70s house issues or lifestyle?

[FlyMeToDunoon]

I was allocated a housing association house last year and of course was incredibly relieved and grateful. My old home was a private rental, victorian semi detached house the likes of which I'd lived in many times and was familiar with. It had damp issues some of which the landlord finally dealt with under duress in the year before we left.
Moved into this house and am getting used to the 70s stuff slowly- the open stairway up out of the living room, the lack of cornicing, the wall hung tiles outside, the built in garage and others. Quite a novelty to me.

However the damp is still there in our lives which came as a nasty surprise. The humidity can be up at 84% in one upstairs back room and water can be seen beading on the wall as well as appearing as condensation on the double glazed windows. There was never anything as bad in the previous house. All rooms are affected to some extent but this room which is above the garage and has an end of terrace wall is the worst. It's freezing all year round. I can barely get it above 14 degrees when the rest of the house is at 19/20

There are big white plastic panels to two of the windows, front bedroom and living room, like conservatory panels. These get condensation on them and black mould along the edges and crevices. The double glazed upvc windows are incredibly draughty.
The loft is insulated but the roof membrane is in tatters.

I was able to dry washing outside last summer and of course the doors and windows were open all day long but the winter weather has meant that everything is dried on racks indoors now. I have two dehumidifiers on most of the day, every day. We wake up and get in to clammy feeling clothes and go to sleep in clammy feeling beds. The almost constant rain can't be helping.
The rise in energy costs has meant that the heating is on at 20degrees for minimal time and most of the time now the thermostat is set to maintain 15degrees otherwise.

So I'm finding it difficult to know if we have brought some problems to the house or it is causing them or a combination. I have asked the housing association to check whether there is a damp problem in the back bedroom and that should be done at some point. I asked if they had any plans to improve wall insulation and they said no. The loft did get surveyed and more insulation was recommended but nothing has happened. The roof membrane was not mentioned.

From what I have seen in the media, there are a lot of issues with housing associations not tackling damp issues.

Damp is a major health risk, document everything, take pictures, make a diary of when you have called the HA and ask them if calls are recorded, and tell them that if they are not then you are going to record the call so that there is a record of it.

If you email them bcc in [email protected]
He is an advocate for getting housing associations to tackle repairs.

Damp in one room cannot be something you are doing wrong or you would see issues all over the house.

Best of luck. Social housing does not mean you need to live in unsafe conditions. It should mean you live a safer life rather than being exploited by a terrible landlord.

Thank you for responding. Are other peoples houses like this? Is it the housing, the insulation, ventilation or what?
I know I shouldn't have washing on racks indoors but I don't see what else I can do. I have researched tumble dryers but apart from electricity costs I cannot afford to buy one unless it comes up cheap second hand.

You cannot dry washing indoors without causing damp unless you heat and ventilate your rooms by having the windows open. You can still dry clothes outside as long as it isn't raining. Or even if it is raining if you have a sheltered area with a roof on it.

It's rained for days. I do not have any kind of covered outdoor area. I never understand how people are meant to get towels, bedding, jeans or indeed anything dry.
As for opening windows-it's winter, it's cold.
As for heating-there's an energy crisis. I'm terrified of heating my house but I do for a couple of hours a day.

We rent out my mums house which my mum lived in for 64 years. In all that time there has never been a problem with damp or mould other than window condensation at Christmas when there are lots of visitors and lots of cooking. Easily addressed by opening the kitchen windows and back doors for a short time.

This year, the tenant has complained about damp patches in the kitchen and bathroom, we have been advised by the agents to have a fan fitted in the kitchen and the walls/ceiling painted with water resistant paint. When the fitter went to fit the fan, he reported that there was wet washing draped over several radiators and also an airer up in the bathroom - no open windows!

We provided a tumble dryer but I guess the tenant is worried about the cost of using it. I don’t know what we can do to stop her drying clothes indoors though. The rent for the house is below the going rate according to the agents but we don’t want to increase it as the plan is to sell the house as soon as probate comes through - the lease ends in March.

Hopefully the damp problem won’t get much worse in the next few months, there is a rotary dryer in the garden for when the weather improves and also a brand new, empty garage which could be used to dry clothes on a warm but wet day. I think a lot of properties are going to get problems with damp this year as people are unable to afford to have the heating on or use tumble dryers.

The only advice I have is to try to open the windows for half an hour or so to get a flow of air through the house. I know that seems mad when it’s cold but I think a boiler works more efficiently when heating a dry atmosphere so it might use less energy in the long term.

Have you thought about buying a tumble dryer ?

Can't afford that so have to try to dry clothes without creating damp

As others have said, drying your washing indoors is the problem.

All that water is being trapped inside your house. The HA can't fix it.

Do you have a local launderette whose giant dryer you could use once a week?

It is absolutely vital to properly air your house - there's no way for the dampness to escape otherwise.

Our daily routine is::

1. Hoover the windows with a Karcher window vac
2. Open all windows WIDE for 20-30 mins, essentially 'swapping' the air
3. Shut windows and if it's a properly cold day put heating on 1hr. Drier air heats more efficiently

It’s really difficult at the moment and the constant rain doesn’t help. Fundamentally, so much of the housing stock in the U.K. is terrible.
Things that might help a little:

• air the house regularly. It might seem counterintuitive. Let fresh air in by opening the windows wide for 10 minutes or so. Then close windows and turn up the heating. It will work more efficiently when the air is less damp.
• If possible, buy a window vacuum. I have a Karcher bought years ago which is about £43 now but you can probably find a cheaper brand that’ll do the job. Regularly “vacuum” your windows and the plastic panels. It’s amazing how much water it captures!
• Use the highest spin setting on your washing machine where possible (obviously not for delicate clothes but I often give jeans or bed linen an extra spin for example)
• You might already be doing this - try reducing the amount of washing you do. I’m more diligent now about hanging clothes up to air, and about removing stains manually if eg I’ve just dropped something on an otherwise clean jumper rather than chuck it in the washing machine. Saves on energy for both washing and drying.

I would still also lobby the HA for better insulation/proper windows. Though not sure how much hope you have!

Black mould is terrible and very bad for your health (as well as for the building). If you have any leeway financially I’d bite the bullet and heat as much as you possibly can afford to avoid this.

I know someone who works for a HA. He says a lot of problems are caused by houses being heavily insulated and draft free (i.e no air circulation) and people not having heating on which is understandable. Just breathing creates moisture which condenses on the cold walls and windows. He recommended opening front and back windows for a short time every day .

You can't dry jeans and towels in an unventilated house!

Options:
Get into debt to get a dryer
Use a laundrette
Don't wear jeans/ cut towel use etc
You need all the windows opened for at least an hour a day.

The health implications aren't even worth thinking about.

We've lived in our vintage 1968 house for ages. It is not normally damp prone, but this year is different with its exceptionally wet weather. We were limiting the use of the tumble dryer and heating due to fuel costs. But it seems we have to choose between a damp mouldy house with all the problems that brings, or just suck up the cost of fuel and heat it properly and use the tumble dryer too. We've chosen the latter.

I use those Turkish Hammam towels because they're so much quicker to dry. It's like a very large tea towel.

Dry jeans in the airing cupboard if you have one, when the heating isn't on.

.... but in general agree with others, you still need to heat a bit, and ventilate, ventilate, ventilate. That's the only way to avoid damp from condensation.

My absolute top tip is to open all the bedroom windows a crack every single night, when the heating is off; doing this means we rarely wake up to windows running with water but aren't pouring money away by heating when the windows are open.

This is where the ‘clammy’ feeling comes from. We have a covered area we dry clothes outside if they can’t be tumbled dried. We open one window upstairs and one downstairs all morning. We also run a dehumidifier.

humidity should be 50-60%

so the problem might be the lifestyle. Also condensation occurs on cold surfaces so the colder the room the more damp it will feel even if the whole house humidity is the same.

Lifestyles tend to cause the condensation as mentioned. I run a de humidifier and keep the mouister level to not more than 50%. I use the launderette to dry stuff, costs about 3.50 for 3 or 4 loads, all dry in under 30 minutes. Always have extractor fans on in kitchen and bathroom. When running them make sure your blinds or curtains are open.

Since you have a garage I would just use that to dry your washing. And get the dehumidifiers that suck in water and give out warm air, I can't remember the name of them now, but they are miles better than the ones that just collect water.

Try and dry all your washing in the smallest space with the dehumidifier on and the door closed to try and trap the worst of the water in a single room. Take the big things, towels, bedding etc to the laundrette.

Have you tried the teddy bedding, being synthetic I find it is very quick drying and always feels warmer when getting into bed.

I live in a 1968 house, with a “heat miser” our thermostat is set between 12-15, currently amazingly apart from the conservatory we don’t suffer with damp. We do have a fireplace so use that every evening to warm the lounge.

Another thing is that it doesn't have to be warm outside to dry washing. If the path is dry the washing should dry - there's nothing like a windy day to freshen up your laundry. You will need to air it inside before you put it away though.

We selectively wash bedding, towels, jeans (ie the heavy stuff) on days where the washing can go outside on the line for a few hours.
It isn't dry when it comes in, but it only takes a couple of hours to be fully dry. The time outside makes a massive difference.

Open the windows every day - cold air can hold less moisture than warm air, so by replacing the inside air with (cold) outside air, you are reducing the moisture.

Keep pushing for additional insulation - or if you have a stable tenancy agreement, it might be worth doing it yourself - it is hard work, but straightforward and not massively expensive.

I'd also look at any guttering around the cold bedroom. Is it leaking when it rains??

I emphathise as we have this issue in our 1970s house, which we own. My previous house did not suffer from these issues. Every day we:

Karcher vac windows and wipe around seals with a towel
Open the window for an hour to let air in
Use a Meaco dehumidifyer
Put those pots with balls in to try soak up the moisture
Minimise moisture - wash and dry sparingly, sometimes airing outside (we don't have a covered area, but on a dry day we do this).

None of this is ideal, but we have come to the conclusion some houses - whether owned or rented - are more prone to this than others, as we lived the same lifestyle in our 1990s build, which did not suffer from damp or mould.

We still have the original windows in our 1890’s house and they suffer a lot from condensation overnight. A recently purchased window vacuum has been a revelation this year. So much quicker and more effective than wiping the condensation away. I’m amazed how much water actually sits on the windows. Cheaper than a tumble drier and you’d probably be able to pick one up second hand.

Thank you so much for all your input.
I will try and have windows open for some time every day. Most of the windows have vents which are kept open all of the time. it doesn't seem to make much difference. Neither does the the draughty windows!

Catching the dry weather especially when I can be at work from 7.45 till 6.30 is so difficult and then there's where to finish off all off of this washing that's either now sopping from the rain that started at 5.30 or still damp after a day outside. So, yes it ends up draped over radiators, furniture and the racks.

There are four of us living in the house and the thought of trying to dry all of the laundry in one room is laughable even if I could get teenagers to agree to it. When my eldest child moves out it will free up one room so maybe...

There is not a local launderette in this village. The nearest would be a 20 minute bus ride followed by a 10 minute walk away. I have used launderettes in town in the past and found them, unlike in the days of my youth, to be expensive and inefficient.

The garage is dirty, full of spiders and unused furniture. It is in line for a clear out this year.

I actually did buy a cheap version of a karcher. The problem I have discovered is that yes it's great for the big 70s windows and the plastic panels (if you don't have furniture in from of them to move every time) but because you have to use them upright you cannot get down to the bottom of any window with a sill. The bottom of every window with a sill has to be wiped as usual with kitchen roll up to about 25cm up. Now that wasn't in any of the reviews!

The teenage children have had the riot act re- using lots of towels read several times and now I am gathering towels as they are eventually dry and stashing them away so they can't have more than one set at a time.

I'm keeping my eye out for tumble dryers on Facebook marketplace and local ebay.

Ask the HA if they can fit either continuous extractor fans or a positive input ventilation system. Either of these should help with damp issues.

We fitted a loft mounted continuous extractor fan in our bathrooms and from then on we haven't really needed the dehumidifier (if I put it on auto it would go straight onto low). It extracts a small amount of air 24/7 and boosts when the bathroom light is switched on. You can also get them with humidistats so they boost when there is more moisture in the air. We air dry washing in a room with the fan and have no damp issues. About 1cm of condensation on the bottom of the bedroom windows first thing in the morning on the very coldest days only.