Damp flat

sambuka41

Hi all just looking for some advice, i'm renting a ground floor flat in Rathmines. Moved in start of Sept. The problem i'm having is that there is a significant amount of damp in the bedroom. This part of the flat appears to be an extension. As the weather got colder we've noticed alot of condensation on the window and now on the wall opp the window. Its running down the wall.

A futon i had in that corner of the room had to be taken out as it is wet from the damp, it wasn't even leaning against the wall. Same problem with the chest of drawers, the clothes in it are very damp even tho it isnt pushed up against the wall (its about 1 foot away from the wall)

Im going to get on to the proprty management ppl but what im wondering is would this be grounds enough for us to leave and have our deposit returned? Realistically i think it will take alot of work to properly insulate this room and i have a feeling they wont invest that much (could be wrong!) I will be contacting PRTB and Threshold before property management but just thought id get some advice here too.

Also any suggestions on how to tackle damp in the short term, i haven't a clue!!:p

Thanks for any replies

eth0_

sambuka41 wrote: »

Im going to get on to the proprty management ppl but what im wondering is would this be grounds enough for us to leave and have our deposit returned?

Absolutely. The damp is damaging your clothes and belongings, not to mention living in that sort of atmosphere is bad for your health (mould spores are not good for your lungs!).

Give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to remedy the situation (a month, say) and if it's not fixed, get out of there.

Thoie

While a month is a reasonable amount of time to allow to fix a place (might even be too little time depending on the amount of work needed), it's a really long time to be living in those conditions.

If you are going to stay there during the time, ask the landlord if he'd buy/rent a dehumidifier to help dry out the place a bit, and pay for the costs of running it if you pay the electricity. Also make sure that you open the windows for an amount of time each day (seems counterintuitive, but necessary), and remember not to do things like putting clothes on radiators. Make sure that if there's an ensuite that you use the fan while having showers as well.

Drummer Mummer

Get out of there before you develop long term health problems. The Landlord has to make good the problems since he is getting rent from you. Get on to the PRTB, that landlord has a responsibility to maintain the property to proper living conditions.

Dark-Mavis

As already mentioned don't dry your clothes inside, and leave the fan/window open when showering and for a while after.
Leave the window open a crack during the night to let condensation out.

sambuka41

thanks for all the replies. Will be contacting everyone tomorrow. Hopefully they'll do something for us, i'd rather not have to move again!!!!;)

iguana

I can understand you not wanting to move again, but I doubt they can fix the level of damp you've described while you are still in residence. Living with damp is a nightmare and it really can cause health problems. We spent a year and a half trying to get an old landlord to sort out the damp in a place we used to live and they never took it seriously. They would come in and make a half-assed attempt to solve the issue, but they did nothing that actually needed doing as that would have been too big a job. I strongly recommend moving.

Grolschevik

While looking for solutions to a similar (though not as bad) problem, I came across this:


http://www.dampstore.ie/Condensation.php

Liam Harris who heads up the Damp Store Ltd, one of Ireland's largest building treatment firms, has had many years experience treating damp in buildings countrywide.

He deals regularly with apartment dwellers and owners and estimates that around 30% of new apartments suffer from damp in some form or other. He sells hundreds of dehumidifier units each year and estimates that half are bought by apartment owners. However, Harris believes that 90% of damp problems are not caused by construction faults but rather by the tenants themselves.

"Most of these apartments are constructed to a reasonably high standard with proper damp proof courses installed. In most cases it is the tenant and his or her lifestyle which creates the problem. I can guarantee that in most cases if you take two apartments, one with damp and one without, and swop the tenants, you will see the damp problem transferring itself as well.

Damp is caused by poor circulation of air. Apartment dwellers typically leave their windows closed all day and all night and come home in the evening to turn on the heating, the washing machine, cook and take a shower. Combine this with the greatly improved standards of insulation currently in use and a damp problem inevitably prevails.

"North facing apartments and ground floor units are most affected by damp related problems. Installation of a dehumidifier can help deal with the problem, but there's no substitute for simply leaving the windows open for set periods of time, each day. "Irish people are not as used to apartment living as others and can automatically blame the builders rather than examine other causes of the problem."

So while the builders can be let off the hook in most cases, the problem of damp is likely to prevail in many cases given the lifestyle many occupiers lead, being absent all day and not having the option to leave windows open for security reasons.

Based at St James Hospital, Dr Luke Clancy is one of Irelands leading medical experts on lung and chest related problems. While he does not claim to have knowledge of the problems relating specifically to apartments, he beliefs living in damp conditions does cause some health problems, particularly for those already suffering from allergies or breathing difficulties.

"There is evidence to suggest that living in damp conditions can cause the spread of chills and colds, spores from damp induced fungus can cause allergic reactions and generally old people and children are more sensitive.

"Bad ventilation can also cause the spread of droplet infections (spread by sneezing and coughing) Although there are varying opinions on how much illness fungus spores can cause."

Although for the most part, builders don't appear to be to blame for damp problems in apartments whether they like it or not most sufferers unwittingly hold them responsible.

For this reason, they should ensure tenants and occupiers are well informed about potential problems and should ensure maximum ventilation in their units.

providing Dehumidifier units as standard in all apartments may also be worthwhile if only for the image of their proffesiona and apartment living overall.
Mould growth on wall and ceilings can be removed with the aid of MGC Mould Treatment and these products can also prevent re-occurance of the mould growth.
Excessive condensation problems can be reduced and controlled with the aid of Dehumidifiers which reduce the relative humidity levels and prevent condensation build-up.

sambuka41

Cheers Grolschevik for that info! Really interesting. Unfortunately in this case i think its the building of the extension thats the problem, its coming up from the floor as well. Its mainly one wall down the end of the room thats opposite the window. This wall is freezing to the touch and the others aren't.

I work shift work so between myself and my boyfriend there is someone in the flat all the time so the window is opened a fair bit. There is still condensation running down the wall. I probably should have guessed there was a problem early on as the landlord advised that we open the windows regularly to avoid damp, (only remembered this when wall started showing probs!) dead give away!!

I have lived in places before where the previous tenant has blocked vents up and never opened windows,its not good!!! But always the landlord dealt with the problem prior to moving in.

So off i go to get in contact!! thanks again

iguana

Tbh, Grolshevik a lot of people trot out the "it's the residents fault, not the buildings" line and imo, it's mostly crap. I've lived in two buildings with damp in my life out of 9 buildings that I've ever lived in. The first was my parents house which was fine apart from a badly constructed extension on the back which had a really bad damp problem. They needed to fix the roof, dry-line all the walls and replace some of the pipes in order to fix the problem. And since then there has been no problems. So it was poor construction not lifestyle.

The second was the second apartment I rented which had dreadful damp, a lot like what the OP describes. Yet we lived in that apartment in the same way that we lived in the other four apartments we lived in. In fact we had a dryer and garden in that apartment which we didn't in two others which we lived in. We never had damp in the apartments in which we had to dry clothes on rads but in this one the damp was constant apart from a few months in the middle of the summer.

sambuka41

Got onto Threshold about this, they said to write a letter giving them seven days to fix the problem if not then 28 days notice. They said its a case of minimum standards not being met. We sent the letter registered post and addressed to property management and landlord (its the property management people that we pay rent to,but contract with landlord).

2 days in and nothing yet,property say its landlord and he not making contact. Few days left but looks like moving either way. Annoying part is that we have to pay rent for 28 day period (which brings us right up to xmas,obv we'll have to be moved before that, so that means rent for this place and new place,plus deposit for new place) Property ppl say deposit not to do with them.So not likely get that back,seems to be the tenant who pays all the time. :mad:Ridiculous!

Only other option is to stay till mid Jan,which isn't really an option at all.

enfeild

First of all the problem is caused by air not circulating in that area. Move furniture out from the wall, at least 2 feet. Close the door and run a de-humidifier in the room until all the moisture in the room has gone. You will know when that is by the amount you empty out of the de-humidifier is zero. This may take a few days. Make sure the door and the windows are closed while the de-humidifier is working. Afterwards wipe the mold with a squeezy mop dipped in diluted bleach, that will kill it and the musty smell will have gone. When all this is done be aware that if you close off a window or duct the moist air has nowhere to go and furniture against the wall traps warm air which will then become a breeding ground for mold. Look, you know the humidifier is gonna cost a few bob to run but take the hit and do the job. ''Tis better to light a candle than to curse the darkness' Get a loan of a dehumidifier or even buy one if you have to but hiring them is dead money and theres VAT on it!! Ask the landlord to help with it.

Remember, this WILL work, dont go down the Homer Simpson road with the half arsed approach or it will never get done.
Let us know how you get on.
Regards.
Tom.