drying out and dark mould - help me......

[scott386]

Hi,

I recently purchased a top floor flat that was constructed in the early 80's.

Once the wood chip and wall paper had been removed alot of the plaster on the walls had blown and needed re-plastering. I hired a plasterer and had the ceilings smoothed over while the walls were fixed.

I have left the plaster to dry for two weeks and it's still not fully dry, during this drying out period the windows have been covered in condensation and now the ceilings have black mould spots on them. The flat is poorly ventilated, only having an extract in the bathroom, an airbrick in the kitchen and a trickle vent in the kitchen window only. The other rooms have no ventilation unless you open a window.

How much longer do i need to leave the plaster to dry ???

How should i remove the mould prior to painting ?

Has the mould situation been increased due to the moisture in the wet plaster ? Can i reduce this by heating the flat or something?

There is also mould internally on the external wall corner, is this a different mould problem ?

Thanks

 

[1john]

Ventilate the flat, open windows, clean the mould with sugar soap.

 

[JohnD]

plaster is made of water, and plaster powder, so of course it adds to the humidity. In cold weather and without ventilation it will take a long time to dry out.

the humidity is causing the condensation and damp.

cold ventilation is better than no ventilation.

heat without ventilation will leave the water in the flat.

If the extractor fan actually works, you can leave it running 24hrs with the windows shut, and it will gradually remove water vapour. If it is annoyingly noisy, fit a new one. Unblock the airbricks.

 

[yoshiandkoopa]

hey man
i just had the same problem but it is now fixed in under 4 hours!!! just open the windows all day and it works,heat wont work,it needs fresh air.

 

[1john]

You need to let the moisture out of the house, thus ventilation is required.

 

[scott386]

thank you