but what’s behind that wall or above it? From what you’ve described I’d say your neighbours bathroom is leaking.

Also, never put wet washing on radiators to dry. Invest in an electric drying rack if you've not got a tumble dryer.
Could be an issue with the wall vent being blocked.
Yes, wardrobes on an external wall isn't ideal, in an already damp room the wall will get damper. Can they be moved to an internal wall? Mound where new flooring has been laid, did the fitters put a damp membrane down? If the flooring touches the wall underneath the damp membrane in the walls, damp will breach it so it could be an issue with the fitting.

Wardrobes aren’t on an external wall
Plaster is above my bed not above a door
Upstairs is my neighbours spare bedroom, bathroom and kitchen is on other side of flat so no water source anywhere near
Fluffy white mould and black mould is from floor to about 50cm from ground
It’s not condensation- have this in the bathroom, I know what this looks like and it’s not that

Agree with others that it doesn't look like rising damp. I think you may have a possible mix of penetrating damp, a leak from upstairs and condensation. Black mould is very definitely associated with condensation.

Do you open windows daily to air rooms out? Who laid the laminate?

How old is the building? You are the ground floor, I assume?

Have you had a look outside at your pointing, guttering & any external vents etc?

Vents (open) in every room
Windows open morning and evening
Washing isn’t dried on radiators
Building is approx 1930’s
My brother laid flooring -his trade so he knows what he’s doing

Plaster is above my bed not above a door

I think PP was referring to the pic with the damp patch next to the ventilation grill. That is not rising damp, it looks like a leak or penetrating damp.

This site focusses more on older houses, but the principles are the same, have a read of the various sections it might help you identify what is happening:

www.heritage-house.org/damp-and-condensation/the-fraud-of-rising-damp.html

Building is approx 1930’s

Oh, the site I linked to will definitely be of use then!

One problem with 1920s/30s buildings is that the plaster is often lime plaster, which doesn't like modern paints and wall papers, it needs to be able to breathe and release moisture,which modern stuff doesn't allow.

Do you have extraction fans in bathroom and kitchen?

It’s very difficult to make a diagnosis from a forum but you have a picture with a vent grill with mould around it. That isn’t rising damp- it’s got a curtain rail near it. It’s gotta be at least 6 foot from the floor. Further the walls that have this rising damp- are they external walls? Or internal? If internal are they load bearing (do they have walls above them or if you can get into the crawl space do they have footings below them?). A 1920s/1930s house almost certainly has a welsh slate DPC. It’s impervious. Very unlikely an internal wall has rising damp.

Also rising damp will rise around 1m from the source of damp- if you have a 2 foot crawl space then you should only see a 1 foot damp line on your walls. Unless you have a huge source of damp on your walls high up.

I certainly had- it was a leaking down pipe- every time we emptied the bath about half the water went down the drain and the other half splashed on the outside of the wall. It was sodden. But it wasn’t rising damp- it was about 5 feet too high!

Looks similar to what we had and that was condensation because the solid wall (no cavity) was porous. Solutions were a dehumidifier, bringing furniture away from window and putting a layer of pva glue on walls before repainting - we have also installed internal insulation gradually but that's a very expensive option hence gradually!