Dampness in apartment?

SkyUser11

Don't know if this is best place for this. Sorry if it's the wrong forum.

We're currently renting an apartment and have noticed some things lately, not sure if there's a problem.

At the bottom of all the windows there's condensation, especially in the bathroom.

Also clothes on the horse take days to dry, even after sticking them on extra spins. Not a chance of the towels in the bathroom drying on the rail. They stay soaking and smell musty.

I'm afraid of damp as we have a young child. We keep the door onto our balcony open a lot of the day and evening. The last few weeks we can't open the windows in the bedroom or bathroom as there seems to be an infestation of flies. I opened it a couple of weeks ago and 20-30 flies came swarming in.

Anyone have any advice if this sounds normal or sounds like a problem?

Diddler1977

SkyUser11 wrote: »

Don't know if this is best place for this. Sorry if it's the wrong forum.

We're currently renting an apartment and have noticed some things lately, not sure if there's a problem.

At the bottom of all the windows there's condensation, especially in the bathroom.

Also clothes on the horse take days to dry, even after sticking them on extra spins. Not a chance of the towels in the bathroom drying on the rail. They stay soaking and smell musty.

I'm afraid of damp as we have a young child. We keep the door onto our balcony open a lot of the day and evening. The last few weeks we can't open the windows in the bedroom or bathroom as there seems to be an infestation of flies. I opened it a couple of weeks ago and 20-30 flies came swarming in.

Anyone have any advice if this sounds normal or sounds like a problem?

Sounds like our place.

I bought a dehumidifier in B&Q. After a few days of use it soaked up most of the moisture in the air

Can you put your clothes out to dry on the balcony? Or do you have a clothes drier?

missloulou

Can I ask how much the dehumidifier was?

Eleganza

get a hygrometer. they're cheap.
with the evidence you have from the hygrometer demand that your landlord buy a dehumidifier and point out to him it is in his own interests to safegaurd his investment in his property.
I saw Aldi in Germany selling them about 2 month ago for around the 100 euro mark.
I have a dehumidifier and turn it on whenever the hygrometer indicates it is too damp in my apartment.

If you don't provide the proof the landlord will blame you for closing vents, cooking with no lids on pots, too many showers, drying clothes indoors, etc....
you're not doing these things are you?

Diddler1977

missloulou wrote: »

Can I ask how much the dehumidifier was?

As far as I remember it was about 100 euro

Diddler1977

SkyUser11 wrote: »

Don't know if this is best place for this. Sorry if it's the wrong forum.

We're currently renting an apartment and have noticed some things lately, not sure if there's a problem.

At the bottom of all the windows there's condensation, especially in the bathroom.

Also clothes on the horse take days to dry, even after sticking them on extra spins. Not a chance of the towels in the bathroom drying on the rail. They stay soaking and smell musty.

I'm afraid of damp as we have a young child. We keep the door onto our balcony open a lot of the day and evening. The last few weeks we can't open the windows in the bedroom or bathroom as there seems to be an infestation of flies. I opened it a couple of weeks ago and 20-30 flies came swarming in.

Anyone have any advice if this sounds normal or sounds like a problem?

Open the bathroom window after taking a shower to let out the steam.

Also I leave my bedroom and kitchen window open all day when I go to work.

Spiritofthekop

Diddler1977 wrote: »

Sounds like our place.

I bought a dehumidifier in B&Q. After a few days of use it soaked up most of the moisture in the air

Can you put your clothes out to dry on the balcony? Or do you have a clothes drier?

Who paid or pays for the extra cost of running the dehumidifier?

Expensive on electricity

Diddler1977

Spiritofthekop wrote: »

Who paid or pays for the extra cost of running the dehumidifier?

Expensive on electricity

It goes on to my electricity bill. Never thought about how much they cost to run. Would rather pay the electricity then live in a damp apartment

Spiritofthekop

Diddler1977 wrote: »

It goes on to my electricity bill. Never thought about how much they cost to run. Would rather pay the electricity then live in a damp apartment

You should talk to your landlord about splitting the extra cost or he has to go get some professional work done.


You should not have to pay the extra cost of running a expensive machine all day.

odds_on

I suggest you read the two following post from boards.ie
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73725249#post73725249
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73725376&postcount=19

If there are vents in the house and they have not been blocked up by the landlord, then it would appear to me that this is a problem caused entirely by yourself and is therefore not the landlord's responsibility. You could be liable to pay for "damage" to the property.

yutta

I'd simply move out. Can't put a price on your child's health.

Bullseye1

Drying cloths inside is never a good idea. The moisture from them ends up on colder surfaces like walls and windows and condense.

Ray Palmer

Drying the clothes in the house is going to actually cause the problem. Simply stop doing it as you are adding moisture to the atmosphere in the appartment.

It is actually very difficult not to get condensation on windows during the winter. Glass is cold and the air inside you appartment is warm and going to be really full of moisture if you are drying clothes inside.

Make sure the vents are open and the fan in the bathroom is working (aqssuming there is one). If there is no fan maybe suggest getting one put in. It is actually a benifit to the LL as well.

SkyUser11

Thanks for all the replies.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Drying the clothes in the house is going to actually cause the problem. Simply stop doing it as you are adding moisture to the atmosphere in the appartment.

Sorry don't mean to sound smart but what am I expected to do with my wet laundry if it's raining, or as I'd imagine it'll soon be, snowing? We don't have a tumble dryer and can't plan our washing around the unpredictable Irish weather.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Make sure the vents are open and the fan in the bathroom is working (aqssuming there is one). If there is no fan maybe suggest getting one put in. It is actually a benifit to the LL as well.

There is a fan in the bathroom but we got onto the landlord months about it leaking when it rained and I think whoever fixed it just put some wood over it on the roof.

There are no vents in the apartment in any of the rooms. Should there be?

I'm after inspecting the apartment a bit closer since the original post and I've noticed some other things. There are black spots on the walls and tiles in the bathroom (mould?) and mould along the bottom of the window ledge in the main bedroom.

The wooden floor in the front room seems to have risen a bit where they pieces connect. Is this a sign of damp?

We've also got fly killer spray recently to combat the swarms of flies outside the windows. Has this anything to do with damp or just something else? Really strange seeing that amount of flies around all the windows.

Thanks again.

listermint

Each room need ventilation.

Yes there should be vent in all of the rooms, request that the fan is fixed immediately as this is only adding to the problem.

Id go in search of the vents too.

Bullseye1

Unfortunately you may need to invest in a dryer or bring your cloths to a laundret to dry them. I think read about a stand/interal cloths stand which could be covered in which you could dry your cloths and prevent condensation occurring.

Ray Palmer

SkyUser11 wrote: »

Sorry don't mean to sound smart but what am I expected to do with my wet laundry if it's raining, or as I'd imagine it'll soon be, snowing? We don't have a tumble dryer and can't plan our washing around the unpredictable Irish weather.

You don't dry them in the house, use a dryer making sure it vents outside. You are simply adding moisture into the property. It's like complaining about the place being wet when you throw water around the room.

SkyUser11 wrote: »

There is a fan in the bathroom but we got onto the landlord months about it leaking when it rained and I think whoever fixed it just put some wood over it on the roof.
No fan in the bathroom will casue the problem. Vent covers outside stop the rain coming in. They cost about €5 so why anybody would just block it doesn't make much sense.

SkyUser11 wrote: »

There are no vents in the apartment in any of the rooms. Should there be?

Yes but they can be built into the windows and chimneys count. Check again there probably is a vent but not obvious. They are required by law to be in the rooms people sleep in.

SkyUser11 wrote: »

I'm after inspecting the apartment a bit closer since the original post and I've noticed some other things. There are black spots on the walls and tiles in the bathroom (mould?) and mould along the bottom of the window ledge in the main bedroom.

When you make a place damp and don't clean up the place you will get mould. This simply is casued by your own actions. Mould feeds on moisture. You need to bleach the mould to kill it and then keep it dry. The mould will spread if you don't take care of it.

SkyUser11 wrote: »

The wooden floor in the front room seems to have risen a bit where they pieces connect. Is this a sign of damp?

We've also got fly killer spray recently to combat the swarms of flies outside the windows. Has this anything to do with damp or just something else? Really strange seeing that amount of flies around all the windows.

Thanks again.

Floor can be effected by damp but general movement might do similar or bad installation.

Type of flies you have make a difference here , midget for example need damp soil and will swarm around it. That can include moss stuck in gutters.

Unless this property is pre 1930 the likelyhood of no vents is really strange. If it is an older house with PVC windows this actually probably going to casue some damp issues around the windows. That is condensation which is moistly due to moisture in people's breath hiting the windows and cooling.

Big casue are drying clothes,cooking without fan, showers without fan. Opening widows during high steam moments will reduce issue. Mold is always in the air waiting for home, don't give it a home.

SkyUser11

Ray Palmer wrote: »

You don't dry them in the house, use a dryer making sure it vents outside. You are simply adding moisture into the property. It's like complaining about the place being wet when you throw water around the room.

There's no dryer in the apartment. It was advertised as having a dryer but there's none.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

No fan in the bathroom will casue the problem. Vent covers outside stop the rain coming in. They cost about €5 so why anybody would just block it doesn't make much sense.

I wondered the same but it appears this is what was done.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Yes but they can be built into the windows and chimneys count. Check again there probably is a vent but not obvious. They are required by law to be in the rooms people sleep in.

I checked after reading your post and indeed there are very small vents on the top of the window frame.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

When you make a place damp and don't clean up the place you will get mould. This simply is casued by your own actions. Mould feeds on moisture. You need to bleach the mould to kill it and then keep it dry. The mould will spread if you don't take care of it.

Well I cleaned all the areas with mould with bleach. I only noticed today the wall has it all over it behind my bedside locker. How would this have happened? We only sleep in this room and it's well aired out? I've attached a picture below.

dory

I'm having some mould issues myself lately. Dettol Mould and Mildew is working incredibly well though. I just spray in on, wait 5 minutes and wipe it off. The whole place smells like a swimming pool afterwards but when that goes away the place is very different.

You need a plan. Something along the lines of; always open windows a bit after shower/cooking. Spray that anti-mould stuff (the Dettol above) every 2 weeks or so. Open a window for a certain amount of time each day. It really doesn't make the place that much colder.

If you don't have a place to dry outside, then you should have a dryer as far as I know. Why not get onto the landlord?

odds_on

Sorry don't mean to sound smart but what am I expected to do with my wet laundry if it's raining, or as I'd imagine it'll soon be, snowing? We don't have a tumble dryer and can't plan our washing around the unpredictable Irish weather.

If the apartment does not have access to an outside area to dry clothes, then a dryer / washer/dryer must be supplied by the landlord.

(h) Where the house does not contain a garden or yard for the exclusive use of that house (or apartment), a dryer (vented or recirculation type) or access to a communal dryer facility.
Source: S.I. No. 534 of 2008; HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008 and the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses)(Amendment) Regulations 2009.

SkyUser11

odds_on wrote: »

If the apartment does not have access to an outside area to dry clothes, then a dryer / washer/dryer must be supplied by the landlord.

(h) Where the house does not contain a garden or yard for the exclusive use of that house (or apartment), a dryer (vented or recirculation type) or access to a communal dryer facility.
Source: S.I. No. 534 of 2008; HOUSING (STANDARDS FOR RENTED HOUSES) REGULATIONS 2008 and the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses)(Amendment) Regulations 2009.

We have a balcony, does that cover the LL? What are we meant to do during bad weather though? I've lived in numerous places and never once had a problem drying clothes indoors. As I said above the ad mentioned it came with a dryer. Is it too late now to look for this?

Also what do posters think of the mould in the bedroom (attached in a picture above)? We only sleep in the bedroom. We don't dry clothes or anything like that.

Ray Palmer

SkyUser11 wrote: »

Well I cleaned all the areas with mould with bleach. I only noticed today the wall has it all over it behind my bedside locker. How would this have happened? We only sleep in this room and it's well aired out? I've attached a picture below.

Once you get mould in a place you increase the spores in the property. Increase spores mean more break out. Won't really mater where the clothes are dried you have increased the moisture level in the air which travel in the house. THe moisture will land in the cold spot in a house and contains mould spores(it is always in the air you just have increased spores). Usually this happens at the back of furniture normally where they touch the wall.

You need to check everywhere and clean it. Mould spray is effectively bleach. While you sleep people give off a lot of moisture in their breath and sweat. Mould can make you sick if you have alergies but generally it won't besides a minor irritation. People will connect lots of ailments to mould but most times they are making wild claims. Human's would have always lived in places with mould. It can damage clothes and other possesions. Books are very easily damaged and can't really be cleaned. Your warrobes are at risk check the sooner rather than later.

The main issue is that the moisture level increased making it good for mould. Mould is carried on everything waiting for a good environment. You gave it a good environment

Grolschevik

SkyUser11 wrote: »

We have a balcony, does that cover the LL? .

Just as an aside, in my development it's against the management company rules to dry clothes on the balcony, or even in view of the outside, which would rule out even leaving the clothes horse beside the open door.

SkyUser11

Thanks again for all the replies.

I forgot to mention when you walk into the common area in our block (where the lifts are) the whole wall there is covered in a good bit of mould. Not sure if this makes a difference.

Ray Palmer wrote: »

The main issue is that the moisture level increased making it good for mould. Mould is carried on everything waiting for a good environment. You gave it a good environment

We just recently discovered there must be a leak somewhere in the apartment because under all the floors is wet and one of the carpets is soaking so waiting to get that sorted. Probably adding to the moisture.

Grolschevik wrote: »

Just as an aside, in my development it's against the management company rules to dry clothes on the balcony, or even in view of the outside, which would rule out even leaving the clothes horse beside the open door.

Also forgot about this. It is indeed against the management company rules to dry clothes on the balcony. There is a list of rules in the common area and this is included in it along with modifying the balcony.

Ray Palmer

SkyUser11 wrote: »

Thanks again for all the replies.

I forgot to mention when you walk into the common area in our block (where the lifts are) the whole wall there is covered in a good bit of mould. Not sure if this makes a difference.



We just recently discovered there must be a leak somewhere in the apartment because under all the floors is wet and one of the carpets is soaking so waiting to get that sorted. Probably adding to the moisture.

This is probably the main cause. How old is the building? With a big leak and common areas with mould you won't have much chance of not having mould.

Zulu

SkyUser11 wrote: »

Also clothes on the horse take days to dry,

Don't dry clothes inside - it makes the place damp. I'd be well pissed if my tennets were drying clothes inside regularly.

That said, if it's supposed to have a dryer, ring up the LL and tell them to put one in. Explain that you're forced to dry your clothes inside & it's causing dampness. The LL should be very prompt to rectify the issue, dampness costs more than a dryer.

Zulu

thats fair enough.

But complaining about damp, while drying clothes inside is a bit like complaining about a draft while leaving all the windows & doors open.

Ray Palmer

OSI wrote: »

To be honest if my Landlord got pissy about drying clothes indoors, I'd tell him to cough up for a dryer or STFU.

If a tenant caused mould in my place I'd take thier deposit. If there is a place to dry your clothes outside you don't need a dryer by reason or regulation.

Ray Palmer

OSI wrote: »

Unless they're running some kind of chinese sweat shop style cleaning service, drying clothes in the house isn't going to cause mould. Any house with decent ventilation wouldn't have this issue unless their was some serious moisture issue in the house.

Wrong. Modern houses have much less ventialtion than houses people grew up in. As such the circulation of air is much less. That also applies to upgrade property. It keeps heat in. Drying clothes in a warm house will casue mould.

OSI wrote: »

How do you expect someone to dry their clothes outside all the time? If I put clothes out to dry and it starts to rain, I can't bring them in for fear of losing my deposit?

The same way people did it before dryers. I also said if a tenant casued mould in my place I would charge them. I don't dry clothes in my own house and if the tenant owned the place they wouldn't want to cause mould in their own house. I have upgrades the property to a better standard if a tenant disregards my property and casues damage they pay it is that simple. Somebody spent 2 months in one place that had been rented for years with no mould problems and then there was suddenly a mould problem. Who is to blame me? Who should pay to clean and repaint? Vert simple logic, I tell any new tenant not to dry clothes inside and have it in the contract. So they are forewarned. Don't like it don't rent from me I am happy with that.

SkyUser11

Seems to be a bit of a tough one for me though.

Can't dry them outside due to both weather and management company rules and can't dry them inside due to mould. Would it be worth my while asking the agent to ask the LL to invest in a dryer?

irlirishkev

You're entitled to have a dryer in your apartment, if you don't have a garden or yard.
This was already quoted, but here's the rental standards document

Rental Standards

Ask the Landlord. He's obliged to provide one, regardless of whether or not there was one there when you took on the apartment.

Den14

Get that dehumidifier as mentioned earlier. It worked a treat for us. As we were drying clothes indoors too mold started to build up on the lower walls and the condensation was on the windows. The dehumidifier turns on automatically when the humidity gets too high. This can be set to attain a particular humidity level. The clothes dry a lot lot faster now and we have no dampness problems anymore