Condensation & Mould in Flat

[lordwoody]

Hi

I have a one bed 1st floor flat that I rent out to 2 tenants, I have a problem with condensation and mould in the bedroom which has an outside wall so this is why the condensation is mainly in this room.
I have already fitted a Passive Dehumidifier Vent http://www.condensationshop.com/home
in this room as recommended but it has not solved the problem.

The double glazed window is always covered in water every morning.
I have spoken to the tenants and given them leaflets on the causes of condensation and they have told me that they keep the bedroom window open during the day whilst they are at work.
They also open the window in the kitchen when they are cooking and in the bathroom when they have a shower.
They have admitted to me that they do dry their clothes on radiators as there is nowhere else to dry them in the cold and wet weather and there is no launderette nearby to take the clothes to a dryer.
Could this be the only cause of the condensation?

Is there anything else I could do to prevent this problem?

 

[EnfantTerrible]

Sleeping with the window open would help. I find I get a lot of condensation when sleeping with the window closed, it's just whether the tenants would be happy to do this due to how cold it is at the moment!

Do the windows have trickle vents?

 

[lordwoody]

No they are girls so feel the cold and would not open the window in night whilst they are asleep.
And yes they trickle vents are always open.

 

[EnfantTerrible]

See, I don't have trickle vents but sleeping with window open solves the issue; I don't mind it.

I'm going to keep an eye on this thread to see what other people suggest.

 

[HERTS P&D]

Does the bathroom and kitchen have extractor fans?

The bathroom extractor fan should also have a 20min delay timer on it.

Andy

 

[lordwoody]

No there are no extractor fans in the kitchen or bathroom but there are vents in both which cannot be closed and they have assured me that they always open the window in these rooms when they are used.

 

[HERTS P&D]

No there are no extractor fans in the kitchen or bathroom but there are vents in both which cannot be closed and they have assured me that they always open the window in these rooms when they are used.

All tenants tells ties!

Fit some extractor fans.

Andy

 

[AronSearle]

Your window surfaces (and likely parts of your walls) are too cold relative to the ambient temperature and humidity (bearing in mind you already have trickle vents and a dehumidifier).

There are three ways to fix this.


1. get better windows with higher insulation values, install thermal breaks around the window frame to avoid condensation in the brickwork/timber surround / upgrade the wall insulation, making sure that it laps up around wall corners with any roof insulation if it's the top flat (you could possibly insulate from inside with insulation backed plasterboard), no cold surfaces = no condensation.

2. Tell them to open their windows and just deal with having an ice box for a bedroom, that's what everyone else stuck in the 1950s does, who needs all this modern claptrap!

3. If 2 doesn't work, get tenants who are happy to sleep with the windows open.

 

[AronSearle]

Also

one bed-----I rent out to 2 tenants-----they are girls

/pervy

 

[lordwoody]

AronSearle you have to keep up with todays society

They are Lesbians and no trouble at all (apart from the Condensation)!

 

[HERTS P&D]

AronSearle you have to keep up with todays society

They are Lesbians and no trouble at all (apart from the Condensation)!

It's all that heavy breathing!

Andy

 

[lordwoody]

We are deviating away from the subject a bit here!

 

[jeds]

How much money are you prepared to spend? Long term option is to insulate external walls and upgrade windows. I would also consider extract fans in kitchen and bathroom. Humidity controlled fans are good but tenants often switch them off. If you have a roof space above passive stack vents might work if you can get a decent length on the stacks. They have the advantage of being quiet and they work more or less constantly - and there's nothing to switch off. If you do have roof space you might also consider positive input ventilation. All these are going to cost money though. Might be just as cheap to buy the girlies a tumble dryer and get it properly vented.

 

[lordwoody]

The wall have already been insulated and the double glazing is quite new.
There is no roof space as its a 1st floor flat.
I may consider buying a washer/dryer (no room for both) but I think the tenant will be reluctant to use the drying function because of the cost!

I will consider the vents in the bathroom & Kitchen with timers as long as they could be wired so they can not be switched off permanently.

 

[Graeme1983]

I think you might have to go ahead with those investments if they are good tenants.

I moved out of a flat last year, a few months earlier then planned to an unfinished house because of the damp. Was more comfortable in the unfinished house(also had damp!) so I could take proper action then the landlord whose ideas were a cross between opening the windows, turning the heat up all the time and running the open plan kitchen/living rooms oven extractor fan all the time. The electricity bills were outrageous.