Help re mild/mildew in rooms in house

Goat the dote

Hi I'm not sure where to put this but our house was built (were not the first owners) around 1995. Apparently it was built to highest spec (marble fireplace fully landscaped etc) and no expense spared insulating. When we moved in there was mold/mildew on ceiling of one room and in one corner. We washed it off and it kept coming back.
When we moved in we thought it was just because the house had been unoccupied for a while.
Last year we painted the ceiling with anti mold paint and painted room.
Over the winter the mild started reappearing and also the ceilings of the nearby bathroom and ensure bathroom went black with mildew/mold as did the utility room corner and some of the sunroom.
Husband has been into the attic and said its insulated but tbh I can't see how it is cos the house is a bit chilly and now the corner of that spare room is black. I'm on mobile so can't upload a photo.
He's away til tonight and I don't want to pounce on him about it straightaway but we can't put our son in there.

Any help/advice appreciated

vicwatson

Goat the dote wrote: »

Hi I'm not sure where to put this but our house was built (were not the first owners) around 1995. Apparently it was built to highest spec (marble fireplace fully landscaped etc) and no expense spared insulating. When we moved in there was mold/mildew on ceiling of one room and in one corner. We washed it off and it kept coming back.
When we moved in we thought it was just because the house had been unoccupied for a while.
Last year we painted the ceiling with anti mold paint and painted room.
Over the winter the mild started reappearing and also the ceilings of the nearby bathroom and ensure bathroom went black with mildew/mold as did the utility room corner and some of the sunroom.
Husband has been into the attic and said its insulated but tbh I can't see how it is cos the house is a bit chilly and now the corner of that spare room is black. I'm on mobile so can't upload a photo.
He's away til tonight and I don't want to pounce on him about it straightaway but we can't put our son in there.

Any help/advice appreciated

Is there adequate ventilation in the room? Vent not blocked?

Tigerandahalf

Probably a leak especially if under a bathroom. One possibility is that water may be leaking in behind broken tiles in a shower. Check out all areas like that. Could be a pipe with a slight leak as well.

sydthebeat

Goat the dote wrote: »

Hi I'm not sure where to put this but our house was built (were not the first owners) around 1995. Apparently it was built to highest spec (marble fireplace fully landscaped etc) and no expense spared insulating. When we moved in there was mold/mildew on ceiling of one room and in one corner. We washed it off and it kept coming back.
When we moved in we thought it was just because the house had been unoccupied for a while.
Last year we painted the ceiling with anti mold paint and painted room.
Over the winter the mild started reappearing and also the ceilings of the nearby bathroom and ensure bathroom went black with mildew/mold as did the utility room corner and some of the sunroom.
Husband has been into the attic and said its insulated but tbh I can't see how it is cos the house is a bit chilly and now the corner of that spare room is black. I'm on mobile so can't upload a photo.
He's away til tonight and I don't want to pounce on him about it straightaway but we can't put our son in there.

Any help/advice appreciated

bathroom, ensuite and utility... typical places where steam and water vapour build up.

sounds like a ventilation problem primarily rather than a leak as it extents to dun room and i assume theres not water pipes in ceiling of sun room.

there can be some causes.
1. personal habits. Are windows opened after all baths / showers etc
2. is there permanent ventilation in all the rooms, ie either wall grills or window grill vents. If so check all make sure they are clear from obstruction and fully opened.
3. heating cycles. Is the house heating maintained at a fairly constant temperatures or do temperatures drop during the day because no ones in the house??


if you have a child i would certainly not put him into a room with mildew until you have the problem sorted. There are numerous heath issues associated with damp and mildew.

possible remedial actions would include installing mechanical extract vents in the wet rooms.

best to get professional advice if problems keep returning. painting over doesnt solve the problem.

Goat the dote

sydthebeat wrote: »

bathroom, ensuite and utility... typical places where steam and water vapour build up.

sounds like a ventilation problem primarily rather than a leak as it extents to dun room and i assume theres not water pipes in ceiling of sun room.

there can be some causes.
1. personal habits. Are windows opened after all baths / showers etc
2. is there permanent ventilation in all the rooms, ie either wall grills or window grill vents. If so check all make sure they are clear from obstruction and fully opened.
3. heating cycles. Is the house heating maintained at a fairly constant temperatures or do temperatures drop during the day because no ones in the house??

House is bungalow, 2 bed,
We don't use the ensure shower as there is a problem with it heating the water (electric cold shower)
When using other shower we turn on the extractor fan thing. Don't open windows cos the house is cold enough. There's the ventilation grills in 2 bedrooms and sitting room. And fully opened.
I'm here every day but heating wouldn't be on every day ESP during the summer. Have to get a fill of oil.
No pipes in sunroom but I'll get him to check the shower cos I thought the paint outside main bathroom wall was a bit dodgey looking.
Thanks for the help

sydthebeat

so are you saying there's no 'permanent' vent in the ensuite, bathroom or utility? or sunroom?

if you use these rooms to dry clothes, ie on radiators etc, you need to allow the moisture to escape some how.

air all room with no vents out at least once per day for at least 30 minutes
open windows in bathroom, utility and ensuite after every bath / shower or even sink usage.

look to get permanent vents installed in rooms where there are none.

another thing to look at is that the tube from the extract fans in the ceiling go all the way to the eaves and are allowed vent out into the air. sometimes laziness meant that these extracts just vented into the attic causing loads of damage!!

if its within your bedget, check to see what insulation is in your walls.. probably 2" of polystyrene. You can get the remainder (assuming 2" or more cavity) pumped with more polystyrene beads to increase the insulative properies of the walls. Also the roof should have at least 12" of insulation up there.

muffler

As stated by sydthebeat the most likely root of the problem is inadequate ventilation coupled with the possible lack of proper insulation and maybe an element of bad habits which I think we're all guilty of on occasions.

I think you need to be looking at getting mechanical ventilation into any room where's there steam (bathroom, en-suite, utility), fitting vents in any other rooms affected and increasing your level of insulation.

Googling "condensation treatment" or similar will throw up lots of little bits of literature such as this which I suppose merely reinforces what has been posted here.

muffler

sydthebeat wrote: »

another thing to look at is that the tube from the extract fans in the ceiling go all the way to the eaves and are allowed vent out into the air. sometimes laziness meant that these extracts just vented into the attic causing loads of damage!!

good advice as I have seen this in several houses.

Tigerandahalf

You could also consider dehumidifiers for various rooms, the ones with the tablets.