Problem with Black Mould - New Shower

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Having a new shower and cubicle fitted some 12mths ago in place of the bath. We are now experiencing Black Mould on the ceiling above the inside of the cubicle.

Having been in this house for some 20yrs, we have never seen any signs of this Black Mould forming in the bathroom. The window is always open and the door leading into the bathroom too, so there should be enough ventilation. ??

The cubicle is fitted into a corner with one fixed glass and one door. The fixed glass has approx. 30mm gap at the top to the stepped down ceiling and the door has approx. 300mm to the proper ceiling. The ceiling is stepped down due to the design of the house with the roof sloping etc. The ceiling has been painted with Kitchen/Bathroom paint.

I have thought of fitting a ceiling vent above the shower to aid ventilation, but would have problems in getting the vent to the soffit or outer wall as the sloping roof has approx. 100mm between tiles and ceiling, not much room to fit a vent pipe. The only other option would be to go up through the roof tiles.

Any suggestions or help please.

IE: fitting of a fan or what to do with mould in preparation or preventing before painting etc.

Thanks
 
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Hello, had similar problem in our bathroom. A fan will help, as the heat and moisture goes straight up first of all and having a window open adjacent to this area doesn't have much of an effect. The main thing you need to do first is kill the mould, you'll need to score the area very lightly with a sharp stanley blade, this will help break the paint which can seal in the mould! Then wipe with neat bleach. Be very careful it does not drip into your eyes. Repeat this over the weekend (say fri, sat and sun) and that will kill the mould. You could repaint it at this time and see how it goes or fit your fan. Good luck. For infor we did the bleach trick and the fan and it worked.
 
yes you need an extractor fan

if the shower is on an outside wall you can hire a core drill which will cut a very neat round 110mm hole in the brickwork that you can poke a plastic duct through

if the fan is inside or above the shower cubicle it will need to be a sealed low voltage one. electrical work in a bathroom is now notifiable and must* now be installed by a qualified electrician due to building regs, but you can make the hole yourself which may save time and money (but check hire cost against the electrician cost as he will probably have his own)

if the fan is running all the time the bathroom is occupied, it will prevent steam build-up, and if you have a delay timer it will carry on after you have got out of the shower (the tray and towels will still hold a lot of water) If the fan is on a solid wall it will not vibrate annoyingly. They only use 25watts typical so will run for 40 hours on 13p worth of electricity, so cost is not an issue.

I recommend you have it installed off the bathroom light so it comes on every time. this will help keep the bathroom fresher and drier than if people have to make a conscious effort to turn it on.

You could also fit a fan in the loft with a duct, but it does not sound like you have room to put a duct above the shower where it is most needed. It is essential the steam is extracted outside the house and does not escape into the loft where it will cause damp and rot.

No point in trying to deal with the mould until you have cured the damp, since it will come back. Once the ceiling is dry it will be easy to kill the mould and wash it off.

Make sure the ceiling is well insulated, since a cold ceiling attracts more condensation.


*but there is another way which is more difficult and expensive
 

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