Why is my house so damp when it never used to be this bad?

[CormorantStrikesBack]

I5s an old Victorian house. I know that damp is generally down a lack of heating and ventilation.

so I have the heating at 19degrees. I admit I’m not great at this time of year about having windows open but I manage ten minutes in the morning in our bedroom before going to work, longer if I’m wfh. But I’ve never been great with the windows so no different to normal.

The house is noticeably damper this year than previously. There are damp patches on all external walls, condensation on the walls. We are getting mould.

i am wiping the walls every day. We use a window vac on the windows every morning. I have a 12ltr Meaco dehumidifier running constantly. So it’s been going in my bedroom with the door shut most of the day, I started it at 8am, went up at 6pm and it was full so had stopped. Started it again and the reading is still 80%. Room feels damp. It never used to be this bad.

i move the dehumidifier downstairs overnight. I probably could do with one in every room but can’t afford the electricity! I’ve ordered some of those non plug in ones, not sure how useful they are.

do I need to get anything structural checked with the house? I asked dh and he just said well it’s cold outside so we’ll have more condensation. But I swear a few years ago it wasn’t like this even when cold.

Do I turn the heating up to 20?

Good tips about the dehumidifier thanks.

Mold spots. Clean them off with bleach.

Heat does not take water out of a house.

Ventilation does.

But the water is coming from somewhere.

Show us a photo of your bathroom fan please. How many minutes a day do you run it, and do you leave the bathroom door open or closed?

Close the internal doors and look at all the windows first thing in the morning. Which rooms are wetter? This may give clues of the source, such as a leak under the floor, a flueless gas heater, or a tropical fish tank.

Water vapour is lighter than air and naturally rises through the house until it escapes or finds a cool surface to condense on.

Op check your gutters and downpipes. Get into the loft check for any leaks, and any issues with water tanks.

The water is coming from somewhere.

I think

P.S.

After wiping off the condensation, where do you put the wet cloths?

From your description, I think you have a leak. Probably inside the house but might be gutters. Leaks under the floor are out of sight.

Photo of the bathroom fan and also some of the damp patches. We run the bathroom fan after showers with the bathroom door closed.

maybe we should start running it all the time with the bathroom door open

We wipe with paper towels and put them in the kitchen bin which has a lid. Guess we ought to put them in the outside bin

You run the fan after the shower?? No wonder your bathroom is mouldy, imagine all the moisture in there. I have the fan on before the shower is even running and also have a dehumidifier on in the bedroom (enquire bathroom). If it's not cold then I also open the window afterwards.

Alot of people do it, but you also shouldn't be drying clothes inside on clothes racks (sorry, haven't RTFT). Basically all of the moisture is just going into your house and houses weren't made for this, especially old ones

I don't think it's normal to have that much damp. Water must be getting somehow, gutters, roof, blown brick work etc.

Heating on at 24 would need to be constant with windows open to have an effect, I would def get a decent builder to have a look.

That looks like water ingress to me. Pointing on your bricks need redoing?

Positive pressure ventilation is risky, it can be very damaging as you are essentially pushing moisture laden air out and it will try to go out through any route it can including bricks (porous) etc. If you've also painted your walls with sealant on the outside you've now created a bad situation. Pov is only suitable for some settings and if very carefully considered.

Mvhr is far better, no risk and you can get decentralised mvhr if you can't run ducts through.

It has been a very wet year this year. Suspect your single skin building is just soaked and not had a chance to dry out

I live in victorian cottage....it was so damp ..80%> i bought dehumidifier 20l...got it down to 50 and just under (mould will grow if humidity is over 50)..took ages though. I also bought a karcher window vac for condensation on windows ...tiles etc. the damp here was horrendous...its now solved it... apart from very outside wall.. thar's structural. If dehumidifier doesnt take it down to under 50 after few week.. there's structural issue. I had to have roof replaced and a lintel repaired x

If you have the bathroom door open then the water is going to go back into your house

Bricks often become porous with age. Repointing can help.
replastering with lime plaster and breathable paints, ideally like wash let’s the moisture move through the wall and dry out without creating problems.

The cheap option is to paint the outside brick work with Thompson’s water seal when the bricks are totally dry all the way through. It will need redoing every year or two as it’s not a permanent option.

I meant run it for a bit after showers with the door shut to get rid of any water vapour in the bathroom.

then keep it running the rest of the day with the bathroom door open to see if it helps drag damp air out the rest of the house?

I do think the whole of the back and the side of the house might need repointing. Which I’m guessing will cost a fortune!

Do you have chimneys? I expect you do as it’s a Victorian house. I’d get those checked and any breather vents in the roof if installed, aren’t blocked.

Yes, we have chimneys. I don’t think there’s any vents fitted.

Was also going to say pointing. It is expensive though, still paying off the loan for getting our house done. But sounds like water is coming in through the brickwork if it's the side that gets the most rain exposure.

Our house is still damp on the chimney breast after getting everything we could done externally though. And we've had a drain survey and all okay.

We have the same problem here. I am wondering whether cost savings measures are contributing. We have barely had the heating on so far and are also drying clothes indoors with windows shut.

Ah, lots of good advice, doesn't need repeating. However, you have chimney breasts, with no vents. I imagine that the wall with the pictures is a chimney breast, with the damp patch. My DD had this in her last house, turned out the chimney stack needed some new flashing and re- pointing.

The clothes setting of the dehumidifier switches off after 6 hours.