Mould problems in bungalow. Recently concerned for my health and don’t know what to do next. Please help

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Having a nightmare with my bungalow. I moved in just over a year ago.

I’m getting different opinions and would really appreciate any support or advice as I don’t know where to go from here.

There is currently a leak in the bathroom which has saturated part of the wall / plasterboard. I don’t know when it started. It could have been from when I first moved in, or a few months ago, I’m not sure. I have someone coming back this week to see how far the leak has spread and then we’ll make a start on repairs.

The house has always suffered with mould (no damp apart from in the bathroom) and it’s recently got a lot worse. I thought it was because I was drying clothes indoors but I stopped that months ago. I had to throw my bedroom furniture out yesterday as it was completely ruined. It was also on my living room furniture which I managed to save and some of the partition walls, in the storage cupboard and on my belongings in drawers.

So far I’ve had:

extractor fan fitted in the bathroom for better ventilation

gutters replaced

waste pipes replaced

stopped drying clothes indoors

open windows every day

use the dehumidifier every day (humidity was on 90 when I started using it)

cover pans when cooking

leave a gap between the furniture and walls

The house has cavity wall insulation and 250 mm loft insulation. There wasn’t any mould during the survey and the surveyor had no concerns about this. I never found any when I viewed the house either and it was empty for 2 years.

I’ve had the roof checked and there’s definitely no leaks. There’s no rising damp either.

Is it the bathroom causing all of this? The builder doesn’t seem to think a small amount of damp would cause mould in the rest of the house but information online states otherwise.

Is it the insulation? Do I need to get it removed? If it’s the insulation that’s the problem, then why wasn’t there any mould when it was empty? Do I need a PIV system installing?

Another thing is the fascia boards are timber and have started to rot. Could it be them causing problems?

I’m so stressed with it all and don’t want to be here at the moment as I’m concerned about my health. Do I just keep trying different things until something works? Is it a house problem or a me problem? I’m hesitant to get a surveyor in as I’m pretty sure they will just say it’s condensation, which I already know, and I’d rather use that money towards fixing the house.

Photos attached. Sorry this is so long but any advice would be massively appreciated as I’m at my wits end

Is it cement-clad on the outside?

I'm not an expert but my DS is a builder. He says that houses need to breathe. I can't contact him atm but I will show him your post later or tomorrow.

What are you managing to get it down to with tye dehumidifier?

And are you managing to get each room consistently down to below 50 and it stay there, or does it shoot straight back up?

You can get wee thermopro humidity ane temperature sensors on Amazon that do continual monitoring and show you graphs on their app. Helpful to get an insight on what’s going on in different rooms.

If the whole pkace has got soggy then drying it out is likely to take a while. Realistically wet plaster board needs to come down asap. It doesn’t dry out properly ever and just harbours damp.

What's the age of the property and when was the insulation installed?

Also what is the type of wall insulation?

The leak will definitely be contributing to it but it might be it's not breathing properly (I live in an old house!).

There is stuff you can install if condensation caused but this involves stripping it right back and is not cheap!

Would also look at the outside of the property if rendered then you might have a leak path that way as well. Afraid fixing rendering is not cheap either!

Hi no it’s just brick and thank you

It normally comes down to around 60, but does go up again the next day.

The builder is coming back this week to take off more tiles. He said it might be worth replacing with one panel rather than individual tiles

Do you have central heating and is your home kept above 16*c?

The house was built (I think) in 1980

The wall insulation is the grey polystyrene balls

Yes I have central heating and usually have temp between 18-20*c

60 is the upper end of what is sensible to keep a house at. You want to be aiming to get down to 40, and 60 be your upper threshold for straight after a shower, cooking etc.

If you started at 90 then can see how getting down to 60 seems like good progress (and it is) but You’ve probably got a fair way to go. Sounds like the whole place is still pretty soggy. Possibly from the ongoing leak.

When you say tile, do you mean tiles, or do you mean sheets of plaster board?

You said it had been empty for 2 years so perhaps it's the fact you are heating it now that's caused it? I think that you need to ask a damp expert for a professional opinion and solution. In the meantime keep your house ventilated as much as possible.

Are any of the walls noticeably damp? Have you tried the cling film trick? You put cling flim on a where you have intermitant damp issue when it is dry. If the dampness goes on the outside of the wall then it is condensation and if it's under the cling film the damp is coming through the wall.

If you are certain that thw gutters are working fine (no stains on the external walls and the water all goes down the gutters in heavy rain). Then the cavity insulation could need checking as if there are cold patches it could be condensation.

Heat recovery piv might be worth a try but I would rule out a leaky gutters first.

You say "There is currently a leak in the bathroom which has saturated part of the wall / plasterboard."

If you mean you have a leak delivering water into your home, it is bound to get damp.

Or have you already cured the leak?

You do need more of a professional person than just a builder who may or may not be good at diagnosis

Surely fixing the leak is the highest priority and you can't really say much until that is fixed.

Then it will probably take some time to dry the entire place out. When leaks occur often industrial strength dehumidifiers are brought in to dry places out.

Only when the leak is fixed and the place is dried out will you be in a position to figure out whether you have an ongoing humidity problem or whether the current issues are just due to the leak.

OK so DS said:

Fixing the bathroom leak might solve all the damp, as that current damp has to go somewhere.
They shouldn't have used plasterboard to support the bathroom tiles - replace with cement fibreboard. (Tiles are not totally waterproof. Once water gets past the tiles, the plasterboard wicks like a sponge, so needs replacing.)

If that doesn't fix the damp elsewhere:
Moisture in the house comes from poor insulation.
Keep the place warm
Insulate the loft and the tops of the cavity walls, without restricting airflow in the loft
Consider insulating internally, to bounce heat back into the rooms, which will solve the problem of cold bridging which causes condensation.
Finally, he said don't stress about it, because stressing doesn't fix leaks x
Good luck

Being a bungalow it possibly has some of the same downsides as flats in that your kitchen is much closer to bedrooms etc and the moisture content (increased with the leak) is finding it's way to the coldest walls.

What are your windows like. Do they have trickle vents? Not all do but they can be fitted. Do your windows attract moisture in the same way?

We had some success with the insulated lining paper in solid walled flats.

Are there any fire places that have been covered over?

On the behavioural front, if your windows condensate then a window vac is great. Or squeegee for the bathroom, keep kitchen and bathroom doors shut.