dannymccann
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 06
Location: Doddington, Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
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Hi there. I live in a rented student house. I have the downstair bedroom. When i moved in I thought it was musty, thought nothing of it, just thinking it was dust. Ive been moved in for a while and noticed a bit of mould appearing on the window sills and a little on the wall, wipe it off and leave the window on the latch at night to get rid of the condensation.
The smell has come back, its a nasty smell. I pulled my bed away from the wall and found this :
I put my bed where it is about 3 months ago, before Xmas, and when I put it there there was nothing there at all. In sunlight you can also see the paint is a different colour, its darker where the mould is growing and its a fairly level line, and to the touch it feels damp and cold, so in my very limited experience or knowledge this is rising damp?
Ive told the agent about the mould problem and they havent been round yet. AFAIK its bad for breathing and joints? Im going to take some photos in tomorrow of what ive found and see fi they get their arses in gear.
Any advice? Sorry about the essay
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richardworrall
Premium Member
Registered: 20th Sep 05
Location: Derby
User status: Offline
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they need to sort this ASAP, can cause illnesses and they are held responsible. Go to the council as well, theyll force the landlord to do something about it.
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dannymccann
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 06
Location: Doddington, Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
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Ive been reading around tinternet, people blame a lot of it on drying clothes and spending a lot of time in the room, but I honestly dont think its that, because to dry clothes I have the radiator on, which means it gets proper hot in ehre, so the window gets opened? So as far as I can see its not that
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MarkM
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 01
Location: Liverpool
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It could just be a lack of fresh air circulating...are there air vents?
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Cosmo
Member
Registered: 29th Mar 01
Location: Im the real one!
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the fact its along the bottom in a fairly obvious line would probably suggest its due to an exterior problem. Id guess at a lack of damp proof course, but couldnt tell without seeing it.
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MarkM
Member
Registered: 11th Apr 01
Location: Liverpool
User status: Offline
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I have seen that problem resolved with air vents added...
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dannymccann
Member
Registered: 9th Aug 06
Location: Doddington, Lincolnshire
User status: Offline
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I have bought a couple of dehumidifiers, will be putting one on my window sill and leaving one in the bathroom, going to be cleaning it off on sunday with some bleach and then the little gadgets will be here so will give them a go
As Cosmo says, there is definetly a line it follows, ive been told to go outside in the morning and see if there are any air bricks outside and see if they are clogged up with anything
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Andrew
Member
Registered: 5th May 04
Location: Skoda Octavia Estate, Ford Puma
User status: Offline
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It's not drying clothes that has caused that. When i was a student i used to be in my flat 20 hours a day, hang wet clothes about and cook. I've not even had to replace dis-coloured wallpaper from it.
Has to be a leak somewhere to cause damp like that! We had it years ago on a new build property where the houses had been built during the winter months. Took a few years to dry out.
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AndyKent
Member
Registered: 3rd Sep 05
User status: Offline
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3 things you can do to stop damp/mould like that.
Heating, ventilation or insulation. Pull the bed away a bit, open the window a little more and ensure the room is generally warm.
You are highly unlikely to have an external wall problem on the first floor unless the wall is joined to a flat roof or you have lots of plant growth on the outside at that point.
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Gregor
Member
Registered: 28th Nov 03
Location: Paisley, Renfrewshire
User status: Offline
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Clean it with bleach for now , but something isnt right there at all.
Check for cracks in the roughcast outside, or a leaking gutter/downpipe around that area that my be going straight onto the roughcast.
Are you ground floor ?
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pow
Premium Member
Registered: 11th Sep 06
Location: Hazlemere, Buckinghamshire
User status: Offline
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He has the downstairs bedroom. TBF I'd be surprised if that isnt damp
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