Help with sudden damp 'infestation'

Janesy B

Janesy B

Janesy B

Caporegime
Joined
19 Apr 2008
Posts
26,362
Location
Essex
In the last week the corner (two exterior walls) of my room has gone from dry to a sprawling mess of damp and muck. The wall gets wet regardless if I'm in the room or not and is progressively getting worse. There's little I can do about the gap between the wall and the bed but I thought 3 inches would suffice? I've also been washing the walls down with warm water and a touch of bleach but it's doing nothing.

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Nuke it from orbit etc...

The house was made in the 20's so no cavity insulation, outside wall, the room has lime plaster and I think the problem is exacerbated by the anti damp paint used (http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/600317) and wall veneer (http://reviews.homebase.co.uk/1494-en_gb/072492/reviews.htm) used to even out the walls.

I also have a wall vent at the top of the room but I think the various crap on the wall is stopping that corner from breathing because if I peel the paper/covering back the wall is clean and free of stains.

The side of the house has very good drainage and the same corner downstairs has no such problems.

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I'm at a bit of a loss what to do, once the weather warms out I will have to completely strip the wall back and assess but I would like to know how to get rid of the problem once and for all, otherwise I'll have to move out of the room completely.
 
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In the interim just keep washing it with bleach and drying it, move whatever furniture is against the wall away and make sure there is some ventilation in the room, check there is nothing up against the outside wall directing water on to the wall or an air brick has become blocked.
 
That damp looks too aggressive just for condensation. I suspect that water must be getting in somewhere. Can you move the bed during the day to run a dehumidifier?
 
that looks like condensation: created by a difference in temperature inside and outside

hot air goes to the cold part of the wall , usually corners and converts back to liquid

i have had this in two properties and eneded up installing a postive air input system which cured the problem. anything else (like dehumidifiers) was a waste of time

have a read up on condensation and what you can do to help it

edit:

is it only in one room ?
 
My flat is shocking for this... It's an old converted school so just solid brick. It's fine if I keep a door open or crack a window, but go away for a few days and close everything up and it starts the show condensation.

Try keeping a window or the door to the room open and the heating on for a bit. Not cost effective or very green but might sort it out.
 
There's an old wooden porch at the front of the house, seems to be fine but it could be the snow against the wall melting and coming through the brick.

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Coincidently the days where I have the least condensation on my windows have been the wettest... how does that work :confused:

Paul11 said:
is it only in one room ?
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To a much smaller extent, a small about in the corner of the window bay. I think this problem is too deep to be fixed with slapping something on the walls and opening a window (I do this anyway).
 
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It's usually down to trapped moist air mate. For a quick hold back go buy a cheap bag of kitty litter & stick some in a tray in the bedroom, This will soak up the moisture.
What it really needs though is proper ventilation.
 
We had a similar problem last year. In the short term this works brilliantly (albeit destroying your lungs whilst applying it):

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Our landlady also had a ventilation fan installed. In runs constantly pulling in air from and pushing air back into the attic. We noticed an instant improvement in the air quality and this winter the mould problem whilst not completely gone is much much better than before.
 
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its definately condensation then

as above: to deal with it properly you need to install a system that moves air around

they do also increase the air quality and can help with heating bills depending on which system you install

otherwise, if it only happens when it snows, hang tight and it should clear up once the cold has passed
 
My new build flat suffers from condensation, even with all the vents open and opening the window once a day to vent out the air, we still get mould growing on only the bedroom ceiling. I put this down to the flat above us having a cold floor, and moist air is condensing on the cold ceiling.

Im fed up with landlords/lettings agency saying 'just wipe it off with vinegar/bleach'. Those are not a solution, only a temporary fix.
 
I do get it in the bathroom but I clean it off once in a while and it only returns after it's been warmer inside the bathroom after say a shower or bath.

The best thing would be to leave the internal doors open to let the rooms breath.
 
unfortunately some building suffer from it worse than others

opening windows/vents can work some of the time but its not a fix and often makes no difference

landlords like to blame the tennants , but really they need to do something to deal with the problem
 
Paul11 said:
unfortunately some building suffer from it worse than others

opening windows/vents can work some of the time but its not a fix and often makes no difference

landlords like to blame the tennants , but really they need to do something to deal with the problem
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Some are too concerned with keeping healthy profits instead of keeping their buildings in good order. If it were my house, I would not settle for a continual process of wiping it off every week. All you end up doing is just innoculating other sections of wall, making it grow back in larger patches.
 
Paul11 said:
its definately condensation then

as above: to deal with it properly you need to install a system that moves air around

they do also increase the air quality and can help with heating bills depending on which system you install

otherwise, if it only happens when it snows, hang tight and it should clear up once the cold has passed
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I do get a trace of it during a cold snap but it really hits hard when there's snow. I've got a vent I could install a fan in and then I could leave my bedroom door open so it can draw air from the hallway/staircase and out of the bedroom via an external wall.

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those vents are not much good as they dont pull / push any air

at the minimum you need extractor type fans in more than one room which are always on, if the problem is really bad you need a system which sucks air from outside and pumps it into the property. this causes a constant movement of air and the problem is cured. (though they are not cheap)

also remember the mould that grows can be really bad for you, if you have this problem full time you really need to push your landlord to do something about it
 
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I would buy a dehumidifier for now as no amount of washing with bleach or windows open is going to fix it. Used to own a solid wall house and the only thing that helped was the dehumidifier.

It's all down to ventilation and movement of air.

Houses didn't suffer much with it when coal fires were in use. Now, central heating systems are not very good for air circulation.

Positive air system is the very best to get but can cost up to 1.5k
 
Paul11 said:
those vents are not much good as they dont pull / push any air

at the minimum you need extractor type fans in more than one room which are always on, if the problem is really bad you need a system which sucks air from outside and pumps it into the property. this causes a constant movement of air and the problem is cured. (though they are not cheap)

also remember the mould that grows can be really bad for you, if you have this problem full time you really need to push your landlord to do something about it
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Well it's my parents house and my dad believes in the 'stick my head in the sand and it'll go away approach' - I don't.
 
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