Mould at my Mother in Laws house

[Mrxman]

I was wondering if anyone can help.

I am trying to advice my mother in law about black mould in her kitchen which I think is due to condensation.

In a nutshell: the kitchen has an odd old extension which has very thin walls. When she cooks the extension back wall gets slightly wet and over time gets covered in
black mould. There's a upvc door end of this small extension and also a very old and small ventilator grille on side wall which doesn't seem to help.

Builders have suggested: plaster boarding the 3 walls with insulation board underneat and also an extra extractor fan. It seems sensible but I have my doubts whether this will work long term.

The most obvious solution would be to open the door whenever she's cooking but wondering if anyone has had to deal with similar issues?

What's the most effective way of dealing with it?

 

[^woody^]

The obvious solution is to fit a humidity controlled extractor fan or a cooker hood that extracts to external. Either must be suitably selected and used, and for a fan, located appropriately - not just thrown in where is most easiest for the electrician.

Boarding the wall is a second option if the first does not work on its own.

Opening a door when cooking is not a practical solution.

 

[JohnD]

Opening the door would be an effective way of making the kitchen cold, and, depending on wind direction, blowing steam and cooking fumes either into the house, or out of it.

A 20th century solution would be to add an extractor fan or cooker hood with a duct going through the wall.

Hoods are often a bit noisy and residents often won't turn them on.

Some of the good quality extractors are very quiet, and use negligible electricity, so your MIL might accept one. I strongly advise wiring it to the light fitting so it comes on with the light switch. This will mean it is actually used, especially in the evenings and in cloudy weather, without needing any positive action. Your MIL is probably not in the habit of turning on a fan so this is one way of making sure it gets used.

You will need to add ventilation anyway, so do that first. Insulating the wall will reduce heat loss and prevent condensation on the wall (but it will still occur on other surfaces if the steam is not extracted). Consider a wall with a tiled or laminated board finish which will be very easy to wipe down. Rigid foam board has twice the insulating power as the same thickness of fiberglass.

A 5 or six inch extractor is probably suitable. The best ones are not the cheapest. Envirovent and Soler & Palau make the best ones I know, with ball-bearing motors and rubber anti-vibration mountings. Because they are so quiet your MIL will probably not grumble about it much.

 

[Mrxman]

The obvious solution is to fit a humidity controlled extractor fan or a cooker hood that extracts to external. Either must be suitably selected and used, and for a fan, located appropriately - not just thrown in where is most easiest for the electrician.

Boarding the wall is a second option if the first does not work on its own.

Opening a door when cooking is not a practical solution.

Thanks for this. Her kitchen is a little awkward and could be tricky to fit a cooker hood. Perhaps boarding the wall is the smart move. She already has one fan but it's located in the middle of the kitchen and the condensation from cooking tends to move to the other end so I was thinking a fan is probably best positioned on back wall.

 

[Mrxman]

Opening the door would be an effective way of making the kitchen cold, and, depending on wind direction, blowing steam and cooking fumes either into the house, or out of it.

A 20th century solution would be to add an extractor fan or cooker hood with a duct going through the wall.

Hoods are often a bit noisy and residents often won't turn them on.

Some of the good quality extractors are very quiet, and use negligible electricity, so your MIL might accept one. I strongly advise wiring it to the light fitting so it comes on with the light switch. This will mean it is actually used, especially in the evenings and in cloudy weather, without needing any positive action. Your MIL is probably not in the habit of turning on a fan so this is one way of making sure it gets used.

You will need to add ventilation anyway, so do that first. Insulating the wall will reduce heat loss and prevent condensation on the wall (but it will still occur on other surfaces if the steam is not extracted). Consider a wall with a tiled or laminated board finish which will be very easy to wipe down. Rigid foam board has twice the insulating power as the same thickness of fiberglass.

A 5 or six inch extractor is probably suitable. The best ones are not the cheapest. Envirovent and Soler & Palau make the best ones I know, with ball-bearing motors and rubber anti-vibration mountings. Because they are so quiet your MIL will probably not grumble about it much.

Many thanks for this.
It may be tricky to fit a hood. It's an awkward space but a fan as first option is possible. I noticed Envirovent has one called silent 150. Is that suitable?
Good point about tiled or laminated board. It's a very old kitchen and would probably need changing completely at some point.

Btw, was just thinking is it worth insulating the ceiling as well? There doesn't seem to be any mould there but on this particular part of the extension I doubt there's any insulation.

 

[Koolpc]

My mate said his mother-in-law's house had mould. It went when they moved her out!

 

[Wayners]

Open windows bla bla... yeah that helps.
20lt dehumidifier is what you need.
Run for 4 plus hours every evening.
You need to draw the moisture out the walls and property and only a dehumidifier will do that..
We run two plus dry washing with it

 

[Mrxman]

Open windows bla bla... yeah that helps.
20lt dehumidifier is what you need.
Run for 4 plus hours every evening.
You need to draw the moisture out the walls and property and only a dehumidifier will do that..
We run two plus dry washing with it

Thanks. I am wondering if it's sufficient. The mouldy part of the kitchen feels a bit like a dead zone in terms of ventilation. Maybe it could be an addition to a fan or cooker hood.

 

[JohnD]

Many thanks for this.
It may be tricky to fit a hood. It's an awkward space but a fan as first option is possible. I noticed Envirovent has one called silent 150. Is that suitable?
Good point about tiled or laminated board. It's a very old kitchen and would probably need changing completely at some point.

Btw, was just thinking is it worth insulating the ceiling as well? There doesn't seem to be any mould there but on this particular part of the extension I doubt there's any insulation.

Yes, the Silent range is very good.

Water vapour is lighter than air, so rises towards the ceiling, so put the extractor up high. And preferably above the source of steam, but furthest from the opening through which air will ge drawn into the kitchen, such as the door. This will also prevent fumes drifting out into the house.

Insulating cold surfaces will reduce condensation forming on them.

 

[Mrxman]

Yes, the Silent range is very good.

Water vapour is lighter than air, so rises towards the ceiling, so put the extractor up high. And preferably above the source of steam, but furthest from the opening through which air will ge drawn into the kitchen, such as the door. This will also prevent fumes drifting out into the house.

Insulating cold surfaces will reduce condensation forming on them.

Great. Thanks for info