Mould on ceiling, please advise

dchris

I have a recurring patch of mould on my bedroom ceiling , a small box room. The room is cold as it is on the gable end. I also have the radiator off all the time as I am not a fan of central heating. The windows are always soaked with condensation. I had to go to the docs on Friday with a respiratory infection. I am on an inhaler as a result. I am presuming it is related am so worried about it now. What should I do ?

MicktheMan

See here and here.
No silver bullet but basically improve the ventilation, heating and insulation and reduce internal moisture load such as drying clothes.

dchris

MicktheMan wrote: »

See here and here.
No silver bullet but basically improve the ventilation, heating and insulation and reduce internal moisture load such as drying clothes.

Thanks mick. I have just removed all the mould with raw bleach. Turned rad on full wack and removed the close function on the air vent. Am going to check make sure the gutter isn't clogged later on. Do you think painting over it with some special paint would be worthwhile- if there is such a thing?

MicktheMan

Check the insulation above the ceiling and make sure it is properly insulated.
Painting over the affected area with whatever is only attacking the symtom, not the cause. You need to permanently reduce the relative humidity of the internal air as well as improving the insulation of the building fabric to tackle the cause.

dchris

Thanks I will take a look in the attic. I do have it insulated , but the point directly above the problematic area is the very corner of the house where front roof meets side ( the eves?? ) I thought I was being energy efficient by closing some air vents downstairs as the house , despite being new, is very cold and takes a lot to heat. Will re-open all the vents. As I have been so ill the last few weeks on and off, and am almost certain now this is the cause of it. Thanks so much for your advice Mick

tony81

dchris wrote: »

I have a recurring patch of mould on my bedroom ceiling , a small box room. The room is cold as it is on the gable end. I also have the radiator off all the time as I am not a fan of central heating. The windows are always soaked with condensation. I had to go to the docs on Friday with a respiratory infection. I am on an inhaler as a result. I am presuming it is related am so worried about it now. What should I do ?

It's easy to get rid of mould. Bleach with mould killer. It will obv come back if you don't prevent it.

A cold, damp room will damage your health anyway. even without visible mould there are still mould spores floating around the room . It's crazy you're living like that.

handlemaster

I had the very same problem . Box room gable end was always cold. Walls were wet. put vent in wall. insulated the attic. 50 mm insulation plaster board on wall and new double galzed vented window. Problem solved.

dchris

Well after having the heating on last night and the vents wide open there was no condensation on the windows this morning and there usually is. So I think this is a good sign. I will keep an eye on it over the next few weeks before I start pulling at the attic and putting in more vents. I have also made sure the rest of the house is well ventilated. Hope it works. Thanks for the advice!

Luca Brasi

dchris wrote: »

I have a recurring patch of mould on my bedroom ceiling , a small box room. The room is cold as it is on the gable end. I also have the radiator off all the time as I am not a fan of central heating. The windows are always soaked with condensation. I had to go to the docs on Friday with a respiratory infection. I am on an inhaler as a result. I am presuming it is related am so worried about it now. What should I do ?

Have you considered using extra strenght tissues to stop excessive splashing?