Faint dark spots on wallpaper

[Dan24]

Hi there,

I was wondering if someone might be able to help me.

I've moved into an old rental terraced property with a lot of black mould problems. We're pretty good with wiping condensation, never drying clothes indoors, cooking with lids on extractor fans etc, but it's pretty consistently riddled and freezing cold with the heating on full blast.

One thing I was unsure of was some faint/dark circles that have appeared (or maybe we've only just noticed) on the wallpaper in the bedroom. When we try to clean these our sponges are black and it damages the paper so we've stopped. They have appeared on a few different walls solely in the bedroom, one of which is an internal wall, the other isn't an external wall but does have a disused chimney behind it. There is no mould above or below the wallpaper on the skirting board. The only visible mould in this room forms around the windowsill.

I've attached an image and circled some of the spots. It's not the easiest to get it to show on camera because it's a shiny surface. Does it look/sound like mould is under there or is it something like ghosting?

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

The spots are all over the wallpaper.

 

[opps]

It might be a good idea to buy an electric dehumidifier. It does sound like humidity/lack of airflow.

 

[noseall]

Hi there,

I was wondering if someone might be able to help me.

I've moved into an old rental terraced property with a lot of black mould problems. We're pretty good with wiping condensation, never drying clothes indoors, cooking with lids on extractor fans etc, but it's pretty consistently riddled and freezing cold with the heating on full blast.

One thing I was unsure of was some faint/dark circles that have appeared (or maybe we've only just noticed) on the wallpaper in the bedroom. When we try to clean these our sponges are black and it damages the paper so we've stopped. They have appeared on a few different walls solely in the bedroom, one of which is an internal wall, the other isn't an external wall but does have a disused chimney behind it. There is no mould above or below the wallpaper on the skirting board. The only visible mould in this room forms around the windowsill.

I've attached an image and circled some of the spots. It's not the easiest to get it to show on camera because it's a shiny surface. Does it look/sound like mould is under there or is it something like ghosting?

Any thoughts would be really appreciated.

The spots are all over the wallpaper.

External walls - lack of insulation.
Internal walls - stain bleed.

 

[^woody^]

You need to be aware that you have mould spores floating around and already on various materials around the house. What you see as black/dark mould is the latter stages of mycelium, which develop when the conditions are just right.

You may not see the early stages if the conditions don't allow progression, or you may see the lighter brown staining in the form of those spots as early development.

Whilst you may well wipe these, there may remain food (perhaps paste splashes, but other sources) that permit future regrowth.

Treatment would be to remove the paper and treat the wall with a fungicidal wash.

In addition, and regardless you need to deal with the humidity that you are creating that is in turn allowing the mould growth. It's not just about cranking the heating up.

 

[Dan24]

Thanks,

I'm worried that if I tell my landlord he could issue a section 8, blame it on me and evict me. Is that likely?

Do you think just buying a dehumidifier would be enough to make it safe or does the wallpaper need to come down to reduce mould poisoning?

 

[^woody^]

Thanks,

I'm worried that if I tell my landlord he could issue a section 8, blame it on me and evict me. Is that likely?

Do you think just buying a dehumidifier would be enough to make it safe or does the wallpaper need to come down to reduce mould poisoning?

Why would they evict you and more so, why would a court grant possession?

Anyway, condensation is a tenant responsibility, unless you can prove a defect in the structure.

 

[opps]

Thanks,

I'm worried that if I tell my landlord he could issue a section 8, blame it on me and evict me. Is that likely?

Do you think just buying a dehumidifier would be enough to make it safe or does the wallpaper need to come down to reduce mould poisoning?

A decent dehumidifier will prevent things from getting worse. Personally, I would not be worried about living in your property as it currently stands.

 

[catlad]

If you type in bedroom mould into google images you will see lots of similar issues. I personally wouldn't live in a house for long with mould spores floating around.