Help with dampness!

da_shivsta

Yes, I know there are 1 million of these. I've read them all and still can't help my problem. It's just damp in my bedroom. I know these issues can be complex so I hope a long post is ok.

-Basically, I live in a small ex-council bungalow - you probably know the type. It's a bungalow with an l-shaped hallway, kitchen one side and sitting room the other at the front. South-facing. At the back then are two bedrooms, a small bathroom.

-It's concrete walls with cavity insulation and that yellow fluffy insulation in the attic. Double-glazed windows with the vents that you close/open built in. These were put in about 3 years ago.

-There's a stove in the kitchen so that's lovely and warm and dry.

-The bathroom is fine.

-I've recently moved from one room at the back to the front (former sitting room), which has a fireplace. About a year and a half ago. So it's a south-facing room.
The room I was in before is behind the kitchen wall with the stove so since we got the new PVC windows it has no dampness. My clothes used always smell funny when I came home from college. My father stays there now and it seems grand.

-It seems at one point or another, the bedrooms have all had dampness problems. My brother complained of a bad chest when he was home last and stayed in the spare room. This is on the same side of the house as my current room.

-When we first moved in to this room we ripped off the skirting to replace it, and just above the skirting was black mold which we have gotten rid of - it hasn't come back in many months. There's a lot more light and air circulation since then.

-Our fireplace smokes so we can't use it til we get that fixed.

-In the morning everything is usually ok. We turn on our heater in the evening/afternoon and turn it off when we go to sleep (1AM-ish). We've played around with this and it seems worse the less we have the heater on but still doesn't completely go away with the heater. It's a wall-mounted eco-heater from Aldi. It's in the evening it seems to get the worst. As I said, worse without the heater.

-We leave the vents open when we don't have the windows open except at night time. We do have the windows open a lot to help with the circulation but wondering if the damp Irish air makes it worse? We've left it closed and doesn't seem to make a big difference. The fireplace is open anyway which also helps with circulation.

-Last winter there was no problem but we can't think what has changed. I don't know about before that since I was away at college and never used this room.

Basically none of the things I've mentioned help! I'm at my wits end. We've no money to properly get anyone to look at it and can't keep the heater on ALL the time either. I don't think that's a good long-term solution anyway. I have a feeling getting the fireplace sorted is the only way to solve it but for now what do we do?

dpofloinn

Can you answer a few more questions. How long has the stove been installed? Are the vents always open? Is there any issues with the gutters/drainage on that side of the house? is the bathroom/shower near these rooms?

da_shivsta

-We close the vents at night

-The stove in the kitchen was installed with all the other renovations, 2-3 years ago.

-New gutters and everything 2-3 years ago too so there shouldn't be a problem but I haven't checked. Is there something I need to check for there?

-Bathroom is sort of close; an L-shaped hallway with the bathroom the third room along if that makes sense. It doesn't steam up or anything too much though as the window is right by the shower. The shower is never roasting hot anyway.

P.S. there are no watermarks on the ceiling or mold there at all. It is mostly the bed feels damp and a general damp feeling. We have a built in wardrobe which is grand. Clothes don't smell or anything.

dpofloinn

Are the rooms generally heated or do you just give them a blast of the electric as you use them? also during the day are the rooms with the vents closed or are the doors left open? Have you noticed is this a seasonal occurence or does it happen all year round?

da_shivsta

They are heated all evening until we go to sleep - so 6 hours at least and sometimes all night after that if it's cold.
The vents are open and the doors are mostly closed but when we are at home a lot, the door does be open.
We only noticed the dampness in this room in the last month or so. Seems to be mostly a winter problem in the house in general.