Damp and mould in the house

[alisonsvintagechicboutique]

I've started to notice issues of mould and damp in the flat that I rent.  

The flat is lovely but on talking to my other neighbours in the block everyone has the same problem!  I think the flats are around 40 years old.  Is this likely to be a problem with the buildings themselves eg their age as all the others are affected?

I dont dry washing in the flat and have a bath/shower with the window open.  I think one of the main problems comes from the kitchen where there is no ventillation and no kitchen door meaning steam can get into other rooms.  

The windows are double glazed and they do have condensation in the colder months.  

I first noticed the mould under the bed, under the storage drawers.  I cleaned it off with white vinegar which I believe kills the mould.  

Since then I've noticed that newly opened bottles of ketchup and the like in the kitchen cupboards are getting mould around the lids (yuk).

A good indication is that I cannot keep salt dry in the kitchen  - my recently bought tub of Saxo is soggy 

Also just found out from my neighbour that the last tenant moved out due to the damp 

So.......  does anyone have similar problems?  If so what do you do to prevent them?  

My Mum lives in an older house and has had similar problems.  She has lent me a small plug in unit thingy with granules in it - not sure how much it will help.  

My landlady has just said I can install a cooker hood - do you think this will help with the steam issue with cooking?  Down to me to pay for it I guess but if I move I can take it with me.

Could it be the whole of the building has bigger problems with damp and its not just something I am doing...?!

Any advice, suggestions etc re mould, damp and cooker hoods appreciated!!  

[duck_a_lorange]

Shouldn't think a cooker hood would help unless it actually vents to the outside.

When you say there's no ventilation in the kitchen, are you saying there's no window you can open while you're cooking?

Is there any damp coming from outside, like a leaky gutter?

[guardpig]

No idea.

My mother's house had damp(rising, falling and freezing) but we never had any real mould problems.  Mind you she wiped down the bathroom walls etc after a bath, ventilation wasn't a problem as doors and windows certainly didn't fit or shut properly and downstairs was always well heated and upstairs one froze.

If you can afford it I would keep the heating on low in all rooms, maybe open the doors to allow free circulation.  If that fails - move.

[ed_blackadder_1]

Perhaps you could try a dehumidifier, they worked in our old house, but we didn't have central heating so the house was damp. We also tried to keep things off the outside walls to allow the air to circulate behind.

Surely your landlord would have a responsibility to check out any problems with damp, I don't know much about renting as we own, but I would like to think if someone was taking money from you they would check out any problems you might have.

[notgrumpyreally]

Sounds a bit odd. We run a letting agency so damp is a full time problem! Most of it is down to condensation but it really sounds as if you are doing all the right things! Has it had a serious leak that still needs to dry out? I'd ask your landlord to supply a dehumidifier and allow a little off your rent to pay for the electricity. Have you a friend with a damp meter to check its not 'real' damp?

I think your sauce bottle problem is because they now need to go in the fridge once they are open because they've taken out the preservatives.

[**towery**]

hi Alison

are there any  vents and airbricks?

could they have been blocked by anything?

where abouts in the block are you?

i think your LL should be doing more to help sort the  damp

we had a problem in the bathroom a couple of years ago,  they put a vent and a extractor fan in there, so  now its mainly colder but not so damp

they also added vents to the kitchen, which has a damp/mould problem over the cooker which has a hood and also cupboards surroning the hood and its very difficult to clean up there, i tend not to have the cooker extractor on a lot, i try to make sure pans have lids tightly on them,

our hood just vents into the kitchen as there is no where for it to go outside without moving a lot of pipework, the kitchen has the bathroom above it too 😞

[alisonsvintagechicboutique]

Thank you very much for the all your comments.   

I've been looking for airbricks/vents and there is only one that goes from the lounge into the built in wardrobe in my bedroom!  In other words useless!!  

Ventillation in the flat means opening a window it seems!  

I have a ground floor flat and there is another flat above.  This goes for the other flats in the compound.  I am aware so far that 4 other neighbours have problems with mould/damp.

I've not noticed any on the walls or ceilings but it is in odd places like inside the doors of the wooden sideboard in the lounge and underneath the drawers that hold my clothes in the bedroom.  

Last night i read online that filling a bath with cold water then adding hot water cuts down 90% of steam - i tried this and it works!!  

Will just be extra careful I think as flat has such poor ventillation.  Cooking is the main problem for me and advice seems to be cook with lids on pans which makes sense.  

[petitecalicocat]

I cant add anything to the advice already given except pester your LL to get it sorted , living with damp can be a serious health issue in some cases.

It seems that your LL knows about the problems but isnt willing to do any repairs as you say all the flats have the same problems & a previous tennent noved out due to the damp .  You may have to create a bit of fuss to get it sorted ..good luck .

[rose2008-2008]

I am council and have only got a bit of black on the wall in the bathroom where there are no windows and a bit of black round the sink and bath which i shall now put some white vinegar on!!!. I have nothing else wrong but i would get it sorted quick through your Landlord before it spreads anywhere else!!!.