Possible Rot of Some Sort In Walls?

[gizzmansl2]

Hi, sorry for the long story but I am a complete novice when it comes to rot and I have had this problem on my walls for a while now.
In my bedroom upstairs my wall corners and some main wall have gone patchy and smudged with what looks like a grey/white shade (walls are painted black) so its really obvious but when I wash them or spray water and wipe it disappears then a few days later it reappears in same place.
Now I did not have this issue before painting my room (2 years back) so when I painted my room black over the old blue (1 coat, no undercoat or base coat) this starting happening about a year after and now its mostly all over.
Now I know I could call a professional but I have not got the money and the house is council so I can call them out in the future but I am actually planning to re-decorate very soon anyway so am looking for quick fix or just to know what it may be so I can start the ball rolling to sort it.
When I plan to re-decorate I am going to use a base coat from Wickes to block the old color and 2-3 coats of light color emulsion over the top and I plan to lightly sand down and clean in between coats for a good grip so do you think that may be enough to hold whatever it is back as I did not use any under/base coat before and only a 1 coat color and it took ages to appear?


EDIT:

Some one has told me it seems like condensation which makes sense as I am able to wipe it clean and it comes back days later, what I would like to know is where or how can this happen in a bedroom, I just use a pc and tv in here and have my window open daily esp when its warm outside, cheers


I have added links to some pictures I have taken of some bad points and not so bad points for more clarification, thanks a lot.

Again I appreciate any help and I am here to answer questions, cheers

 

[ladylola]

Hard to say from the pictures but it doesn't look like any sort of rot that I've ever seen , more like a combination of fingerprints , smears and bad rag work. Is the room damp at all , is there any sort of fusty smell?
You could try wiping a small discreet area with a mild bleach solution. That is often enough to inhibit mould for a while but I'm not convinced it's mould in the first place more likely some sort of paint problem. Perhaps try a bit of sugar soap on a small area.

 

[gizzmansl2]

Hard to say from the pictures but it doesn't look like any sort of rot that I've ever seen , more like a combination of fingerprints , smears and bad rag work. Is the room damp at all , is there any sort of fusty smell?
You could try wiping a small discreet area with a mild bleach solution. That is often enough to inhibit mould for a while but I'm not convinced it's mould in the first place more likely some sort of paint problem. Perhaps try a bit of sugar soap on a small area.

Thanks for the reply and yes someone else has told me it could be condensation which would make sense as I can wipe it clean and it comes back but I would like to know how to keep it away. My windows are open regularly and I just use a pc and tv in the room, any ideas what the source could be, maybe piping under my floor?

 

[dcdec]

Blimey but at least you smell nice, does any paint come off on the cloth when you wipe it?

 

[gizzmansl2]

Blimey but at least you smell nice, does any paint come off on the cloth when you wipe it?

Haha thanks, and no when I wipe walls the smudge disapears to reveal the nice paint coat underneath which leads me to believe its most likely condensation but why am I suffering from it so bad. My windows are open all the time but my carpet does not cover whole room which leaves some bare floorboards and cracks. Could it be possible the condensation is coming from pipes under the floor or something as the other bedrooms do not have this issue, thanks

 

[ladylola]

I'd be surprised if it was originating from pipes in the floor. If the pipe work is in such bad condition then you'd notice it on the downstairs ceilings .
Do you know what the construction of the walls is? Cavity or solid brickwork? Is it on exterior walls only? What sort of roof do you have above it? And finally what sort of heating do you have?
Oh and by the way I had to smile at the shelf. Deodorants and furniture polish?

 

[gizzmansl2]

I'd be surprised if it was originating from pipes in the floor. If the pipe work is in such bad condition then you'd notice it on the downstairs ceilings .
Do you know what the construction of the walls is? Cavity or solid brickwork? Is it on exterior walls only? What sort of roof do you have above it? And finally what sort of heating do you have?
Oh and by the way I had to smile at the shelf. Deodorants and furniture polish?

Yeh i like to smell like my furniture lol no its just a place to store bits as i mentioned im decorating soon so its messy atm.
As far as i know the wall that has the window is brick (was very hard to drill for shelves) and the rest plaster or something like that, we have central heating but i very rarely use it as my room is warm enough and the condensation is bad on the corners and some bits of wall but mainly on the wall with the window.
As for the roof im not sure what you call it but some sort of standard council shingle? And my loft was insulated not long ago so that should be ok plus the ceiling is fine. Cheers

 

[ladylola]

To be honest it has me baffled. I'm still not convinced that it's condensation but then it's difficult to tell from photos. I think your best course of action may be to get someone in to look at it up close.

 

[gizzmansl2]

To be honest it has me baffled. I'm still not convinced that it's condensation but then it's difficult to tell from photos. I think your best course of action may be to get someone in to look at it up close.

Yes that seems my only option because most forums ive asked in have no idea too

 

[blightymam]

It looks similar to me to efflorescence, it could be the condensation causing it, or perhaps look at your brickwork outside. Worth getting a damp specialist in to have a look? Doesn't cost anything to let them have a peek & get a quote. We live with council properties each side and if I know anything with dealing with the council, is it takes months, (18 on one of our problems with a property next door) to even come and look at it, so perhaps contacting them sooner rather than later may help you out!! A dehumidifier may help too.

Good luck..

 

[misterhelpful]

My initial thoughts on just seeing the images was that it was saponification (soapy fats in the paint reacting to the underlying surface). However, if it took a whole year before it appeared then it is unlikely to be that as it normally occurs as the paint is drying/curing and would usually become visible in days or weeks.

What type of black paint did you use as it seems very shiny? Was it gloss?
What type of paint was it applied onto?
Why is the surface of the wall so bumpy? Is it woodchip wallpaper or some sort of textured finish?
Have you been wiping the walls with a bleach solution in attempt to clean the 'condensation'?

It doesn't really look like mould (although mould is whitish on a black surface and vice versa) or efflorescence, but the fact that it has become so extensive, and that wiping the wall makes it spread, could mean that it is some kind of mould/fungus (unless you have been using bleach).

 

[gizzmansl2]

It looks similar to me to efflorescence, it could be the condensation causing it, or perhaps look at your brickwork outside. Worth getting a damp specialist in to have a look? Doesn't cost anything to let them have a peek & get a quote. We live with council properties each side and if I know anything with dealing with the council, is it takes months, (18 on one of our problems with a property next door) to even come and look at it, so perhaps contacting them sooner rather than later may help you out!! A dehumidifier may help too.

Good luck..

Thanks for the advice and yes i totally agree i need to ask now to save the lengthy wait lol damn council! I'm sure my room is properly ventelated so i will look into a dehumidifier for sure, cheers

 

[gizzmansl2]

My initial thoughts on just seeing the images was that it was saponification (soapy fats in the paint reacting to the underlying surface). However, if it took a whole year before it appeared then it is unlikely to be that as it normally occurs as the paint is drying/curing and would usually become visible in days or weeks.

What type of black paint did you use as it seems very shiny? Was it gloss?
What type of paint was it applied onto?
Why is the surface of the wall so bumpy? Is it woodchip wallpaper or some sort of textured finish?
Have you been wiping the walls with a bleach solution in attempt to clean the 'condensation'?

It doesn't really look like mould (although mould is whitish on a black surface and vice versa) or efflorescence, but the fact that it has become so extensive, and that wiping the wall makes it spread, could mean that it is some kind of mould/fungus (unless you have been using bleach).

Thanks for the reply and to answer your questions yes i believe it was wilkinson standard black silk (1 coat) painted over a blue matt old wall.
Yes the wallpaper is bumpy and has been like that since i have lived here (25 years) and i dont like it but have'nt the time to strip the wallpaper.
No i have not wiped down the walls with bleach or a cleaning solution so it did not spread/show up because of something i might have done, it apeared after 11 months or so all on its own,😬

I did think it could be some sort of mould but its extremely wide spread and mould would take a lot longer to cover 90% of my walls like this does and also it does not smell or feel wet at all. A patch completely disapears when i wipe down with cloth and water and can take just under a week to come back and dry up again.

Its not so much what it is as i think it must be some sort of condensation but more of how can i stop it re-occuring when i re-decorate? I plan to base coat the paint to oblitirate the black and also apply 2 light colour coats so hopefully it will go away...

 

[misterhelpful]

Its not so much what it is as i think it must be some sort of condensation but more of how can i stop it re-occuring when i re-decorate? I plan to base coat the paint to oblitirate the black and also apply 2 light colour coats so hopefully it will go away...

It does sound more and more like it must be mould now so, if I were you, I would try wiping it away with a mild beach solution to see if that stops it returning. If it is mould, the bleach should kill the spores and stop it spreading, which is probably what is happening when you wipe it with just water.
Use half a bucket of hand-warm water with a good squirt of a quality bleach, or a fungicidal wash if you prefer, to clean the walls (wearing rubber gloves), then rinse off with clean water to see if it makes a difference.
You can do this as a test now, or when you plan to start repainting as the risk with bleach is that it could discolour the black paint if you use too much, but somehow I don't think you will be too worried about that!!

 

[gizzmansl2]

Its not so much what it is as i think it must be some sort of condensation but more of how can i stop it re-occuring when i re-decorate? I plan to base coat the paint to oblitirate the black and also apply 2 light colour coats so hopefully it will go away...

It does sound more and more like it must be mould now so, if I were you, I would try wiping it away with a mild beach solution to see if that stops it returning. If it is mould, the bleach should kill the spores and stop it spreading, which is probably what is happening when you wipe it with just water.
Use half a bucket of hand-warm water with a good squirt of a quality bleach, or a fungicidal wash if you prefer, to clean the walls (wearing rubber gloves), then rinse off with clean water to see if it makes a difference.
You can do this as a test now, or when you plan to start repainting as the risk with bleach is that it could discolour the black paint if you use too much, but somehow I don't think you will be too worried about that!!

Yes your are rigjt I will not worry about the ghastly black paint as it will soon go. Well im going to wipe down all the walls with a mild bleach solution just like you said on sat and let it dry overnight then lighly sand the walls ready for the thick base coat and then 2 colour coats so that should keep it away I hope for good. Would you recommend I use sugar soap to clean it now and again if it does start to shw up?