Damp and mould issues in 80’s bungalow - advice please?

[specialeditionmonopoly]

Hey everyone

I bought my first house at the end of last year. It’s a 2 bed bungalow built in the early 80s.

Lately, I’ve been noticing some damp and mould issues. The biggest problem is in the bathroom. The previous owner put in a new bathroom suite but skipped the extractor fan and used really cheap paint. I keep the window open all the time, which helps a bit, but the room still takes forever to dry after a shower or when I mop the floor. I had to toss all my towels and bath mats because they got mouldy. Plus, the paint is starting to crack and peel. I plan to get a fan installed in the next few months and have the room repainted properly.

Then there’s the issue with my clothes. I don’t have space for a tumble dryer in my kitchen, so I’m using a heated airer in the spare bedroom. The problem is, I often don’t have enough space to dry my clothes, towels, and bed sheets all at once, so I end up hanging towels all over the house (on doors, radiators etc). I really don’t think that’s helping the situation. Some walls are starting to get mouldy, and I even found mould on a couple of jumpers in my drawers. I do have a dehumidifier, but it only seems to help a little.

I considered getting a condenser tumble dryer and putting it in the spare room so things would dry faster and I wouldn’t have to hang stuff all over the house, but then my friend suggested building a garden shed and putting one in there instead. I’d need to have electric installed though. Does anyone know how much that would roughly cost?

Besides everything I’ve planned, is there anything else I can do? I’ve never had this issue before and I’m starting to worry that my whole house is going to end up mouldy!

Just to mention, I keep the windows open as much as I can, but I've been dealing with either fungus gnats, drain flies or fruit flies all summer, so I've been trying to keep them out.

You need a dehumidifier- that will help with drying the washing too

Do get the condenser dryer wherever you put it.

Get a dehumidifier for any room you hand stuff to dry.

Do get a really powerful fan for the bathroom. Check it is the right for the volume of the room.

Do use a window squeegee to remove all the water from the sides of the shower every single time you use it.

When you mop the floor also dry it with a clean towel. Then open the window in the room and in another room to create a draught to dry it out.

Do check you have not got inappropriate insulation in the loft.

If towels get mouldy you can wash them with bleach which kills mould.

Use dedicated mould spray and follow instructions.

Air your house by opening windows.

I think you just need a better dehumidifier. I have friends who live in a stone cottage who absolutely swear by theirs - they bung their washing in a cold room, close the door, put it on, and the next day everything is dry and with no condensation on windows.

If you have a long standing damp problem, you may have to first hire an industrial dehumidifier for several days or even a few weeks to get the damp level down to a level a domestic one can cope with it.

Condenser driers are awful. The last one I had took two hours to dry two bath towels.

The shed idea sounds expensive and problematic. It will cost a fortune to heat and you will need to keep it on all the time to stop hot then cold damp and condensation problems.

Old house facebook groups are good for information on this sort of thing.

Do you have trickle vents on your windows? Our bungalow does not, and it causes humidity issues which has lead to black mould, which is extremely dangerous for your health.

Damp in a relatively modern house could be :

• lack of ventilation - install an extractor fan
• problems with guttering, downpipes & drains - if on the wall outside, check they aren't blocked or cracked. Open the manhole cover and check it is clear
• Leaking pipes - turn all taps off and then check if your water meter is still turning.
• Did the previous owner have cavity wall insulation installed? If it's badly installed, it can cause damp.

Definitely get a decent dehumidifier. I dry washing inside in winter, no issues as we have a very good dehumidifier. And get the bathroom fan sorted asap. Make sure they set it to stay on for 10 minutes after the light switch is turned off.

1. Check roof and guttering when it's raining.
2. Get a humidity meter, ideally one with historical logging, so you can see the improvement over time.
3. Install a decent high volume bathroom fan, ideally in the loft that vents through the roof. It should should be switched with the light, a humidity sensor, and timer. (I use Philips Hue to do this)
4. Stop drying clothes with a heater, it will fill the house with moisture that will condense on the coldest surface.
5. Use a condensing / heat pump TD, or one that vents outside.
6. Use a "proper" dehumidifier which has a compressor, should be able to extract 10> litres a day, obviously close the windows!
7. Get a quote for moving the TD from an electrician.
8. Consider getting a Moisture Meter for Walls

Stop drying washing indoors.

I can only really echo what others have said. Drying clothes around the house is just introducing a lot of moisture into the air, you have to either ventilate the air out or use a dehumidifier.

I use a dehumidifier at the moment but I will be investing in a condensing tumble dryer once I'm in my new house.

Did you have a comprehensive survey done before you bought the property?
I would be booking an appointment with a specialist to get everything thoroughly checked. You may have major issues that must be sorted before 'rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Get to the root of the problem before concerning yourself with timble dryers. Good luck and spend money on remedial work before considering tumble dryers etc.

Well what everyone else says. But in addition do everything you can to avoid generating extra humidity.

eg don't leave pans on the hob boiling away water.

after a shower use a window squeege thing to scrap all the water off the surfaces and down the plug hole. This will not only reduce the amount of water that evaporates and causes extra humidity, but will keep your shower cleaner too.

Dry clothes outdoors. (As long as local pavements are dry it will dry ).
Check that the damp course hasn't been bridged by someone raising flowerbeds or driveways over the level of the damp course.
Check roof for leaks.

we have an old house, no room for a tumble drier or a washing line. We use a decent dehumidifier and have no damp issues. Get one with a big reservoir though, I’m always emptying ours.

Use a squeegee each time you use the shower, open the window and take wet towels out immediately to dry them. Never leave anything to dry on radiators. Ideally dry things including your towels outside on a line, but if that's impossible I'd put a condenser dryer in the spare room and hang things in there to dry with a dehumidifier going.
And put the heating on for a short time each day in wet weather, even if it's quite warm.
If you do all of this, things should improve quite quickly, and when you remove the mould with vinegar or cleaner, it shouldn't come back.

I live in a bungalow that is prone to mould and damp.

I echo what the others have said as after I turned the heating on and up, bought a humidifier , used the clothes drier, and installed an industrial strength fan in the bathroom and electric device to clear the steam off the shower and windows - the problem has improved. I would not build a shed to put the dryer in as I suspect your money would be better spent on all these solutions . If space is tight can you swop the washing machine for a washer/ dryer combination?

Watch out for ‘damp surveyors’. They cost a lot and can be extremely ignorant and make up a lot of stuff.

Condenser driers are awful. The last one I had took two hours to dry two bath towels

@KievLoverTwo have you tried a modern Bosch one? Definitely not 2 hrs for that.

Hi OP I really feel for you.

we bought a 1979 built bungalow (disabled DD needs) and the damp problem was insurmountable before we did our extension.

Heres what helped - changed the windows! The windows did not have air vents and until we changed them condensation was non-stop.

A very good extractor fan over the cooker.

Extractor fans in bathrooms- neither the WC nor main bathroom have windows (they had to go into the centre of the house because of the way the drains were already situated). I do have to leave the extractor on in the bathroom post showers for about an hour (after mopping up excess water - it’s a wet room with a bath) and scrub the shower area floor with a bristle brush to stop mould.

A tumble dryer.

Thats all it took.

My neighbour (semi-detached) had her conservatory knocked down (full of damp) and changed it to a living space, new windows and she already had an extractor fan in the hall. That worked for her.

Don’t dry clothes indoors. A tumble dryer is the fastest way to improve .

My house has render on it - the type that doesn’t “breathe” and we were told that’s a big contributor. But you can’t take it off either or the walls would be destroyed.

Do your windows have vents? That changes things more than you can imagine

I live in a bungalow that can be prone to damp particularly on the rooms with outside walls get electric de humidifiers and make sure furniture is away from the outside walls ie leave a gap

I had a bungalow and they are much more prone to condensation than houses.
When we first moved in the walls and windows were running water for days.

We cured it just by properly ventilating the place the whole time. Opening windows whilst cooking, showering and bathing and leaving them for a while to let the steam out. We kept heating running in cold weather at just tick over rather than heating on, heating off as the temperature change made condensation.

I'd say the key thing is to dry your washing outdoors. If you have room for a shed you surely have room for a rotary dryer. If you must dry washing indoors then really vent the house with lots of windows open.

We sorted it without a humidifier by doing all the above.

No. Good to know, cheers.

If you're going to buy more powerful extractor fan for your bathrooms tied to a light switch, please make sure the timer doesn't turn it off after 3 minutes like mine does. It does absolutely nothing.

I once lived in a flat with no windows and it stayed on for 15 - that did a decent job.

Check out non-breathing loft insulation too. The wrong insulation can cause damp.

I would actually recommend two continuous running extract fans one it the kitchen and one in the bathroom, and keep the bedroom and living room windows cracked open or get vents installed. Continuous running fans are usually quiter but over the full 24 hours move a LOT more air than the ones that just run on for a bit after the light is switched.

Make sure you spin your washing as hard as it will take, even if that means doing an extra spin cycle. And the tumbler drier if not condensing must be vented to outdoors.

Best to dry the laundry in a room with an extact fan if you aren't using a drier. In the meantime, door closed and poweful dehumidifier running in there.