Dampness and mould in apartment

Sheepdish1

Hi. I rent an apartment that only has two windows and a glass sliding door, am quite happy here, as with most houses it can get a little chilly at night time but that doesn't bother me too much as I don't really feel the cold:D

Storage heating in the sitting room & kitchen part of the apartment. I use it correctly. The bedrooms have little electric heaters. I heat the bedrooms for an hour on and off throughout the night as that is all that is needed, feel too warm otherwise.

I am not allowed to leave clothes dry outside as per rules of management company.

I would appreciate some advice please. I can't contact landlord as it is not just my apartment that has this problem, others are affected too. I don't want to be annoying landlord either and don't think it would be addressed anyway so would like to fix it myself.
I heat the house and am very clean and good tenant.

I am having the following issues and would appreciate some suggestions please

1) I am finding it *extremely* difficult to dry clothes. Hung them out on new
years eve and they are still damp, 4 days later and still not dry.

2) There is a constant battle to keep smell of mould and dampness out of the
wardrobes. Mould seems to grow in them very easily so I make sure clothes
are bone dry before going in. Emptied wardrobes , washed everything to get
rid of damp smell and need to do it all over again now:(

3) There is constant battle to get rid of black mould growing on the walls at doors
and windows. I use bleach and water. Had to repaint where the mould grew
and it has grown so much over the Xmas it has ruined my curtains. I can't keep on top of it as it seems to grow sooo fast.


I use extractor fan when cooking and have thrown out large towels as they were taking too long to dry. I use extractor fan in kitchen and bathrooms when they are being used.

I would really appreciate some advice thank you

Call me Al

Have you a drier or a dehumidifier?

BBFAN

As far as I know OP it's in the regulations that the LL has to provide you with a means to dry clothes, that means either a dryer or an outside washing line.

Sarn

Definitely buy a dehumidifier. It will dry your clothes overnight and prevent mould issues.

lucast2007us

Sarn wrote:

Definitely buy a dehumidifier. It will dry your clothes overnight and prevent mould issues.

What's the average cost of running a dehumidifier?

Sarn

lucast2007us wrote: »

What's the average cost of running a dehumidifier?

It depends on the wattage and time it’s run. Typically, 30-50 cent for 8 to 10 hours. We used to run a desiccant one over the winter and it worked wonders. It also outputs heat so can help in that regard.

tomfoolery60

Plug in Dehumidifiers are essential for making poor Irish apartment stock habitable. Can run overnight on a laundry mode and use night rate electricity to keep the costs even further down. They are also useful to help dry floor after mopping.

Eire Go Brach

Yeh get a dehumidifier. It’s has been an excellent investment for me. They make a huge difference in the likes of an apartment. Opening the windows all day. But once your home. Cooking, showers and clothes. The air get full of moisture.
We reduced the mold by about 95% still get a bit at the windows. Probably be 100% if I could leave the bedroom doors open.

Bare in mind you probably have half price electricity at night. I run mine between 4 and 2 hours a night. Only thing I don’t like is leaving the bathroom and living room door open.

I run it on a timer. Will add pics with consumption. Price can be worked out from it.

jam_mac_jam

Do you have a drier? You should not really be drying clothes inside. That's what's causing the mould. Needs to be dried outside or in a drier. A humidifier will help but will not solve this problem. This will only get worse.

donkeykong5

Launderettes have dryers for damp clothes.

There's a few things that come to mind:

1. Ventilation. Are there air vents in the apartment? Are they blocked or working? it's possible they're blocked. And I'll bet the wardrobe in your bedroom is blocking the bedroom vent.

2. It's very possible that the damp in the wardrobe is coming from another source- potentially a leak from the roof- it doesn't matter if you're a ground floor apartment- a leaking roof or a leaking balcony from above can actually leak down into your interior walls. So it may have nothing to do with you per-se.

3. Heating. You need to have solid heat running through the apartment in Winter to keep damp at bay, coupled with good ventilation, extraction and potentially dehumidification. It sounds like you're not putting on the heat enough or at a high enough temperature- this coupled with bad ventilation and you'll get damp.

4. Even with reference to the above, it does sound like some upgrades are required to your apartment- doors and windows especially- i.e. triple glazing etc-

Try points 1-3 first and see how you get on- often it's not the "fault" of the tenant, it's the apartment itself that needs modernisation and there may be little you can do yourself to fix this, especially as you say, you can't keep up with the appearance of damp- that's one for the landlord to stick their hands into their pocket and fix at their expense- if they value your tenancy, they'll do it as they'll be faced with the same issues for future tenants.

foxatron

I used to get mould in my apartment. It was from drying clothes inside when we couldn't dry them outside because of the weather. Bought a dehumidifier and I cant believe the amount of water it collects. Bought it on Amazon for around 85 pounds. Its about 200 watts so you can work that out from what ever youre being charged. Id stick it on over night if we have clothes out drying. No mould and the clothes are dry in the morning. Great yoke. If you're prepared to pay the few extra quid on the esb it'd be a wise investment.

Eire Go Brach

The problem with points 1 and 3. Is that living in Irish apartments with storages heating can be tough and expensive to keep the place warm constantly.

I live in a 2 bed. Vents and windows open all day. Problem Is the evening. All the moisture in the air. Opening the windows Is not that practical. Tried doing it for 15 minutes each time we took a shower. I have young kids also. Storage heater can be quite cool by the evenings also. It’s such a **** system.

Sheepdish1

Thank you so much for the helpful replies

Unfortunately there is no space for a drier. I am not allowed to leave my
clothes dry outside either. I dry them out when I am here but I have take them
inside when I am not here. It rains so much and takes too long at this time of
year I find. I use launderette when possible however it is not always possible to
use.

I genuinely do heat the house well enough. I don't heat the bedrooms during
the day as it would be far too warm. I use the storage heater in the
sitting/main room to its full capacity. I have it set to release the heat slowly
throughout the day but the room gets very cold at night despite this as the
heat is output throughout the day. There isn't a way for me to set a timer to
start releasing it when it is needed. imo they are great for offices but not
good for houses.

Also, there are small vents on the windows and doors and that is all. I can't
leave the windows open when I am not here but would it help at night if i did
this for 15minutes a day ?

Sheepdish1

Eire Go Brach wrote: »

The problem with points 1 and 3. Is that living in Irish apartments with storages heating can be tough and expensive to keep the place warm constantly.

I live in a 2 bed. Vents and windows open all day. Problem Is the evening. All the moisture in the air. Opening the windows Is not that practical. Tried doing it for 15 minutes each time we took a shower. I have young kids also. Storage heater can be quite cool by the evenings also. It’s such a **** system.

They don't work well for houses I find, not very practical

Sheepdish1

foxatron wrote: »

I used to get mould in my apartment. It was from drying clothes inside when we couldn't dry them outside because of the weather. Bought a dehumidifier and I cant believe the amount of water it collects. Bought it on Amazon for around 85 pounds. Its about 200 watts so you can work that out from what ever youre being charged. Id stick it on over night if we have clothes put drying. No mould and the clothes are dry in the morning. Great yoke. If you're prepared to pay the few extra quid on the esb it'd be a wish investment.

I will get a dehumidifier and hopefully it will help with the issue. Do you only use it when you are drying clothes overnight or do you leave it on all the time?

Sheepdish1

Deleted User wrote: »

There's a few things that come to mind:

1. Ventilation. Are there air vents in the apartment? Are they blocked or working? it's possible they're blocked. And I'll bet the wardrobe in your bedroom is blocking the bedroom vent.

2. It's very possible that the damp in the wardrobe is coming from another source- potentially a leak from the roof- it doesn't matter if you're a ground floor apartment- a leaking roof or a leaking balcony from above can actually leak down into your interior walls. So it may have nothing to do with you per-se.

3. Heating. You need to have solid heat running through the apartment in Winter to keep damp at bay, coupled with good ventilation, extraction and potentially dehumidification. It sounds like you're not putting on the heat enough or at a high enough temperature- this coupled with bad ventilation and you'll get damp.

4. Even with reference to the above, it does sound like some upgrades are required to your apartment- doors and windows especially- i.e. triple glazing etc-

Try points 1-3 first and see how you get on- often it's not the "fault" of the tenant, it's the apartment itself that needs modernisation and there may be little you can do yourself to fix this, especially as you say, you can't keep up with the appearance of damp- that's one for the landlord to stick their hands into their pocket and fix at their expense- if they value your tenancy, they'll do it as they'll be faced with the same issues for future tenants.

Thank you for response

I have a feeling it is coming in through the walls so you are spot on. It seems to be a problem in other apartments too but I am going to do all I can to try and minimise the problem of dampness. I really do treat the place well and don't want there to be issues with dampness. I have heard from others that it is common where I am.

You are right about the windows and doors however they will not be changed so I will do everything I can do myself to minimise the problem as I know that it is not something that I would even risk asking to be fixed with the current rental market.

boyoutofhell

I'm in the same boat as you, buddy. Bought the most powerful dehumidifier I could get my hands on and that took care of drying my clothes (I have a drier but running it blows my electricity bill up to high heaven and still doesn't dry them completely), but didn't do anything for the mould on the walls and around the windows. Sorry for not being able to be of much help or provide a solution as I'm looking for one myself.

Sheepdish1

boyoutofhell wrote: »

I'm in the same boat as you, buddy. Bought the most powerful dehumidifier I could get my hands on and that took care of drying my clothes (I have a drier but running it blows my electricity bill up to high heaven and still doesn't dry them completely), but didn't do anything for the mould on the walls and around the windows. Sorry for not being able to be of much help or provide a solution as I'm looking for one myself.

Hopefully it will help the drying clothes so I am not dragging clothes horse from one day to the next

I would think we need to get advise on how to get rid of mould completely. It is very difficult to get rid of once it starts as the spores can spread very easily

If anyone has tips for mould removal that would be great too

SwimFin

HG Mould Spray

boyoutofhell

SwimFin wrote: »

HG Mould Spray

Have it, tried it, mould is back in full swing after 2-3 days.

foxatron

Sheepdish1 wrote:

I will get a dehumidifier and hopefully it will help with the issue. Do you only use it when you are drying clothes overnight or do you leave it on all the time?

No I only really use it at night time when drying clothes. The odd time id have it on during the day. It has a display which shows the level of humidity in the room so you can turn it on for a minute and it will tell you the percentage. If its anyway high i just leave it running for a while until it goes back down again.

lucast2007us

foxatron wrote:

I used to get mould in my apartment. It was from drying clothes inside when we couldn't dry them outside because of the weather. Bought a dehumidifier and I cant believe the amount of water it collects. Bought it on Amazon for around 85 pounds. Its about 200 watts so you can work that out from what ever youre being charged. Id stick it on over night if we have clothes out drying. No mould and the clothes are dry in the morning. Great yoke. If you're prepared to pay the few extra quid on the esb it'd be a wise investment.

Do you have a link to it I'd like to check it out?

BBFAN

lucast2007us wrote: »

Do you have a link to it I'd like to check it out?

Me too.

[QUOTE=Sheepdish1;109026798

Also, there are small vents on the windows and doors and that is all. I can't
leave the windows open when I am not here but would it help at night if i did
this for 15minutes a day ?[/QUOTE]

Your problems are building related so, not behavioral retated. I believe you’re trying your best. But some building work is required. A simple email from your landlord to the housing directors of your apartment will likely grand persmisson to drill external vent holes. Landlord can claim this back so really they won’t be out of pocket.

foxatron

Not letting me post the link. Its called the Inventor Care 12l dehumidifier. I checked it there and its out of stock on amazon but im fairly sure there was a few different 12l ones around the same price when i was buying my one. Google it and itll bring you to their website.

Tar.Aldarion

I have these small cheap dehumidifier and it does wonders for drying clothes and stopping mould. Also used a lot of anti mould spray from woodies initially.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pro-Breeze-Portable-Dehumidifier-Moisture/dp/B00NFRTVY6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1546550289&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=dehumidifier&psc=1
It's only 23 watts so costs nothing. It would cost like €20 if I left it on for a year.

Sheepdish1

Deleted User wrote: »

Your problems are building related so, not behavioral retated. I believe you’re trying your best. But some building work is required. A simple email from your landlord to the housing directors of your apartment will likely grand persmisson to drill external vent holes. Landlord can claim this back so really they won’t be out of pocket.

I will try the suggestions here and fix it myself. With the way the housing market is at the moment I don't contact LL unless its absolutely necessary for example if electrical work needs to be done.

Thank you for your helpful suggestion however I really don't like contacting him for anything as the rental market is the worst I have ever seen it :eek: Even if it isn't my fault I could be blamed for it :eek:

listermint

Dry them outside. Those rules are horse. I've yet to see an apartment that people didn't have a clothes horse on the balcony. But draped over the balcony itself but horse on the balcony.

These rules are dreamt up by absolute idiots in management companies who aren't aware the damage mould does to he dwelling or its inhabitants

Sheepdish1

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

I have these small cheap dehumidifier and it does wonders for drying clothes are stopping mould. Also used a lot of anti mould spray from woodies initially.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pro-Breeze-Portable-Dehumidifier-Moisture/dp/B00NFRTVY6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1546550289&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=dehumidifier&psc=1
It's only 23 watts so costs nothing.

Super, I will look these up. I could actually put it on my counter.

Does this way much? I've seen some very heavy ones that aren't suitable for my house. But this looks perfect and could easily fit on my counter instead of sitting on floor where it can be knocked over

Tar.Aldarion

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

Super, I will look these up. I could actually put it on my counter.

Does this way much? I've seen some very heavy ones that aren't suitable for my house. But this looks perfect and could easily fit on my counter instead of sitting on floor where it can be knocked over

It's very light and quiet, it weighs 1kg + 0.5kg if full of water. Would easily fit on a counter. I leave mine beside the clothes horse.

lucast2007us

Thanks guys decided to order one there from Amazon sick of using all those lethal sprays

Caranica

listermint wrote: »

Dry them outside. Those rules are horse. I've yet to see an apartment that people didn't have a clothes horse on the balcony. But draped over the balcony itself but horse on the balcony.

These rules are dreamt up by absolute idiots in management companies who aren't aware the damage mould does to he dwelling or its inhabitants

Way to get evicted!

The landlord is in the wrong here, needs to provide a way to dry the clothes in the absence of a line.

robp

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Your problems are building related so, not behavioral retated. I believe you’re trying your best. But some building work is required. A simple email from your landlord to the housing directors of your apartment will likely grand persmisson to drill external vent holes. Landlord can claim this back so really they won’t be out of pocket.

Ideally youd get some thing like demand controlled ventilation. Apart from that trickle vents are no more effective than simply opening the windows. The problem with replying on Windows is that people forget to keep up the routine. Personally if you are discipinced I'd avoid trickle vents.

Sheepdish1

listermint wrote: »

Dry them outside. Those rules are horse. I've yet to see an apartment that people didn't have a clothes horse on the balcony. But draped over the balcony itself but horse on the balcony.

These rules are dreamt up by absolute idiots in management companies who aren't aware the damage mould does to he dwelling or its inhabitants

I do this when I can but it is still impossible to dry them on clothes horse at this time of year even when outside they take days.
I go to landerette when I can.

darragh o meara

I got a dehumidifier in Lidl 2 months ago. It was the best €150 I ever spent, done wonders in the house and as said above, can be used to dry clothes too

We had issues like yourself and no matter what we did couldn’t sort them, a neighbor with similar issues ( houses built in a damp area ) told us about the dehumidifier he had got and how well it worked so we followed suit and haven’t looked back.

Graces7

agree million times re dehumidifier.... A life saver.

Sheepdish1

darragh o meara wrote: »

I got a dehumidifier in Lidl 2 months ago. It was the best €150 I ever spent, done wonders in the house and as said above, can be used to dry clothes too

We had issues like yourself and no matter what we did couldn’t sort them, a neighbor with similar issues ( houses built in a damp area ) told us about the dehumidifier he had got and how well it worked so we followed suit and haven’t looked back.

Is the dehumidifier you got heavy? It’s great this is working for people!! I know it sounds weird but I need a relatively light one, I got a loan of one but it weighs around 7kg which is too heavy for me to place on my counter

Sheepdish1

darragh o meara wrote: »

I got a dehumidifier in Lidl 2 months ago. It was the best €150 I ever spent, done wonders in the house and as said above, can be used to dry clothes too

We had issues like yourself and no matter what we did couldn’t sort them, a neighbor with similar issues ( houses built in a damp area ) told us about the dehumidifier he had got and how well it worked so we followed suit and haven’t looked back.

Also do your clothes dry enough that you can wear them from the clothes horse? At the moment I have to use an portable oil heater to finish drying any clothes or they just stay damp, I want to get rid of the oil heater completely as it’s too bulky and don’t want it here anymore

I never thought I’d miss normal radiators haha I have storage heaters so can’t dry clothes on them

Tar.Aldarion

I wear clothes straight from the horse even with my tiny one so that one should work too.

Graces7

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

Is the dehumidifier you got heavy? It’s great this is working for people!! I know it sounds weird but I need a relatively light one, I got a loan of one but it weighs around 7kg which is too heavy for me to place on my counter

They work better at floor level ...A good solid, stable machine

hmmm

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

Is the dehumidifier you got heavy? It’s great this is working for people!! I know it sounds weird but I need a relatively light one, I got a loan of one but it weighs around 7kg which is too heavy for me to place on my counter

The small dehumidifiers extract very little water and you will probably be disappointed. They might advertise biggish tanks, but their extraction rate is very poor.

Personally I'd get a full dessicant type, something like the Ecoair DD122 is relatively compact and around 6kg I think?

They are great for drying clothes, stick the clothes horse and the dehumidifier into a small room overnight. I also run it for an hour or two to supplement the extractor fan in the shower room. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6aPUFxzt1E

Sheepdish1

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

I will try the suggestions here and fix it myself. With the way the housing market is at the moment I don't contact LL unless its absolutely necessary for example if electrical work needs to be done.

Thank you for your helpful suggestion however I really don't like contacting him for anything as the rental market is the worst I have ever seen it :eek: Even if it isn't my fault I could be blamed for it :eek:

There's a couple of things you could try over the next week to completely rule out yourself as being the "problem" here.

1. Clean up all of the damp
2. Do your laundry at a laundrette
3. Don't cook food that's high in steam i.e. boiled potatoes/veg etc
4. Try and shower at the gym or limit showers and keep apartment ventilated
5. Keep good heat in the apartment for the week.

If damp is still present, then maybe try the de-humidifer approach but at least you'll have evidence to provide the landlord that it's not behaviour related.

fash

No matter what, if you are drying clothes on a clothes horse in an apartment, you will have some damp issues. Irish apartments and climate cannot handle it.
It is unlikely (and would be reasonably obvious) if there were some other cause. If your apartment does not have an exposed roof/balcony over, then I would not expect that to be the cause of your problem.
To put them in perspective, the amount of water produced by activities is roughly:

Air drying clothes: 5L/load
Cooking: 3L/day
Occupant (breathing etc): 1.5L/day/person
Showering: 1.5L/day/person
"Superser" gas heater: 1L/hour

Basically the things that kill you are air drying clothes and using a gas heater.

You can Google good desiccant dehumidifiers- here is what a quick Google threw up for low running cost good dehumidifiers:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaco-25Litre-Low-Energy-Dehumidryer/dp/B01DNZ2A5G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1521483671&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=meaco+25l+ultra+power+energy+dehumidifier&linkCode=sl1&tag=homes-dehumidifiers-21&linkId=a0a07f2ace1ad0475e0ad74e795d6e9e

https://www.amazon.co.uk/EcoAir-Powerful-Energy-Efficient-Dehumidifier/dp/B077VXRNKQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1546709641&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=EcoAir+Arion+26L&dpPl=1&dpID=31eujs7AWIL&ref=plSrch


Note:
I've seen people saying they keep the doors open in their apartments while the dehumidifier is on- those might be there for fire reasons (pretty much any Apartment without own door to outside access), in which case you shouldn't do that.

Sheepdish1

Deleted User wrote: »

There's a couple of things you could try over the next week to completely rule out yourself as being the "problem" here.

1. Clean up all of the damp
2. Do your laundry at a laundrette
3. Don't cook food that's high in steam i.e. boiled potatoes/veg etc
4. Try and shower at the gym or limit showers and keep apartment ventilated
5. Keep good heat in the apartment for the week.

If damp is still present, then maybe try the de-humidifer approach but at least you'll have evidence to provide the landlord that it's not behaviour related.

Thank you for your helpful advise

1. I have cleaned up all the damp and do clean it everyday

2. I mainly wash my clothes here but mostly dry them in relatives or
launderette. It isn't possible for me to do this with *every* single wash
however I am careful not to leave damp clothes around.
Heavier items such as towels, heavy jumpers, jeans etc I don't dry here at all

3. I use the extractor fan when cooking anything....I think I mostly do but
I am going to use it even when I boil kettle from now own:D

4. Showers are *really* limited here, even the towels I use are small and not
many are used. I will try cut down even more and clean the air extractors with
hoover and leave them on all the time

5. The apartment is kept warm as it is however I am limited as to how warm it
can get as it is storage heating but will try blast it up, I will feel like I am in a
sauna :cool::pac:

Sheepdish1

Sheepdish1 wrote: »

Thank you for your helpful advise

1. I have cleaned up all the damp and do clean it everyday

2. I mainly wash my clothes here but mostly dry them in relatives or
launderette. It isn't possible for me to do this with *every* single wash
however I am careful not to leave damp clothes around.
Heavier items such as towels, heavy jumpers, jeans etc I don't dry here at all

3. I use the extractor fan when cooking anything....I think I mostly do but
I am going to use it even when I boil kettle from now own:D

4. Showers are *really* limited here, even the towels I use are small and not
many are used. I will try cut down even more and clean the air extractors with
hoover and leave them on all the time

5. The apartment is kept warm as it is however I am limited as to how warm it
can get as it is storage heating but will try blast it up, I will feel like I am in a
sauna :cool::pac:

OK so if all you've said is true, and I've absolutely no reason not to believe that, then point 5, "the heating" - is your best bet. I still feel that your main issue is ventilation and general physical issues of the apartment itself, from what you've described.
Dry lining, good heating systems, good ventilation and good extraction are key factors in any living area.
It's very possible that your extraction fan over the cooker is going nowhere i.e. that it's not extracting condensation and water out of the apartment- that's down to how the kitchen was designed. If you can try and explore where the vent of the extractor leads to, that may help. I've seen apartments where there's an extractor fan, but the vent leads nowhere- bizarre I know, but i've seen it.

I'm sorry but from the information you've provided, I truly believe it's not what you're "doing" or indeed what you're not "doing"- it's a physical problem related to the apartment itself and it won't be sorted or greatly reduced by anything you may attempt yourself. I'm happy to be challenged on that but I don't see a satisfactory solution without some intervention within your physical apartment structure. best of luck though

Sheepdish1

So just an update as everyone was so helpful

Also think it would be good to give feedback for others having the same problem;)

Thank you for advise as it has been super helpful. I have been super careful and have figured that my place is damp due to the following:

1) Lack of ventilation: Not much I can do with this as can't change the structure of building

2) Cooking in small area: I leave extractor fan on every time I cook now. Lids are usually used but making extra effort now. I don't open dishwasher now until a good while so there is less steam

3) Storage heating: I really think this heating is unsuitable for houses, it just doesn't heat the place up enough when the house actually needs heat, that is just my opinion. Don't think I would buy a house with storage heating. *very* expensive I find but maybe house is poorly insulated and has old doors/windows.

I have bought a 10L Blyss dehumidifier and it really seems to be making a difference to how damp the house was. I have also noticed them in other windows in the estate so it isn't just me thankfully

It has pulled about 4 litres so far over a couple of days, it is bizarre seeing all that water that has been pulled from the air

I can now leave damp clothes dry over a couple of days but before I bought this anything damp would stay damp for days, actually it would just stay damp. I don't know if I am imagining it but I don't feel house is quite as cold as it was previously. There is also less condensation on the window which is great too.

all mould has been removed and repainted so I am hoping that this will keep the mould at bay but not convinced of this, but maybe it will be easier to keep on top of now. Didn't use any chemical etc apart from bleach in water but it is early days

Hopefully other people will find this thread helpful

Sheepdish1

Deleted User wrote: »

OK so if all you've said is true, and I've absolutely no reason not to believe that, then point 5, "the heating" - is your best bet. I still feel that your main issue is ventilation and general physical issues of the apartment itself, from what you've described.
Dry lining, good heating systems, good ventilation and good extraction are key factors in any living area.
It's very possible that your extraction fan over the cooker is going nowhere i.e. that it's not extracting condensation and water out of the apartment- that's down to how the kitchen was designed. If you can try and explore where the vent of the extractor leads to, that may help. I've seen apartments where there's an extractor fan, but the vent leads nowhere- bizarre I know, but i've seen it.

I'm sorry but from the information you've provided, I truly believe it's not what you're "doing" or indeed what you're not "doing"- it's a physical problem related to the apartment itself and it won't be sorted or greatly reduced by anything you may attempt yourself. I'm happy to be challenged on that but I don't see a satisfactory solution without some intervention within your physical apartment structure. best of luck though

Yep, you are right here. I think I can reduce it by maybe 70% but think heating system / insulation / ventilation revamp would be the only option if it was a house I owned

Call me Al

I just wanted to ask what may appear to be a silly question... is your extractor venting externally or is it a recirculation extractor?
Reason i ask is because all the apartments i have visited over the years didn't vent the extractor externally and seem to recirculate 5he air.

Sheepdish1

Call me Al wrote: »

I just wanted to ask what may appear to be a silly question... is your extractor venting externally or is it a recirculation extractor?
Reason i ask is because all the apartments i have visited over the years didn't vent the extractor externally and seem to recirculate 5he air.

Hi that isn't a silly question as a relative of mine had the same problem. His extractor was a ''carbon extractor'' and not a vent that went anywhere. It didn't go anywhere

Mine is actually a vent as I can see where the vent is outside but originally I thought it didn't go anywhere.

Strange that apartments use the ''fake'' fans isn't it?

Well done OP- some good progress there

BTW, just so you know, a drill hole for ventilation will cost your landlord about 200 euro- a couple of holes will cost even less per hole and he/she will probably get it done for a lot less. Apartment management companies (and the apartment block directors) won't argue over something like ventilation so will likely approve it. It's also in the interests of your landlord that they get this done.