Mould issue: advice please

Mcjmetroid

I know there has been a bunch of threads on this in the past but I'm wondering can someone help with my specific situation.

We've been renting for about 4 years or in a bungalow house where mould has been appeared in various places across the house and needs to be fully painted and cleaned every year or so.

It's an old house and we've tried our best to upkeep the place. We've bought anti mould paint for use in the bedrooms which worked and the bathroom which works but not for long. The bathroom generally neess to be repainted every 6 months or so. The extrator fan plus windows open isn't doing the job.

We've obviously tried to keep the house well ventilated with the windows open. In one room the window is basically open 24/7 and that room still had a lot of mould over the walls within 6 months.

it's absolutely something lacking in the building. There are no vents in any of the rooms for instance.

On the advice of some research online I have sent the letting agency an email with photos of the mould, our attempts to redemy the situation and a requested timeframe in getting it fixed.. In this case I explained I would like it fixed for next Winter.
So about 6 months - which I think is a resonable timeframe.

I've sent this a week ago, no response yet. it's early days yet but I'm wondering - am I just wasting my time here?
Should we just look for more accomodation?
I'd rather not - we're rather happy here but the mould issue is a serious issue. It really lets down the house in general. The house itself is unfurnished as well so a lot of stuff in the house is our own.

Can anything be done for such old accomodation? Should the agency be supplying us with dehumidifers etc if a building fix is too expensive?

What do I do if the agency continues to ignore my email?
What's the next step basically.

Any advice here would be great.

Thanks,

Samuel T. Cogley

Dispute with the RTB would be the next step but that could end up with repercussions. In all honesty moving is probably the best bet if you're getting no joy with the Landlord.

Emma2019

You can suggest buying a large dehumidifier (in my experience the small ones do nothing) and taking it out of the rent.

It definitely is something the landlord should fix but they may try and push back on you. Are you drying clothes inside the house?

I'm surprised the mould proof paint didn't have better results, are you sure you applied it correctly?

Mcjmetroid

Emma2019 wrote: »

You can suggest buying a large dehumidifier (in my experience the small ones do nothing) and taking it out of the rent.

It definitely is something the landlord should fix but they may try and push back on you. Are you drying clothes inside the house?

I'm surprised the mould proof paint didn't have better results, are you sure you applied it correctly?

It worked in every other room but didn't work for the bathroom. Too moist I suppose. It did work for a few months but the mould will come back again.

At the same time though buying this paint is coming out of our own expenses and it's not cheap be be honest.
I'm a little reluctant to try this again without landlord intervening.

hots

Unless you're at a great rate or a place without options I'd move, most likely the best you'll get is short term options like dehumidifiers or they'll come in and give it fresh paint and no more, it's not your hassle to have.

Mcjmetroid

hots wrote: »

Unless you're at a great rate or a place without options I'd move, most likely the best you'll get is short term options like dehumidifiers or they'll come in and give it fresh paint and no more, it's not your hassle to have.

It's a very good rate and if we moved it would be very hard to do now. At least not without more of a dent in our wallets.

Saying that though with all the upkeep we've had to do in the place, it would probably balance out.

Samuel T. Cogley

Any upkeep costs should be at the LL's expense.

Claw Hammer

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Any upkeep costs should be at the LL's expense.

All very well in theory.

ted1

This stuff works really well.

https://www.woodies.ie/hg-500ml-mould-spray-505117

Should negate repainting.

Where’s the damp on the wall? Might be a raising damp.
I had to chase out the concrete floor in one of my rentals. A copper pipe from the heating system had a tiny hole that was leaking. Damp was going up the wall and destroyed the floor.
Or the DPC may be compromised, has there being any work outside the house that raised the level of the path, patio, garden against the house?

Emma2019

ted1 wrote: »

This stuff works really well.

https://www.woodies.ie/hg-500ml-mould-spray-505117

Should negate repainting.

Where’s the damp on the wall? Might be a raising damp.
I had to chase out the concrete floor in one of my rentals. A copper pipe from the heating system had a tiny hole that was leaking. Damp was going up the wall and destroyed the floor.
Or the DPC may be compromised, has there being any work outside the house that raised the level of the path, patio, garden against the house?

Mould killer only kills mould temporarily. If the conditions remain the same it just regrows. Usually within a few weeks if the conditions are bad.

OP, you shouldn't have had to fork out for the paint, I'd have reclaimed it off my rent.

ted1

Emma2019 wrote: »

Mould killer only kills mould temporarily. If the conditions remain the same it just regrows. Usually within a few weeks if the conditions are bad.

OP, you shouldn't have had to fork out for the paint, I'd have reclaimed it off my rent.

Hence the second part of my post....

brenchy

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Dispute with the RTB would be the next step but that could end up with repercussions. In all honesty moving is probably the best bet if you're getting no joy with the Landlord.

Hi, what kind of repercussions?

JimmyVik

Everyone should have a dehumidifier whether you own or rent.
Buy a decent one and take it with you when you leave.

But your bathroom could have a leak.
We had a leak under a bath for years before we took the side off and saw a pool of water underneath. This had soaked the wall and we didnt realize until we took the bath panel off. We had searched everywhere.
It was literally 1 drop coming from the joint every 2 minutes. But over time it built up.

Darc19

Emails can get lost in a pile of email fairly easily and then forgotten about. It can also end up in a spam folder

For anything important I'd send the email and follow it up with a call.

So maybe send it again tomorrow and say in it that YOU will give a call to discuss. Then call them Monday afternoon

Samuel T. Cogley

brenchy wrote: »

Hi, what kind of repercussions?

House is suddenly needed for a member of the family / LL is going to sell.

Where does the damp start on the wall? If it's rising from the floor could be a drainage problem outside, if it's at the top of the wall and on the ceiling then it could be blocked guttering or rotten fascias.
The landlord should at the very least send someone to have a look at it.

the_syco

Mcjmetroid wrote: »

We've been renting for about 4 years or in a bungalow house where mould has been appeared in various places across the house and needs to be fully painted and cleaned every year or so.

What's your process from finding the mould to painting the wall?

Mcjmetroid wrote: »

The extrator fan plus windows

If you blow smoke (cigarette or vape) under the extractor, does much go out?

Mcjmetroid wrote: »

It worked in every other room but didn't work for the bathroom. Too moist I suppose. It did work for a few months but the mould will come back again.

Is the bathroom tiled, and if so, how are you treating the grout?

=-=

Also, how old is the house? 1980's, or 1920's? If the latter, there not be a cold barrier in the floor.