Damp smell and mould in house

Brego888

EndaHonesty wrote: »

Putting hot moist air into the environment is a bad idea IMO.

We put one of these retractable indoor washing lines in one of the rooms and the dehumidifier dries the clothes in no time.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brabantia-Retractable-Indoor-Washing-Line/dp/B000NT9DN8

What kind of heating does your apartment have? Storage heaters?

Apartment is gas heating. I wouldn't have a free room for the indoor washing line/dehumidifier suggestion. We've a baby on the way too hence why we are thinking of a dryer as inevitably there will be significantly more clothes washing!

EndaHonesty

Brego888 wrote: »

Apartment is gas heating. I wouldn't have a free room for the indoor washing line/dehumidifier suggestion. We've a baby on the way too hence why we are thinking of a dryer as inevitably there will be significantly more clothes washing!

You don't need a free room for either.

The retractable line goes between any two walls and needs approx. 18 inches of depth so it can take up very little room.

IMO the dehumidifier is a much better option for an apartment, especially with a baby. It will dry and clean the air.

DaveyDave

I recently noticed mould in my bedroom window. I'm not too clued up on the causes but I thought since we regularly have the windows open and don't dry clothes on the radiators it wouldn't happen. I rent a 2 bedroom ground floor apartment. Window vents open but the bedroom does get quiet stuffy when sleeping.

En suite shower only has a little fan which doesn't seem to help much. Clothes are only dried beside the front porch door on a free standing hanger. Door is open as often as the weather allows for drying.

Landlord made a huge fuss over not drying clothes on radiators due to mould, we haven't and now mould is coming in quickly. We've had the heating on recently due to the cold but wouldn't have it on all day due to costs, but it's on regularly when heating water for a shower.

I got one of the Unibond 360 units and it absorbed about 2 inches of water in just a week. The mould all started when I was cleaning my wardrobe and a hat was covered in mould.

Other than spending €200 on a dehumidifier, what can be done about the mold? Is there anything I can get the landlord to do about it?

EndaHonesty

DaveyDave wrote: »

I recently noticed mould in my bedroom window. I'm not too clued up on the causes but I thought since we regularly have the windows open and don't dry clothes on the radiators it wouldn't happen. I rent a 2 bedroom ground floor apartment. Window vents open but the bedroom does get quiet stuffy when sleeping.

En suite shower only has a little fan which doesn't seem to help much. Clothes are only dried beside the front porch door on a free standing hanger. Door is open as often as the weather allows for drying.

Landlord made a huge fuss over not drying clothes on radiators due to mould, we haven't and now mould is coming in quickly. We've had the heating on recently due to the cold but wouldn't have it on all day due to costs, but it's on regularly when heating water for a shower.

I got one of the Unibond 360 units and it absorbed about 2 inches of water in just a week. The mould all started when I was cleaning my wardrobe and a hat was covered in mould.

Other than spending €200 on a dehumidifier, what can be done about the mold? Is there anything I can get the landlord to do about it?

The only thing that will definitely work is a dehumidifier.

Mould will damage your health and your home.

How much is peace of mind worth?

If you negotiate with the landlord he might pay for it rather than go to the expense of search for/rectifying the root cause.

GFish

beauf wrote: »

Since cold air holds more water than warm air.
Keeping a place too warm take the water out of the air, but it goes into everything else. Which is why keeping windows all the time and over heating causes mould.

No so.
Cold air holds less water than warm air. That is why you need ventilation to let the cold air in.

Condensation happens when the air is too humid.
The colder air which comes in the window or vent can hold more water as it warms up so the humidity drops.

So if you have ventilation, cold air comes in; it can hold more moisture as it warms up; it goes out through the vents taking the moisture with it; colder air comes in - and so it goes on. The net effect is that moisture goes out from the warm inside.

You don't need a wide open window but you do need some ventilation. Turning up the heating will not cure condensation.

Alkers

DaveyDave wrote:

I recently noticed mould in my bedroom window. I'm not too clued up on the causes but I thought since we regularly have the windows open and don't dry clothes on the radiators it wouldn't happen. I rent a 2 bedroom ground floor apartment. Window vents open but the bedroom does get quiet stuffy when sleeping.

If there are vents in the window they are only trickle vents and won't give much airflow. Can you open the window whenever the en suite fan is on, which should draw fresh air through the room? Try and clean the fan and ensure its duct run is clean. Try run the en suite fan until all steam or condensation is gone after a shower, don't just turn it off when you leave the room. Try sleeping with the bedroom door open and ensure vents in the rest of the house are open also.

odyssey06

GFish wrote: »

So if you have ventilation, cold air comes in; it can hold more moisture as it warms up; it goes out through the vents taking the moisture with it; colder air comes in - and so it goes on. The net effect is that moisture goes out from the warm inside.

Is there not a conflict there between the cold air coming in and the hot air going out??? Who "wins"?

EndaHonesty

odyssey06 wrote: »

Is there not a conflict there between the cold air coming in and the hot air going out??? Who "wins"?

There is a conflict which means you lose heat out the window too.

Which is not great on a cold winter's day.

A dehumidifier removes the water without any loss of heat.

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EndaHonesty

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Same as mine. Another positive.

cyrils foxpit

Dehumidifer changed everything for me ...was even considering selling up...Got a 20l dehumidifier from Aldi and condensation problems and mould alleviated.

Ironically I bought the dehumidifier about 3 years earlier but only used it now and again so got no benefit...read up more about them (realising they were cheaper to run than I thought) run it for longer now and house is much more comfortable, dry and the weekly wiping of mould from walls is no more !!!

beauf

cyrils foxpit wrote: »

...the weekly wiping of mould from walls is no more !!!

It can be lifestyle related, but sometimes there is something fundamentally wrong with the design and construction of a property if you have to do that.

Where not lifestyle related, I mainly see the issue in places with an internal non windowed bathroom/showers. Which started being common about 20yrs ago. As did the fall in building standards and inspections. We are now seeing loads of issues with cold bridging, poor ventilation, higher insulated, properties with loads of condensation issues. Its not unlike the issue with the lack of inspection of rental properties, or the flawed BER system.

I can see why so many here feel they need a Dehumidifier. Its far cheaper than fixing the building.

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beauf

My point was most of the ones I've seen are not properly ventilated. This is because due to design and cost they are stuck into the dead space in a building. Which is a design flaw as the bathroom and the kitchen are the two rooms which need the best ventilation of all all rooms. So sticking a bathroom into the hardest part of the build to ventilate is bad design. Its not simply about windows. Running electric fans and ducting in the center of a building is far more complex and compromised than in other locations.

Its probably un-viable to fix it in some situations.

beauf

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I have seen ones with heating and ventilation and they still have a continuous mould problem.

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OP here. Thanks for the suggestions guys. So my shortlist is the following, all desiccant:

Meaco DD8L
Ecoair DD122
DeLonghi DNC65

They're not the easiest to find though. No stock in Boots or Maplin. Argos only do compressor dehumidifiers (would have been handy as there's one nearby). May have to get it online but they're bulky so might be awkward.

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EndaHonesty

Karsini wrote: »

OP here. Thanks for the suggestions guys. So my shortlist is the following, all desiccant:

Meaco DD8L
Ecoair DD122
DeLonghi DNC65

They're not the easiest to find though. No stock in Boots or Maplin. Argos only do compressor dehumidifiers (would have been handy as there's one nearby). May have to get it online but they're bulky so might be awkward.

I had a Meaco DD8L and it died after 2 years.

It was flimsy and seemed like a cheap product.

It put me off desiccant machines altogether.

I have a DeLonghi DES12 now and it's great. A quality unit.

If I was in the market for a desiccant machine I'd go for the DNC65.

I'm wary of compressor dehumidifiers based on what I've read though. Sounds like you'd need to leave the heating on just for it to work.

In any case, she has gotten the landlord involved again. Finding pink mould on spice containers got her to make the call.

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EndaHonesty

Karsini wrote: »

I'm wary of compressor dehumidifiers based on what I've read though. Sounds like you'd need to leave the heating on just for it to work.

In any case, she has gotten the landlord involved again. Finding pink mould on spice containers got her to make the call.

If you read the post above I'm suggesting if you're going for the desiccant dehumidifier, go for the DeLonghi desiccant dehumidifier, the DNC65.

Also you don't have to have the heating on all the time for a compressor dehumidifier to work.

Once the ambient temperature remains at a reasonable temperature there's no problem.

In Ireland a habited apartment will never drop below 14-15 degrees C so it's not a problem.

The apartment I have the compressor dehumidifier in is uninhabited and unheated now and it's still working taking water out of the air every day.

The difference between compressor and desiccant is the efficiency where the desiccant machine will take more out at lower temps, not that the compressor stops working.

IMO compressor machines are more reliable and that is worth more to me than the efficiency.

mikeysmith

Which type is most efficient at 18 degrees

TBi

EndaHonesty wrote: »

IMO compressor machines are more reliable and that is worth more to me than the efficiency.

You have a sample size of one. I have a DD8L and it's been perfect for almost three years. I read lots of reviews and none mentioned any issues. I never found it flimsy, just light due to design.

All around though i read about issues with the compressor ones, the gas leaks out over time and gets less efficient unless you recharge it. They are also heavier, don't work at low temperatures and blow out cold air.

My dessicant one warms up the house while it's drying it so less heating, and i could also use it to dry out the car when the missus left the window open.

TBi

mikeysmith wrote: »

Which type is most efficient at 18 degrees

Read this

EndaHonesty

TBi wrote: »

You have a sample size of one. I have a DD8L and it's been perfect for almost three years. I read lots of reviews and none mentioned any issues. I never found it flimsy, just light due to design.

All around though i read about issues with the compressor ones, the gas leaks out over time and gets less efficient unless you recharge it. They are also heavier, don't work at low temperatures and blow out cold air.

My dessicant one warms up the house while it's drying it so less heating, and i could also use it to dry out the car when the missus left the window open.

I've a sample size of two.

The Meaco DD8L I had, which died after 2 years.

And the DeLonghi DES12 I have now which is still working faultlessly after more than 4 years. And which also blows out warm air.

You are the person with a sample size of one and you seem to think that your opinion is more reliable than mine...?

You are also not the only one that reads reviews and researches products before buying them.

If you have not read about desiccant dehumidifiers reliability issues then I would suggest your research was not extensive.

From a website called dehumidifier-reviews.co.uk, which you'd imagine would be a first stop for someone doing "research" on dehumidifiers...

Desiccant Negatives
Reliability – unlikely to last as long as refrigerants, which usually last decades
Not as effective for large or poorly insulated spaces

http://www.dehumidifier-reviews.co.uk/desiccant-dehumidifiers

my poor tortured hands

I have the iGenix 9807 dessicant dehumidifer from Amazon and I think it's great. It works very well at all temperatures.

Time for an update.

I picked up a dehumidifier last night and set it up. It wasn’t one of the three I mentioned but I had to get what I could. It’s a Homebase own brand desiccant.

When I stepped into the house last night, I got the smell as strong as ever. So we started the dehumidifier and went to bed. When we got up, about half the tank was full so we emptied it and started again. It has filled up another little bit. The smell is barely noticeable already, didn’t think we’d notice a difference so quickly!

Thanks again for all of the help.

DaveyDave

Hi all,

Sorry to bump this thread but just thought I'd give an update considering my landlord just issued a letter waking me up on a lovely Saturday on my day off saying that while performing a maintenance check, clothes were seen drying and condensation was noticed on the patio door, breach of contract etc.

The mold in my apartment seems to have gotten much worse. I'm no expert on this subject, so someone could enlighten me. Why would there be mold in my wardrobe, present on clothing, and extensive water droplets/mold in my bedroom window from clothes being dry in another room across the apartment?

My mams house doesn't have mold and clothes are dried extensively there. I've never seen mold in the various other houses and apartments I've lived in where clothes were dried inside.

Mold is mainly present around the window in the bedroom, the patio door, the vent on the wall and the letterbox flap on the door.

No moisture in the kitchen from cooking or anything. I'm really feel like this isn't an issue for drying clothes. It should also be noted this apartment is very poorly insulated because it's ridiculously cold even when the heating is on it struggles to heat the place. Could the cold be an issue?

Not planning on staying here anymore I don't want them to screw me over for "damages". It should also be noted the bedroom window and patio door are opened daily to air out the place.

Also regarding drying clothes, I workout frequently so have sweaty running/cycling gear lying around and I also use a turbo trainer on the bike inside and shower frequently, so I imagine if I stopped drying clothes inside, it wouldn't exactly go away.

But I'm confused as to why mold is an issue here when I've never had a problem before.

Even when not drying clothes there's heavy condensation in the bedroom when I wake up.