Bedroom condensation/mould

[armour]

Hi all you knowledgeable, helpful people. I've recently bought my first flat (ground floor) & am dismayed to find it suffers from condensation/mould. The problem is worst in the bedroom (particularly the built in wardrobe) which has 2 outside walls 5.25m (north facing) & 2.7m (east facing). The room is heated by 1 x 3.4Kw storage heater (positioned on an internal wall), there is a recently installed double glazed window without a trickle vent and no other vetilation in the room. - There is however a duct running from the bathroom along the top of the north facing wall. From searching this site I reckon I need to; a) move 3.4Kw heater to north (longest) wall, b) fit another heater (1.7Kw???) to east (shorter) wall & c) increase ventilation. Can I do this by fitting louvred slots in the afore mentioned ducting - If so how large should they be? - Any advice gratefully received.

 

[JerryM]

i feel your might be going to a bit too much trouble. mould certainly points to condensation. it shows up on the coldest walls. ideally you need to take a few temp readings and work out dew points to know what's happening. there's a good simple book in the library worth a read (dampness in buildings, oxley & gobert, ISBN 0 7506 2059 5).

as a starting point work out what's causing the condensation (ie shower or cooking). then think of a way of getting extra ventilation into the flat ie leave window open after a shower, leave window open while cooking, are there any extract fans and do they work. ideally if you’re out all day then a small "trickle" vent would work - can the windows be locked slightly open. you’re looking for a small vent over a long time or a big vent over a short time. leave your wardrobe open more ie during the day or night.

you will need to kill off the mould with a proprietary cleaner then wait and see if it returns. if it does then look at adding in the proposed vent.