Eenuh Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 So we have a very humid flat. I noticed it when I moved in in March. I got a little electronic display back then which measures the humidity, and usually it seems to be above 60 or 70%. Which is obviously way too high. My parents bought us a big electronic dehumidifier, which we use all day in our bedroom. We pretty much have to empty it every other day. And yet we still have ridiculous humidity in the room. To make things worse, this morning I noticed that some of my shoes, which are in the bottom of my wardrobe, were completely covered in mould. I couldn't even tell what colour they originally were anymore. Now I am wondering if anyone knows what I can do to get rid of the mould and how I can prevent this from happening again? Opening a window isn't much of an option unless I want to be burgled or freezing... I also don't have doors on my wardrobe so it is an open one. I haven't been able to check the rest of my stuff yet but I am worried the damage will be quite bad... Help please!
Cube Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 I have a similar problem with my bathroom. There's no air vent, and because the window is clear glass I need to close the blind so I can't open the window. Due to the kind of window, I can't leave it open when I'm not in the house. Unfortunately, my solution probably won't do much for you - I just squirt everything with Cilit Bang Mould & Mildew Bleach every now and then.
MoogleViper Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 Vinegar helps to get rid of mould. As for reducing humidity, have you got a lot of house plants? If so you may want to get rid of them, as they can increase the humidity. However some plants will reduce humidity, such as a Peace Lily (which are also useful for knocking out oversized supermarket workers). http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_5925724_house-plants-reduce-humidity-levels.html
nightwolf Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 There's some things you can use to put with your clothes and shoes: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Small-space-dehumidifier-bags-pack/dp/B001GWCA36/ref=sr_1_2?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1352738507&sr=1-2 In the mean time, plants are big option, as Moogle said, just ensure to get the right ones. Do you have any fans in any of your rooms at all? These might help keep it at bay too. You may also want to enquire to whoever about getting vents that lead to the outside, it's quite drastic but it'll help in the long run and mean you won't have to deal with this again.
bob Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 Put huge barrels of rice everywhere. That is my advice.
Raining_again Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 If you're renting you need to get in contact with yer landlord to get it looked at
Guy Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 I can definitely vouch for the unstoppable tag team of vinegar and water. We had some mould growing on our bathroom wall and shower curtain. A nice scrubbing with vinegar water cleared it right up. The odds of it coming back are fairly high, but we have plenty of vinegar to combat future outbreaks. We also tried some mould specific cleaner, but it was crap and it smelled dangerously toxic for use in enclosed spaces.
Cube Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 If you're renting you need to get in contact with yer landlord to get it looked at They sent me a leaflet about how to help. None of it was applicable to my situation. I'll try the vinegar thing. That's if I can even open the bottle of vinegar I have.
Raining_again Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 Landlord should be getting structural checks and roof checks to make sure there's no leaks or problems. It's their house. We had to get someone in for our house (parents own it) We had problems with the guttering on the roof and ended up having to have the whole guttering replaced. It's not cured the problem but it has had a significant impact. I just found bleach was as effective as the mould killer shit and not half as toxic. Do not use mould killer without airflow, a lot of room and a mask. And don't spray it anywhere near your breathing space. Vomiting blood is not fun
MoogleViper Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 We also tried some mould specific cleaner, but it was crap and it smelled dangerously toxic for use in enclosed spaces. Yeah it needs to be used in a well ventilated area. But lack of adequate ventilation is often the reason people have mould. Bit of a catch 22 situation. Plus vinegar is a lot cheaper.
Eenuh Posted November 12, 2012 Author Posted November 12, 2012 Thanks for the replies. I know ventilation is supposed to help, but we don't really have any windows we can leave open during the day. The only one that is open is the tiny one in the bathroom, which doesn't help much. We have had to use a mould killer spray in the bathroom a few times on the ceiling as we kept getting mould there. It only seems to be a temporary fix though. As for plants, we only have a few (one seems to be a peace lily even). We have none in the bedroom, which is probably the most humid room. Plus the dampness was already a problem way before we had any plants at all. We have addressed the dampness to the landlord, but he said he couldn't do anything about it as this building is old and was pretty much just built badly or whatever. Plus it doesn't help that we are the bottom flat, below street level, on the same level as a stream a few metres away and on a side which never gets any sun. We have used small things like the thing nightwolf posted but they don't seem to help. Too small and meaningless. Even a salt candle we have collects more water (not even kidding, I have to wipe the water underneath it every two day...). We use drip strips on our windows because we get puddles of water on the window sill. Basically it is a miracle we aren't drowning in our sleep. =P I just cleaned out the bottom of my wardrobe, which luckily seems to be the only part that has been affected so far. I used some Mr. Muscle window cleaner I had which claims to use vinegar. I also managed to clean some of my shoes that were mould ridden, but time will tell how they hold up. I did have to bin one pair as they were beyond help. =( If anyone has any more tips on what we could do, please help! I do not want to have to bin my clothes or anything like that!
MoogleViper Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 Rather than buying those dehumidifier things, you could follow bob's advice and put small pots of rice in the bottom of your wardrobe. They should help to absorb some of the moisture. It's the same reason why some restaurants put rice in the salt pot.
EEVILMURRAY Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 If you're renting you need to get in contact with yer landlord to get it looked at I did that when I was at uni, he and his wife came round and used some damp proof paint on the affected area. Didn't really work.
bob Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 Rather than buying those dehumidifier things, you could follow bob's advice and put small pots of rice in the bottom of your wardrobe. They should help to absorb some of the moisture. No, no. I definitely said large barrels of rice. It's the only way.
Charlie Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 (edited) @Eenuh THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE! I work for a company that deals with damp proofing, rot and condensation problems. Generally, black mould is a consequence of condensation. Condensation is the moisture caused by everyday living. Excess moisture that cannot escape the property will condense onto cool surfaces (it is generally visible on windows but will be on other surfaces too). To fight the condensation, you need to find the source of moisture. The best way to do this is to open your windows! I understand that you might not want to do this during the Winter because its cold. However, it is worth noting that it is easier to warm up dry air than it is moist air. The warm, moist air will escape through the windows and you'll be left with cool, dry air. It might not even out exactly in terms of cost but will help out immensely with the condensation issue. Big sources of moisture in the home: Cooking - put lids on pans and turn on extractor fan Bathing - Close the door, keep the extractor fan and/or window open long after you finish Drying laundry inside - if you have to do this do it in a closed off room and open the window - BBC breakfast on laundry and condensation Breathing - not much you can do about that Top 10 tips to stop condensation - the most popular page on my work's website. I wrote it! :p We have loads more tips throughout the condensation section on it if you take look through. I also redesigned our condensation health and advice pack last week which you might want to take a look at. As for your cupboard, you can get a mini-dehumidifier that is perfect for a small space. If you don't want to buy another dehumidifier, leave the cupboard door open to allow air to move about. If you're renting you need to get in contact with yer landlord to get it looked at I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that your landlord won't do anything about it. They will claim it is a lifestyle issue and tell you to open your windows and turn the heating on. Edited November 13, 2012 by Charlie Automerged Doublepost
EEVILMURRAY Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 Just going off on a tangent from one of Charlie's tips: 3) After taking a bath or shower there will be excess moisture in the air. To stop condensation forming the windows should be opened and extractor fans turned on. Try to keep the bathroom door shut as much as possible so the moisture doesn’t escape into other parts of your home. I normally write "UZI 9MM" on the mirror when it gets steamed up after a bath/shower. Then when someone else has a bath/shower the message is revealed. Pisses my mum off no end.
Charlie Posted November 13, 2012 Posted November 13, 2012 Just going off on a tangent from one of Charlie's tips: 3) After taking a bath or shower there will be excess moisture in the air. To stop condensation forming the windows should be opened and extractor fans turned on. Try to keep the bathroom door shut as much as possible so the moisture doesn’t escape into other parts of your home. I normally write "UZI 9MM" on the mirror when it gets steamed up after a bath/shower. Then when someone else has a bath/shower the message is revealed. Pisses my mum off no end. I'll edit that point into the article.
Eenuh Posted November 15, 2012 Author Posted November 15, 2012 @Eenuh THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE! I work for a company that deals with damp proofing, rot and condensation problems. Generally, black mould is a consequence of condensation. Condensation is the moisture caused by everyday living. Excess moisture that cannot escape the property will condense onto cool surfaces (it is generally visible on windows but will be on other surfaces too). To fight the condensation, you need to find the source of moisture. The best way to do this is to open your windows! I understand that you might not want to do this during the Winter because its cold. However, it is worth noting that it is easier to warm up dry air than it is moist air. The warm, moist air will escape through the windows and you'll be left with cool, dry air. It might not even out exactly in terms of cost but will help out immensely with the condensation issue. I have tried opening windows in the house (when I am not at work), but it does not seem to do much. Even when I wasn't working yet, I would have the windows open all day and the humidity would still be too high. Sometimes when I open the windows, the humidity inside even seems to rise! =( Big sources of moisture in the home: Cooking - put lids on pans and turn on extractor fan Bathing - Close the door, keep the extractor fan and/or window open long after you finish Drying laundry inside - if you have to do this do it in a closed off room and open the window - BBC breakfast on laundry and condensation Breathing - not much you can do about that - cooking: I put the extractor fan on but the windows always get damp anyway. - bathing: the bathroom window (which is tiny) is open 24/7. - laundry: we sadly do not have a closed off room where we can put it. We have to put it in our living room or bedroom as there is no other space to put it. Top 10 tips to stop condensation - the most popular page on my work's website. I wrote it! :p We have loads more tips throughout the condensation section on it if you take look through. I also redesigned our condensation health and advice pack last week which you might want to take a look at. As for your cupboard, you can get a mini-dehumidifier that is perfect for a small space. If you don't want to buy another dehumidifier, leave the cupboard door open to allow air to move about. I can say with a pretty high degree of certainty that your landlord won't do anything about it. They will claim it is a lifestyle issue and tell you to open your windows and turn the heating on. As for my cupboard (well, wardrobe), it has no doors at all. So it is an open wardrobe. The thing is that it is placed against a wall which I think just leads to basements or even just ground/foundations. We leave some space between the wall and the wardrobe but it doesn't seem to help much. And yeah the landlord said he can't do anything about it. He said he could come around to repaint the walls every few months if needed, boooh. Does not help. Thanks for all the tips everyone. I will see if I can do anything else to improve the situation. I placed a small bag of rice in my wardrobe now to see if that will collect any water at all heh. =P
Charlie Posted November 15, 2012 Posted November 15, 2012 Do you know what the source of moisture is, Eenuh? Is there anything major other than the laundry?
MoogleViper Posted November 15, 2012 Posted November 15, 2012 Living below ground level is a nightmare for damp. My brother used to have the same problem.
Eenuh Posted November 15, 2012 Author Posted November 15, 2012 Do you know what the source of moisture is, Eenuh? Is there anything major other than the laundry? From what I can tell, it is all coming from outside. Our flat is at the very bottom of the building, even below the street level. We are on the same level as the garden and the park next to us. There is never any sun on our side of the flat, so it never really has the chance to warm up or dry. Because there has been so much rain the last few months, everything is wet. For example the garden always seems to have very soggy soil, and if it rains there will be a layer of water on top off the grass (like it can't go through the soil). I can't really think of any real source for the moisture other than rain, the garden etc. Like I said before, sometimes when I open the window the humidity in the bedroom seems to go up instead of going down. =P
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