Dampness

[1976]

My friend has a problem with atmospheric dampness in her bedroom. The layout of the flat means that any steam from cooking or the bathroom will just gather in the central lobby. A false plasterboard wall cracked and she pushed it and was able to push her hand through it! She has since had builders etc. in and in having the wall replaced and insulated (it backs onto an unheated corridor of the block of flats). She has also had fans installed in the kitchen and bathroom to aid ventillation. Alot of the clothes have gone mouldy and are ruined - shes only lived in the flat for 8 months! I was wondering if anyone has encountered this problem before and if there are any solutions to stop it happening again. Someone told her to hang bundles of chalk up to absorb moisture. Any advice would be appreciated.

[ICEMANSAV]

You could try buying a de humidifier from Eac sales or have an air conditioner installed which removes moisture from the air and generally dries the environment. Try www.global-cooling.co.uk for some ideas. Or www.ebac.co.uk

[secretspirit]

Sounds like she's doing everything she can really. All she can do (apart from a dehumidifier) is make sure the place is always ventilated and heated properly. I hope she uses the fans whenever she's using a bath/shower/cooking, it's amazing how many people install them and then don't use them and wonder why the place is still wringing with condensation!

[Upforit]

Is she sure the damp is atmospheric? Tape a piece of aluminium foil to the wall in the affected rooms. After a day or so, if water is appearing on the outside, it is atmospheric. If there is no water outside, peel off the foil and see if the damp is underneath. If so, she has rising or falling damp.

[matprest]

Our dehumidifier cost about �150 pounds from B&Q, it's great and sucks the water out of the air really well. We initially got it for the flat we were renting as we were hanging wet clothes in the living room and getting mould around the window and walls. With the dehumidifier on most of the time (especially in winter) we found we didn't get the problem. It also speeds up the drying of your wet clothes significantly. The dehumidifier is quite small (about 2 foot high and a foot wide) and reasonably quiet (makes a bit of a hum but we close the door on it when it's on). You have to empty the water collection bucket every day or two (depending how damp it is) or you can plumb one in, we just empty the bucket when it beeps.