Moving into a house that's been vacant since end of November. What should I expect to need to do? Deep clean booked for the week before moving in. Worried about damp/mould.

[Joelijane]

Hi
Just this really. Wondering if I should expect to need to clean mould from walls. It is a 1930s terrace with some damp issues detected. A few visible signs of it in a patch on a wall in lounge and bathroom ceiling but we understand it was due to poor ventilation and lack of fan in bathroom. Kitchen extension also had some mould growing on side wall but previous tenants had pushed a long sofa thing right up against the wall. Any advice greatly appreciated. So excited, it took us years to get to this point.

Dehumidifiers perhaps? Open windows where possible?

I once bought some damp absorbing boxes from Amazon to put around a couple of damp rooms.

Professionals doing a deep clean will get it nice for you I'm sure.

I hope your move goes really well.

Heating on and windows open. Properly ventilate it. Then proper mould spray. It probably will be fine.

Will you have heating? I’ve moved into a few places like this in, both times in winter when it’s been freezing. It makes a world of difference once you get the house warm. As long as you’re warm you can see the potential in all the work that needs to be done.
Congratulations on getting your new home.

Definitely start putting heating on . Maybe on a timer . Check any soft furnishings or curtains for damp or mould and wash/ clean them . Run taps , flush toilets . Check fridge .

This is all so helpful thank you so much. I'm buying an extra dehumidifier / air purifier so can hit ground running with 2 on the go. Not many soft furnishings in there as such but will check any existing curtains. Heating should be fine to turn on as soon as we get in.

It should have had heating on low, as a condition of insurance. It will probably be fine. I've had a few houses empty whilst selling them and they're normally ok.

Dehumidifiers work the trick with damp. I’d have windows open to air the property out too.

If there are bits of the house you are particularly worried about then I would avoid outing furniture againar the wall so that you can check that the walls are dry before you cover them.

You should run taps and showers with the windows wide opened as the water can get bugs if stagnant for a while. Open windows doors cover your nose and mouth and turn them on and leave the room. Let them run for a good while.

What @Webbing is saying is to be mindful of Legionnaires Disease which grows in warm stagnant water and is spread by droplet/steam. So be very careful in turning the water in your taps on and off. Running all the taps to clear them is a good idea, though.

Sprinkle Neutrodol powder on all the carpets, removes smells.

Do you have to move all your stuff in the minute you get the keys? If you're moving from rented I'd maybe aim for a gap of few days to open all the windows, blast the heating and get dehumidifiers in the dampest rooms.

You can get humidity meters cheaply from Amazon to see what's what.

Yes, sold our flat and moving straight in.

Get someone in on the first day to clear the gutters. If they are blocked, overflow could be causing the damp in the walls – that's what we discovered when we moved into our house, which had been unoccupied for over six months. Blocked gutters are often the cause of lots of issues!

Meanwhile, open the windows and crank up the heating to dry the place out.

Thanks everyone. I'll be sure to do all of the suggestions plus get the gutters cleared as mentioned above. I remember thinking i needed to do that. Now packing ready for Friday !