Not sure what this (damp/condensation) is or who to contact

[ScoobyDoobyDoowhere]

As above not sure what this is thinking maybe damp (not sure if what type) or condensation and don’t know where to start/who to contact insurance or what sort of trades person? It is in our front room (which we don’t use that much), 1930’s semi. TIA

Its just in this one corner of the room, not much day light today, sorry.

Have you checked your guttering to see if is blocked?
I'd get them cleaned this should be done annually.
I'd say there is water seeping in from somewhere.

Do you heat the room and keep the door open for air circulation? If not, it is simply being down to the room being too cold and unaired.

Is there a leak?

We can’t see a leak and it has rained a lot this weekend. No we haven’t had the gutters cleaned frequently. We did heat the room last year but we have turned the house thermostat right down since the fuel price increases.

So what would our best plan of action be? Get the gutters cleaned, heat the room a little and see what happens and or should we be getting a particular trades person to come round to advise us? Thanks

Have a look outside. Does the guttering have debris in it? Or moss growing on the outer edge? Any signs of leaking/overspill? Is it in good condition - no missing/broken clips etc? Borrow some binoculars if necessary. Look for missing pointing/loose roof tiles etc as well.
A window cleaner or a gutter company can clean and fix the gutters if you don’t want to diy.
If it not external, then do you have any pipe work in the above room/attic that’s could leak?
Basically fix the source of the problem first, then dry out the wall and remedy any internal damage/paintwork.

It's mould - due to condensation or water penetration.

Lots of information about how to deal with this online, but it basically comes down to using anti-mould products to get rid of the existing mould, and preventing future problems by dealing with any leaks, adequate heating and mopping up any condensation as it occurs.

Thanks @Alphabet1spaghetti2 I can’t see anything in the guttering ourselves when looking up from the ground, but could be due to this as neighbours had some work done. I will go outside again when the really heavy rain has stopped or slowed down to check the clips (I am freezing at the moment).

@FlowerArranger /No condensation on the front room windows/window sills and the room is carpeted.

The damp patch is only in the corner of the room. We have a traditional 1930’s semi and the room has a bay window. The corner where the damp patch is backs onto the porch area which appears dry.

if this a recent problem and your neighbours have had recent work …. But have they had work near that area? I’m thinking rubble in gutter causing blocked and overflowing gutters or damage to roof in some way?
worth having a good nosey at your exterior as water travels the easiest way to ground - which may not always be straight up and down.

The corners are the coldest bit of a room, so if your house humidity is a bit high and this room is not being heated, that might cause it.

Is the porch a ,"storm" porch at the front and does it have it's own guttering that feeds water into the front down pipe?
Is the water damage newish and how far up the wall can you see water marks?
The heavy rain might have been too much for the gutters to collect adequately.

The porch doesn’t have separate guttering and unsure what a storm porch is or how we would know if the house had high humidity. It is a 1930’s semi if that helps the porch is open i.e. doesn’t have a separate external door other than the main front door. The damp patch seems to be worse starting from the skirting board and goes up until about a foot before the ceiling.

Maybe post a couple of exterior pictures of the corner and guttering?

My suspicion is that it's simply condensation gathering in the coolest corner of the room. Ventilate, ventilate, ventilate is the key thing to do, keep the air moving around (open windows in this room and on the other side of the house for 20 mins every morning) and don't leave interior doors shut all day. Also a bit more heat in the room, turn the radiator up one notch.

No condensation on the front room windows/window sills and the room is carpeted - no because condensation forms on the coldest surface of the room and this corner is it!

We have this in a few corners - particularly the kitchen which is the coldest room.

We did get a quote for cavity wall insulation - the silver balls & considering that but a bit unsure whether it will be worth it or not.

Also going to get a dehumidifier & hope that helps

Is that corner on the outside edge, or on the attached side?

Anyone considering cavity wall insulation - when done well it really makes a noticeable difference to how well a house retains heat.

But:
the exterior walls must be in good condition, especially the pointing/render

The installer should check inside your cavity, especially near the bottom,to ensure thet when the house was being built, the cavities were left properly clear and there isn't a pile of bits of dropped mortar, broken bricks etc down there which could trap dampness

If you are in an exposed location (high up or near the coast - anywhere you regularly get 'horizontal rain' ie rain xrtiven by wind) cavity insulation is probably a bad idea.

Sorry for the digression OP

Oh and if your house is draftty but has no good ventilation system installed, cavity insulation may cut down the drafts (good) but in some situations you amy end up with too little air circulation (bad). New windows also notoriously cause this problem. The answer is to install effective ventilation. And use it.

I have this in my bathroom and it’s really bad damp. 1930s terraced property. I now have noticed black mould at the bottom of the wall and all around the windows. There’s terrible condensation in the windows: I’ve just moved here a few months ago and I’m starting to see all the problems. We also have mould growing in the backs of the kitchen cupboards and no wooden plinths in the kitchen. Shower leaking, kitchen sink leaking.

Did the room once had a fireplace that was blocked up? We had a similar problem that we thought was damp but all it needed was a vent put in the wall where the fireplace had been to allow air to circulate. Never had a problem since.

@ScoobyDoobyDoowhere

I will go outside again when the really heavy rain has stopped or slowed down to check the clips

You need to go out and look when it IS raining heavily so you can see if there's water dripping/pouring from the gutters or down pipes. Not much point looking for it when it's dry!

Ventilate, open windows daily wipe any condensation away.
Ensure there is an air gap round furniture it's not sitting tight to the wall .
Check ground levels outside, check guttering check for slipped slates or tiles.
Lids on saucepans, no washing on radiators, open window after showers.

@ScoobyDoobyDoowhere - there was am segment on mould on World at One (Radio 4) today. You can listen to it on BBC Sounds or iPlayer.