Damp in the bathroom and front bedroom

Plenty

I'm living in The Wood now for 6 years. Over the last year, I've notice black damp spores on the ceiling of the bathroom and front bedroom.

After the first month of moving into our two bed house, it was a cold and rainy night. The sky light in the bathroom opened and a flood of water came crashing down. The builders were still here at the time. They closed the sky light and took the frosted glass away to let the plasterboard dry from the rain. After about a month we put the glass back.

6 years later, I see black damp on the ceiling of the bathroom, but not around the skylight. It's appearing in the corners and on the tiles. There is one large black patch in the middle of the ceiling.

The weird thing is, there are also damp spores in the front bedroom. These are on the ceiling above the window, along the fitted wardrobes and speckles around the light fitting. I got the roof checked and there was no sign of leaks or damp in the attic or loose tiles. There is nothing on the ceiling in the landing or back bedroom.

I checked the vent in the front bedroom, it was partially blocked, so I cleared away any debris and it's fully open, but the damp has reappeared. I had the extractor fan checked in the bathroom and it's barely able to hold a sheet of toilet paper to the grid. So I'm assuming it's blocked or the extractor fan has done it's time and need a new one.

Has anyone else had or have this problem? If so, how I can I remedy it?

Thanks

pixbyjohn

Do you have vents in either room. Sometimes these black spots are caused by no air circulation. Do you open the windows for a short time every day ?

Plenty

Hi John,

the only vent in the bathroom is the extractor fan. The skylight is to far to open every now and again. I have to open the window in the bedroom to get some sort of air circulation in the room

darter

I suggest you get the mould spores looked at professionally. Mould spores can be carcinogenic.

There is little appreciation in Ireland of the dangers of mould.

We recently had mould treated by mouldbusters.ie

hamstervision

We had black mould on the ceiling of our upstairs bathroom. I used some bleach to get most of it off. Then I sanded down the ceiling, applied a polybond plaster especially for covering mould (you can get it in Woodies) which paints on. Then I painted over that when dry. As for the fan, we picked one up from Woodies and replaced it fairly easily. There wasn't any sign of mould for months. We cheap'd out on the fan though so it may need replacing as we've seen signs of some mould recently. But it isn't too hard to do it yourself.

darter

hamstervision wrote: »

We had black mould on the ceiling of our upstairs bathroom. I used some bleach to get most of it off. Then I sanded down the ceiling, applied a polybond plaster especially for covering mould (you can get it in Woodies) which paints on. Then I painted over that when dry. As for the fan, we picked one up from Woodies and replaced it fairly easily. There wasn't any sign of mould for months. We cheap'd out on the fan though so it may need replacing as we've seen signs of some mould recently. But it isn't too hard to do it yourself.

Bleach is exactly the WRONG substance to put on a mould patch - wrong ph. See e.g. http://www.spore-tech.com/viewCategory.asp?idCategory=78
amongst many other scientific reviews of the subject.

The most important point is though not to address the effect, but address the cause. What is the cause of the high humidity or wetness? Find and fix that, or you will be forever treating mould.

In N.America you can get paper-free plasterboard specifically for damp locations. Haven't see it in Ireland yet.

pixbyjohn

To be honest I think it isn't a major problem for you. I would say the mould or black patches are coming from within the rooms. Normally what happens when there is not enough air circulation in a room, especially a bathroom and bedroom water droplets attach themselves to the corners and ceilings from condensation and then minute particles of dust gather in these droplets and cause the blackness. As Darter says you have to treat the cause. It is amazing how much condensation is caused by the human body during a nights sleep.
In the bathroom do you usually shower or bath at night time and then leave all windows closed during the night ? How long does your extractor fan operate after you finish washing ? All these are factors in your problem.

Plenty

Thanks everyone for all of your feedback. I have done the bleach and clean as was as painting over the patches, but that's all well and good in the short term, but it's finding the cause is really what's needed.

Thanks darter for the link. I didn't know there was a site, hence, my posting on here I'll check it out now.

As for the extractor fan, I've cleaned it, but I might have left it too late to do that so there could be a blockage.

Thanks hamstervision of the heads up on the extractor fans in woodies, I might invest in one but I think I'll get the professionals in to look at it.

Pixbyjohn, I think you are right with regards to condensation. There is a lot seen on the window in the bedroom, that's why I opened the vent but hasn't made a difference.

Thank you all.

Charlie-Bravo

Poor ventilation has been identified for condensation on windows in houses in Charlesland but generally not the plasterwork (except for bathrooms not using their vent extract fan!). The plasterwork in the houses majorly in Charlesland Wood is dry lining. The only place you get rendered internal walls is on the party walls, which should be somewhat warm due to being heated by back neightbouring houses.

Now, why are you getting condensation forming on plasterboard? Yes poor ventilation could be it but I reckon it's due to the surface of the plasterboard being much colder (and below the dew point of the humidity level). So why would the surface be too cold? A simple check here would be to see how the insulation is in the attic. You can expect at least 200mm (8 inches) of mineral fibre insulation across your attic. Make sure it is evenly laid out, tucked down at the eaves (for ventilating the roof space), and the height of it is at least up to the top of the 9x2 joists (2 Bed townhouse attic) - ideally another layer over the top of the joists will be beneficial. If any of the insulation is damp, get rid of it, its useless and has little insulating properties when wet. Fix the source of the damp problem!

Your light shaft for the bathroom should be also well insulated - at least a decent kindspan or similar insulated polyeurathane board.

Plenty

Thanks Astrofluff.

I did have the attic examined and there was no sign of any damp or leak of any sort. Now, the guy that did check it for me didn't go into the specifics of insulation like you did (which I'm quite impressed) and will take note of these when I get someone out to examine the problem.

Yes, I think you and everyone else is right, it is poor ventilation and I've done what I can in the mean time to remedy that, but it's something else that I just can't figure out. Call in the experts

investsense

Just wondering if any one ended up using mould busters? Emailied them and they are charging 120 euro call out plus 40 euro per mould sample?????

Plenty

WOW! that is steep! I didn't contact them in the end. I was going to use them as a last resort. I think I'll park that idea for a little longer

JOSman

Hi guys. Go down to your local supermarket and buy a mold spray. That should get rid of it. When it comes back give it another squirt. Bathrooms will always give minor problems.

dr ro

mould spray? In our local supermarket? This is the charlesland forum isn't it? Lucky to get bread in there sometimes!

darter

investsense wrote: »

Just wondering if any one ended up using mould busters? Emailied them and they are charging 120 euro call out plus 40 euro per mould sample?????

I used them for a mould infestation, and glad I did. Very professional, and a 5 year guarantee.

Don't mess around with mould spores. This is your health that is at risk!

Plenty

I do agree, darter. I haven't dismised them entirely. I have them parked for now. I'm trying more insulation in the attic to see if this stops any more damp spores appearing

pixbyjohn

darter wrote: »

I used them for a mould infestation, and glad I did. Very professional, and a 5 year guarantee.

Don't mess around with mould spores. This is your health that is at risk!

May I ask how they cured it, and have you had to do anything differently since you had the job done ? I am curious.

darter

pixbyjohn wrote: »

May I ask how they cured it, and have you had to do anything differently since you had the job done ? I am curious.

Replaced the most infected drywall, sprayed the rest with an alkali product from Russia, then painted over it. Also fogged the house to kill all mould spores in the air.

ciaran67

I bought a dehumidifier up in B&Q in Belfast the other day. 16 litre version for 99 quid, down from 160 odd. I need it seeing as the county of Mayo is twinned with Atlantis.