Mushrooms

[VanHalen]

Hi,

Possessing minimal knowledge of DIY I wasn’t sure which forum to put this in , so apologies if it is inappropriate.

Small mushrooms have recently begun to appear in my kitchen in the angle between wall and ceiling. The flat is in a 3 storey block on the ground floor and there is a small hole in the roof of the block which is currently being repaired.

I have some photos of the offending fauna but my computer skills are on a similar level to my DIY so I would need instruction on how to upload.

Can anyone please advise me on what the mushrooms indicate and what I should do.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Thanks, Alex

 

[lostinfens]

Cut off the offending mushrooms & fry with bacon.
Actually this does not sound good at all, you're on the ground floor & the roof 2 storeys higher is defective? Do any of the above tenants have a problem? Does your "upstairs" have a bath/shower/kitchen above where they are appearing & have you spoken to them?
Does your kitchen suffer badly from condensation?
I'd like to sees a picture of the offending fungi, it sounds like a moisture problem from above & could be affecting the floor joists. Is the building cavity or solid brickwork?

 

[VanHalen]

ha, it would of been nice if that was the real answer.

i am actually renting the property and was told about this by my tenant yesterday.

he's going to ask the flat above him and I'll ask my tenant about the level of condensation.

My tenant took photos but theyre not all that clear:
http://s821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/colonel_matrix/?action=slideshow

I believe it is solid brick but i'll find out.

thanks for your help

 

[lostinfens]

Couldn't see them photos

 

[VanHalen]

hmmm, i'll see if i can get them up another way

 

[VanHalen]

any better?

http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz135/colonel_matrix/kitchen004.jpg

 

[roughcaster]

Can't see them yet Van.

Roughcaster.

 

[jeds]

Alex. Fungi spores get everywhere and will grow where there is sufficient moisture and the temperature and environment is right. My advice is get rid of the ones you have by spraying with a solution of bleach using a mister spray. (Make sure you don't beath the atomised bleach) This will only work for a while though so to prevent re-growth you need to increase ventilation and reduce sources of moisture. i.e. add an extractor fan or, of you already have one, make sure it is used.

 

[Alastairreid]

probably a leak from upstairs kitchen waste. View media item 18785

 

[ColJack]

will bleach even do anything since one method of growing your own mushrooms requires you to steralise the compost with bleach first...

 

[lostinfens]

It looks more like condensation, there appears no obvious staining, but this could be offset if the ceiling is foil backed or double boarded, but I'd still expecy some evidence.
Is there any other mould obvious in the room, or is it just this one spot?

 

[VanHalen]

theyve only appeared in this spot so far.

im going to call someone in to have a look at it tmrw and hopefully tell me why it appears to be occuring and then get rid of it.

is there anything i should be wary of? will they try and sell me more services then i require?

 

[JohnD]

also try

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

 

[VanHalen]

Thanks for the help.

If it does turn out to be caused by condensation, any idea how much it would cost to have an extractor fan installed?

 

[VanHalen]

Hi,

Turns out the cause was the washing machine upstairs leaking. This has now been rectified and following many more hours of dripping, the leak has stopped.

What do I do now?
The mould cleaner told me that I needed to cut out a section of the plaster board above and use anti fungal sprays throughout the affected area of the cavity and joists as well as spraying the floor above.

Is this all necessary of should the problems disappear after the leak has been dealt with?