The humidity in my house is ridiculous.

[WolvesOfTheCalla]

Moved into a Grade 2 Listed cottage in a conservation area about a month ago.

Unexpected inheritance from my Grandmothers sister - never married, no children, I assumed she’d leave it to my Grandmother who would sell it; have been a life long renter and expected to always be, have lived in plenty of shitty houses but never one with a humidity issue.

It’s around 80% in every bloody room. Single glazed, wooden frame windows that are first on my list to repair and eventually replace when I’ve figured out what the council will/won’t allow/what my budget is.

There’s other stuff too but it’s mostly cosmetic, she kept up with the building itself fairly well considering her age.

I've always slept like shit but this is something else; it’s like my hay fever has become year round. Itchy eyes, scratchy throat, sneezing etc.

A friend dropped off a small 2 litre dehumidifier which has been running in my bedroom (the smallest, has the most features and is beautiful) since 3pm. So far it’s gone down from 82% to 71% and the difference in the feel of the air is huge.

But there’s two big bastard bedrooms to deal with (1 DD in each) a decent sized bathroom, a fourth bedroom that wouldn’t even fit a toddler bed so it’s my teen DDs study room/my office, and downstairs is a living room, dining room, kitchen diner(ish - 2 seater table under the window), shower room, laundry/boot room.

What are my options here? I’ve got a £300 budget (and hanging fire for Black Friday), would prefer an energy efficient one (or two?!) with a smart app or similar so I can automate it, don’t care how loud it is as I sleep with white noise on the Alexa anyway, don’t care what it looks like either.

Google blew my head off and I’m extremely fucking low on spoons right now, between work(ing from home, which I hate), medical appointments for me and DD1, unpacking, driving to two schools each morning (school buses aren’t sorted yet), studying for my Masters, and discovering the many, many quirks of the property that I have many fond summer memories of but had no clue what a fucker it would be to live in I am wiped out and have no brain cells left.

Also, look into getting some little absorbent sachets to put in your drawers/under wardrobes to stop damp collecting there and causing mould.

If you search for ‘ansio small space dehumidifier’ on Amazon they do good sachets.

The most important thing is to not let it overwhelm you. Damp can be combated. I literally cried when my new house got damp because I thought there was nothing I could do, but over time I found if I made some small lifestyle changes I could get rid of the damp and keep it at bay. one big dehumidifier, several small drawer dehumidifier sachets (replaced when full) and window opening strategy later the house is nice and dry and has been for years.

Hopefully I’ll cover everything-

I’m not moaning. I’m a disabled single parent with a disabled teenager and a young child, having my own home is beyond my wildest dreams. However, that doesn’t mean that I’m not struggling to find my feet as it’s the first time I’ve lived in an old house. Long Covid has wrecked my health and I don’t want to end up with a damp, mouldy house because I’ve made a stupid, ignorant mistake I really didn’t mean to come off like that.

Not all of the windows open - I’d say about half don’t. The ones that do get cracked open an inch or three as soon as I get up, depending on the weather/if I’m at home all day or not. It’s not a new habit, it was drilled into me as a teen by my Grandmother who pretty much raised me.

Doors - none of them close properly and I’m the sort of arsehole that forgets to close them 99% of the time anyway

Two Inglenook fire places - haven’t been used in well over a decade, so I won’t be using them until I’ve had them looked at. I am definitely the type to burn down my house.

Karcher window vac arrived last week, it’s so grim but satisfying. I was surprised to find that the tank was full after only doing two windows. Most of them are so big I have to drag a ladder around with me to reach the top, admittedly I am very short.

I’m back at work in January, I’ve changed jobs (sort of a sideways promotion) and will be out of the house from 7:30am - 5:30pm x3 days a week, a tad worried about being able to faff opening/Karcher-ing windows on those mornings.

Heating - yes, I’m tight as fuck with it but have given it a blast twice a week for a few hours because I have circulation issues in my hands and fingerless gloves when sat in my office wasn’t cutting it. I’m a knitter so we have an insane amount of blankets, hot water bottles, and I layer clothes anyway due to sensory issues.

Money wise… That’s a tricky one. My rent was extremely high, I think UC only covered about 1/3
-1/2 of it (even when I was only on NMW) and I’ve had to drastically lower my hours/WFH in order to orchestrate the move (150 miles away - new job is in the nearest City) so my finances are still fairly janky and I’ve not had time to properly sit and look at them (and frankly, I’ve spent so much time over the last more than a year since I learned I was getting the house juggling the numbers that I am bored to tears of it).

I also had to clear the house mostly by myself, my Grandmother made endless streams of tea and sandwiches though.

Damp specialist is top of my list, alongside windows, fireplaces, insulation. Don’t see any/haven’t seen any damp for years though.

This is all something I never thought I’d be able to even think about, so I’m embarrassingly under educated, and between clearing the house/sorting the move/dealing with health issues, aside from getting the boiler, electrics and roof checked over, I’ve done nothing. Thankfully they were all redone c.2007 so aren’t a pressing issue.

Thanks for the FB group rec, I’ll check it out.

Nobody ever leaves me any houses

I have an extension pole that my Karcher window vac sits on so much easier than dragging a ladder around. Apologies for clunky link

www.amazon.co.uk/K%C3%A4rcher-26331440-Window-Vacuum-Extension/dp/B07L6GYTHD/ref=asc_df_B07L6GYTHD/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309785472429&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16161075827605256047&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=20342&hvtargid=pla-640718835533&th=1

Honestly, am surprised it wasn’t sold for care home fees. She was 97 when she died, but as she repeatedly said “I’m too sturdy for all of that” or left to my Grandmother (84).

Quite why she chose to skip her and her nephews/one of which is my Dad, I’m not sure, but I’m glad she did. Especially my Dad, he’s a financial disaster and on his fifth divorce He is furious about it.

His three brothers sniggered all the way through his tirade and, thinking of it, it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d had a hand in it.

Barring my Grandmother, none of us have much to do with him. Her and my Uncles (he’s much younger) were the ones who did most of the raising of me, he was either off wherever his current wife lived or working away or both.

I spent most of my summers/Christmas/Easter here with my Aunt. She was a glorious woman and I’m sad that my youngest didn’t know her the way my teen did.

I need to get some sleep and will come back with more suggestions, but get onto Amazon/ebay and order some of those cheap "damp absorbers"

I can see 10 for just light of £16. They might only last a month, but it will help you identify problem areas.

It sounds as if you are tackling a few years of sub-optimal maintenance and you need to get on top of things. If you have time to research local tool hire shops, you might be able to rent a decent dehumidifier to help you.

Being tight with the heating isn't doing you any favours.
Get the larger meaco and get the air warmed in the house. The dehumidifier works much more efficiently with warm air and having the heating on will help dry the house out quicker.

Use the window vac after every bath or shower on the screen and tiles. It gets so much water out.

Old habits die hard it seems, I’ve always had to keep energy costs low due to high rent I really need to unclench, don’t I?!

Will do the bathroom after my morning shower, that hadn’t even occurred to me. It’s separate to and sort of around the corner from the bath. That was recently re done (around 6 years ago IIRC) and she didn’t skimp on it, but the window is one of the smallest in the house.

Kitchen is falling to bits but I can live with that, doesn’t bother me.

Extractor fan in the bathroom and kitchen makes a difference. Windows blow the damp air further into the house initially, extracted is better, then open the windows to finish off airing the place after the towel has dried on the radiator (turn heating on for half hour, even if only in the bathroom) and the extractor fan has dealt with the majority of the damp.

Hillington Reusable Car Interior Dehumidifier Bag and Dashboard Mounting Anti-Slip Mat - Ideal for Use in Vehicles to Prevent Damp, Moisture, and Condensation (2 x 1KG) amzn.eu/d/bpq9MxU

Put these on your windowsill. I love mine.

I moved into this 1930's bungalow in March 2021, and in November discovered all the floors were covered in mould. I've had a damp/timber specialist here, and he said it was condensation, I had to have all of the floors replaced. I had to have the carpets, shower, fitted units and fitted wardrobes ripped out before the work, I can still hardly believe it.

He recommended a Positive Ventilation Unit in the loft which circulates the air around constantly - apparently they make a small grille in the loft hatch. I haven't bought one yet as it's about a grand, but will have to - I've already got mould forming on the new skirting boards.

Can't you sell it and buy a house more suited to you?

Question about these - if you have to put them in the microwave or on a radiator to dry them out again, would that not mean the moisture is evaporated back into the air in your house? (Not snarky, considering getting them for my car but live in a new build that’s still drying out and don’t want to slow that down!)

Strange response. Even new builds will have a snagging list, most (if not all) properties will have something that needs doing.

It’s semi rural, the village has an actual community, the schools are great, crime rate is very low, there’s a lot of amenities despite its location, low maintenance decent sized garden, very low light pollution, I could go on.

Its much more suited to me and, more importantly, the needs of both of my children than the shitty inner city flat I was renting before, which was in disrepair and I had no power to fix anything in it, a LL that hiked the rent constantly, sky high crime, noise, pollution.

I think the house sounds marvellous. Watching with interest. I have a 1920s house with original bay windows at the front of the house, and in the wet weather these windows are developing mould.

Ventilation and heat. Both are needed in every house of traditional construction. Every single day get the windows open gif ten minutes. It’s a false economy skipping this in an attempt to keep the “heat” it’s the wrong type of heat.

Then get those chimneys swept asap and get the fires going plus use the central heating. And keep the dehumidifier on until the problem is better. I agree that you should buy another.

you need to invest s bit in making this house functional. It takes a bit of time and effort but it will be worth it. I can easily talk myself into not going out for logs and kindling in the mornings when it’s cold and wet but it improves the house enormously to have a constant background heat going.

I have the little dehumidifier tubs of granules all over

Sounds amazing. Sorry for the loss of your lovely Aunt, she sounds like an amazing woman.

Was the house empty and shut up for a while after your Aunt died? That might add to the " itchy throat" feeling, dust and airlessness. I would put the heating on as much as you can afford, open all the windows and doors that you can, and give it an almighty clean. Any time the rain subside too and the sun is out, open up your house. Is there any fusty old furniture still there that might need getting rid of? That might help.

Bit by bit you will improve things, this is the worst time of year for what you need but it won't be long till the weather improves. Imagine that lovely house in Spring with the sun streaming through the windows.

I think you need to manage your expectations here. It's listed. You are highly unlikely to get consent to change windows for double glazing (which won't solve the damp issue anyway).

Insulation- unlikely for walls. Specific type needed in roof - some modern types could make it worse.

Damp specialist- don't get a free company around. Damp proof coursing (injectable) won't work and won't be allowed consent.

Old houses need to breathe- lime plaster, ventilation etc.

You need to get a specialist historic building surveyor around.

Check gutters and roof. Do you have a water leak which could explain it? If you have a water metre, check if it's moving even when all taps etc are off.

Is there any fusty old furniture still there that might need getting rid of? That might help

This a good point. Old sofas abd chairs in particular. And get all the curtains cleaned.

Going forwards that is part of owning an old house. Middle of July is the time for taking down all curtains and cleaning them and then getting them dry in the sun.

there is a great list somewhere of yearly maintenance tasks for homeowners split into seasons. It’s been a good few years since I’ve seen it but I’ll see if I can find the thread.

I have a very old period house, we have lived here for years and I have never seen so much condensation. We haven't needed the heating.

Open a window, air the house and close them after an hour or two before it gets cold in the evening. It is a very warm and damp November this year, and very unusual for the time of year.

It’s been empty for over a year. A neighbour was popping in regularly to keep an eye on things for me.

I was thinking loft insulation - I’ve only ventured up there once, and there’s nothing up there. Wall insulation never crossed my mind, assumed it wouldn’t be possible, glad to know I was right with that!

Not on a water meter. Will ask neighbours who they use for guttering/if they know who my Aunt used.

I kept about half of the furniture - the rest had been against the walls and were rather grim/not my taste/not suitable/etc. Anything that was decent went to the charity that helped me furnish my house after I left the DV refuge a few years back.

Re windows, I’m more concerned about the state of the frames than the glazing. Not something I’d like to tackle myself though.

Curtains were taken down and sorted over the summer, they’re as thick as a duvet so had to pay to get them cleaned.

I realise I must sound stupid, but having my first owned home be a listed one is a trial by fire, and I’ve only been here for just over 4 weeks, I’m still unpacking/sorting and finding my feet with the new routines.

No, not at all. I have a fairly old and slightly leaky convertible and it takes out all the condensation and keeps the seats dry but the bag tends to feel as dry as ever.

I take it camping too. Never had a spot of condensation inside the tent or damp clothes since I've had it.

It's just a giant silica gel bag so it's very difficult to get very wet. Definitely not like a sponge.

Great advice here. I would be wary of getting a damp specialist in. I think lots are dodgy. Take the advice on here instead.

@Salome61 you can get UVC lights that apparently kill model. We've only just bought ours to try so can't confirm it works, but the reviews were positive Philips UV-C Disinfection Desk Lamp for Home, Indoor, Hotel and Travel. amzn.eu/d/0JLnW0I . It wouldn't fix the damp problem behind your mould problem obviously, but might be worth trying until you can get the mould fixed because of the health risks of the mould itself.