Anyone has/ has installed an air vent in a bedroom?

[TheGander]

My flat has a condensation issue in 1 bedroom. I have tried various things to mitigate it but it always reappears in autumn and winter, along with its friend Mr mould. I noticed the kitchen has an air vent and never had a mould issue. Would it make sense to install one in the bedroom’s external wall? Thanks !

You could just open a window!

An extractor fan to run while you shower will generally help the condensation issue. I also squeegee down the shower walls , and mop the water with an old towel. Meantime, if you have a window, open it for a while after a shower, just to air it off.

Have you considered a de humidifier?

It's fairly straightforward, but incredibly messy.

I'm guessing you don't already own an SDS drill or 107mm diamond core drill bit.

You can hire them from tool hire shops.

You'll need:
Decent quality air mask.
Safety goggles.
Ear protectors.
SDS drill that's rated for drilling cores.
107mm diamond core drill bit.
A length of 100mm pipe to line the hole.
A sturdy stepladder.
Very strong arms and stamina for up to an hour of drilling.

It's fairly straightforward and the drill does the work, but the extractor fan will need to be placed near the ceiling, which means the drill will need to be held at head height.

You need to make sure you angle the pipe slightly downwards so that water can drip/run out of the house, rather than back into the room.

There will be a huge amount of dust and you'll want to cover the room with sheets and seal yourself in there with plenty of drinking water and a vacuum cleaner capable of handling brick dust.

You'll also need to factor in wiring, which should really be done by a qualified electrician.

To be honest, unless you're a very competent DIYer, you'd be best phoning some electricians to obtain quotes for the whole job.

We had exactly this issue in our old house and added an air brick to the bedroom wall. It worked a treat.

The difference with the kitchen is you don't sleep in there for hours on end every night. I would try a dehumidifier before the permanent air brick instal.

Thanks guys this is incredibly helpful. A dehumidifier is used every winter which helps but does not eliminate the issue. It is a rental flat so I am not in control of how it is occupied but I have issued the tenants with information on ventilating.I think it’s a bit hit and miss, on visits I have found curtains and windows closed, at other times the windows are open even in cold weather I also re sited the radiator so it was under the window in the hope that it would keep the external wall warmer and reduce condensation, but it doesn’t seem to have made a huge difference. I had t thought of an air brick- do they do exactly the same as an air vent? or is there a difference in function?

A fan will force air out. They usually have flaps that prevent cold air blowing into the room.

An air brick will allow air in or out. I think you're more likely to get air coming into the property unless there's another window that's also open somewhere.

It's going to be a combination of a cold wall, air temperature and humidity. Why is that particular bit of wall cold?

Have you checked for leaks - e.g. bathroom above the kitchen with a small leak?

How big is the radiator in that room? Does the heating run over night? Our heating runs 24x7 and is set to 19°C overnight. We do get a bit of condensation on window panes, but nothing on the walls.

YES! We had a PIV unit installed in time for this winter (maybe October?)
We are in a 2 bed flat, condensation, was causing mould.

We have had no mould growth this winter, no condensation on the badly affected bedroom, less condensation elsewhere.
It's reduced the humidity of the whole flat by 10-20%
My clothes are drying in less than 24hours (previously used a dehumidifier and still do put it on, but was taking 48 hours with dehumidifier and they were smelling damp).
So much less water collects in the tank!

It is noisy, but sounds like white noise. And when it is really cold outside, the room temp drops. It does have a heater element, which takes the chill off a little. But the children don't seem to mind and they sleep with layers.

My child who was having multiple chest infections / coughs each winter has had one, so far, this winter period.

It cost us around £1300 but it was worth every penny!

Thank you @pinkcow123 that is very interesting. I had discounted PIVs because my understanding is they need part of the unit to be sited in the loft, and this is a 1 st floor ( of 3 floors) flat. But you are also in a flat, can I ask what trade fitted it? Electrician/ plumber? I’m glad your daughter’s chest issues have improved in any case.

@ThisOldThang thanks for your comments. The radiator is reasonably big, there is a large double window, it is just underneath and about as wide. I had a surveyor come and do a report, basically the walls are not that well insulated , it’s a 1960s ex local authority building. There was a very large leak into that bedroom 2 years ago, but nothing since that I am aware of anyway. The kitchen never gets damp or mould. But it is well ventilated with 2 wall vents an a cooker extraction hood. Plus a tumble dryer that’s vented to the outside.

Where are you located? It was https://www.alliedelectricaluk.com who installed it for us!
We are ground floor flat, they just needed to put a hole in the wall.

Its something like this; https://www.electricpoint.com/nuaire-flatmaster-piv.html?utmsource=google&utmmmedium=cpc&utmcampaign=Ventilation%20High%20Margin%20-%20ROAS&utmmid=22101070031&gadsource=1&gbraid=0AAAAADzQ9s0-gXmyIk9ATwEMdKP7SoTUU&gclid=CjwKCAiA2JG9BhAuEiwAHHzf3gctPeXusYriPNUQmYZMLSWnJEZTy6cVdN-7qG2f3v3hIoocxzOZhoCTioQAvD_BwE

Thanks @pinkcow123 . The flat is in east Kent so probably outside this company’s boundary. However I’m using an electrician next month to do a safety inspection so I will ask him about this.

Hope you find a solution!

@TheGander

I bought one of these to help me balance my radiators.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Etekcity-Thermometer-50°C-610°C-58°F-1130°F-Refrigerator/dp/B0CWH7GRPR

It might be useful to see if there is a distinct cold spot in that area.

Could there be a problem with the guttering that's causing the wall to get soaked > damp > cold?

Thanks @ThisOldThang . It’s tricky with the roof/ guttering, the council are the freeholders. I’m not convinced the building is watertight but unless there’s a glaring leak they deny any issues.
@pinkcow123 where did you have the unit installed? In the bedroom or somewhere else in the flat? Does it run constantly or do you turn it on and off as needed? Thanks 🙏

@TheGander when they came to visit they said that typically people have them in the kitchen. But our kitchen window spans the whole wall, so it wasn't an option.

It is in the bedroom, we have it running constantly at the moment because of winter and turn the heating element on at night.

We'll probably turn it off between March - November

Thank you, I am going to discuss it with my tenant tomorrow.

I had a surveyor come and do a report, basically the walls are not that well insulated.

My house was like this on certain external walls so we did an insulated plasterboard wall with added insulation and foil behind it. It took a couple of inches off the room but made it a lot warmer with zero condensation or mould. My stbx who can only do basic diy did it by himself over twenty years ago. Could this be an option ?

Just updating. The tenant is not happy to have the PIV system in the bedroom due to noise. I’ve found out they are not turn on and off able but run constantly which was a dealbreaker for the tenant in terms of having it in the bedroom.. I contacted Nuaire who have been very helpful , I emailed over a floor plan and they have suggested alternative sites for the vent ( kitchen or hall). In the meantime I’m getting the windows replaced.

You could fit a standard fused plug to the device and then connect it to a smart plug (e.g. Tapo) which would allow you to run it on a schedule.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TP-LINK-Tapo-Wireless-Required-P100/dp/B07Z942YWS

Oh interesting! I turn mine off - I just turned it off 10mins ago actually!
They said to me that it needed to run consistently for around a month to get the house to an OK humidity and then you can use as needed!

But I think most people have them in the kitchens actually!