Condensation still bad after venting and nuaire system

[blanche782]

Hi there

I need help - I have a ground floor flat which has appalling condensation especially in the bedrooms where in the winter the walls run with water, and the ceilings and inside the wardrobes are black due to the mould. I put in extra vents and a nuaire flatmaster. However even with leaving the bedroom doors open permanently (even when we are sleeping) the condensation nightmare continues. Will changing the windows to include ones with trickle vents cure the problem?

The nuaire system is obviously not working so I have little faith in other similar systems so can anyone tell me if the schrijver system would work for me? I can't find any reviews for it on the net.

Thanks

 

[JohnD]

tell us where the damp is coming from.

you don't drape wet washing around the flat do you?

how long do you run the extractor fan during and after showers?

have you looked for plumbing and drainage leaks, including radiator pipes that may be under the floor?

how old is the flat and what is the floor made of?

if your existing windows have no trickle vents, how are the rooms ventilated to the outdoors?

start with //www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

 

[blanche782]

Ok, to answer your questions...

No, I don't drape wet washing round the flat unless it gets caught in the rain.

The extractor comes on automatically when the light is put on in the bathroom and stays on for about 5 minutes. I have never had mould in the bathroom, there are no windows in there but no external walls either.

I have done my best to check for leaks, I made the managing agents send their builders in who couldn't find anything. I ripped up the carpet in the small bedroom as it was really damp in one corner and have left the concrete floor bare ever since but this has shown no signs of damp so I am assuming the damp carpet was due to water running down the walls. There is no mould or damp in the spring/summer only when the cold weather starts.

The flat was built in the 1970s, the floors in the bedrooms are concrete and the rest of the flat has tiled floors.

The rooms have an air brick, I put an extra one in both bedrooms in the hope of getting rid of the damp but it just made the rooms very cold and mould appeared around the vents!

The mould in my bedroom congregates on the ceiling under the upstairs flat's balcony and in the wardrobes which are fitted to an outside wall. The outside walls in both bedrooms run with water in the winter, and as I said previously we do not close the bedroom doors unless forced to as the damp smell gets unbearable.

I made the managing agents send a surveyor in who specialises in damp as mine was not the only flat in the block suffering in this way, some flats are even worse than mine, and his report says it is condensation.

 

[foxhole]

Where does the fan unit input the dry air, hallway? Is it fitted with a heater or installed in a warm area?
Ground floor flat? have you checked the ground level outside the flat it should be around two bricks lower than the door threshold all round the building.
How many flats in block? is it high rise? Any pics?

 

[blanche782]

The fan unit is in the hallway, it has a heater on it to blow in warm air if required. The hallway is warm as again it is all internal walls. The unit has been in place for about 4 years, the duct leading to the outside from the unit goes through my wardrobe and all around the duct is mould, presumably from the cold air being sucked through.

Yes there are exactly two bricks below the doors.

No it is not a high rise, in my block there are 8 flats so only one level above me.

 

[foxhole]

Does the fan run 24/7/365

 

[blanche782]

Sorry for delay in replying, just got home.

Yes the fan runs 24/7. We can't switch it off anyway. It has 2 settings, low which is on now and high which goes on in the winter. On the high setting you can certainly feel the air blowing in - the hallway is freezing if we don't change to heater but it still doesn't stop the condensation in the bedrooms. It helps slow it down as it was certainly worse without it, but it is still not at an acceptable level. For example, in the winter I cannot wear anything straight from my wardrobe, I have to decide what I am wearing in advance and then either wash to get rid of any mould or air to get rid of the damp smell!

We had a salesman from Kenwood come round recently who insisted their unit would solve the problem, it works in the opposite way and supposedly pulls the moist air out and blows in warmed air from outside, however this unit has to go in the living room and I don't understand how it can pull moist air out of the bedrooms especially if we close the doors which I would really like to be able to do at some point. Nuaire also insisted that their fan worked if the bedroom doors were shut but that was a completely untrue.

 

[JohnD]

if the kenwood is a suck in/blow out unit, it will ventilate the room it is in, but will not create any suction to draw moist ait out of the other rooms.

I formerly had one, a Dimplex version, and it is good for conditioning the air in the room you have it in while conserving heat and not causing draughts, But it does make a slight noise. Not much good in a kitchen.

 

[blanche782]

that's what I thought, so not any good for my situation. I am desperate for a solution to the condensation but I really don't know what to do. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I am dreading this winter.

 

[JohnD]

we need to find out where the moisture is coming from. generally if it is just breathing, cooking and washing it can be removed by opening the windows and leaving trickle vents open. In a building which has two sides, this will cause slight airflow due to the wind blowing on one side. bedrooms are often damp by morning and need the windows opened while you get up and wash or have breakfast.

bathrooms and kitchens need an extractor fan

excessive moisture due to wet washing will always cause damp

unvented tumble driers emit a lot of unseen steam

if you have moisture coming from a breached dpm in floor or wall, or a plumbing leak, or a leaking roof including upstairs' balcony, it has to be found and rectified

sometimes damp is due to leaking radiators or their pipes, which may be hidden in floors. other pipes and drains often leak but this is usually visible.

 

[blanche782]

Is there any way of testing for leaks without ripping the flat apart? Also will putting in windows with trickle vents help?

 

[Hannaahh]

Is there any way of testing for leaks without ripping the flat apart? Also will putting in windows with trickle vents help?

Hi there,
We have moved in to a flat with extreme condensation problems. We tried everything but in the end - dehumidifier did all the trick. Winter time, we put the dehumidifier in the night (on our economy 7 electricity) and in the morning we empty litres of water. All the wall are dry now, no sign of condensation etc.
Running cost is not that expensive considering you get rid of the problem. So forget the extractor fan, fixing windows etc...try dehumidifier. You can pick up one from Argos or Ebay for less than £80.

 

[blanche782]

Thanks for the suggestion, I have used a dehumidifier in the past, however it is not solving the problem and if I want to sell my flat I need to find a solution rather than tell the buyers I have an awful condensation problem and they will have to use a dehumidifier. I have a strange feeling there won't be many takers!

 

[Hannaahh]

Thanks for the suggestion, I have used a dehumidifier in the past, however it is not solving the problem and if I want to sell my flat I need to find a solution rather than tell the buyers I have an awful condensation problem and they will have to use a dehumidifier. I have a strange feeling there won't be many takers!

True...Dehumidifier for the short term quite right. good luck

 

[spookyace]

Hi there

I need help - I have a ground floor flat which has appalling condensation especially in the bedrooms where in the winter the walls run with water, and the ceilings and inside the wardrobes are black due to the mould. I put in extra vents and a nuaire flatmaster. However even with leaving the bedroom doors open permanently (even when we are sleeping) the condensation nightmare continues. Will changing the windows to include ones with trickle vents cure the problem?

The nuaire system is obviously not working so I have little faith in other similar systems so can anyone tell me if the schrijver system would work for me? I can't find any reviews for it on the net.

Thanks

lift carpet to check floors if wet could be leaky pipe in floor