Damp showing in corners!

[RobertaMary]

Moved into a rented property Monday of Xmas week & already we have damp patches in the corners of frontroom,bathroom & kitchen. Its heated with gas boiler & the place is a 1935 bungalow. Can anyone suggest best way to deal with this? Do thiose little dehumidifying tubs with the white balls in work or will we need something electrical?

[The Builder]

If it's been empty for a while at this time of year, a 1935 bungalow will suffer in this way at this time of year, Roberta. More insulation isn't an option since it's rented ............. but the golden rules are ......... Heating & Ventilation!

When the heatings off, crack open the windows a little. When it's on ..... keep the heat level well up.

[The Builder]

.......... ooops, sorry about the repetition :o( ^^^

[RobertaMary]

cheers builder, it had been empty since Oct & had an elderly couple in for 5 years beforhand so suspect not much maintenece or ventilation went on. Theres an extractor fan in the bathroom above the shower cubicle but it doesnt work. The kitchens freezing all the time & has only one small radiator fitted so never seems to get warm......the gas oven & hob got condemed by Transco the day before Xmas eve as it leaked & still not replaced so cant even get extra heat from that.......oh dear tis a cold place but its nice apart from the cold lol

[The Builder]

I sympathise, Roberta. Your landlord really needs to fix the shower fan ...... for his building's sake as much as yours. It wouldn't be a big job to fit a bigger rad in the kitchen either!

I rather think the oven & hob should have been replaced by now too.
Good luck :o)

[scots misty]

You could buy a dehumidifier,expensive but worth it.We had the same problem and this sorted it.Used to collect about three pints of water a day in it!!!

[Mattk]

We have a similar issue and I was toying with getting a dehumidifier so interesting to hear that it solves the issues. Only problem is we have several rooms suffering all to differing extents so I will need to keep moving it around!

[scots misty]

We kept ours in the hall close to kitchen and bathroom.Luckily close to each other

[jomifl]

Mattk, Proper electrical dehumidifiers work very well, you don't need to move them around if they are big enough,just put it in the worst affected room and leave the internal doors open especially when it is running. If you have unheated rooms with closed doors then when you open the doors the moisture condenses in the coldest parts of the house which is usually the outside corners ofr the un-heated room.

[RobertaMary]

Oh My the trouble we had getting into this place Builder...you wouldnt believe! The landlady is elderly & retired to Spain..she resists using the internet, doesnt answer her mobile (im amazed she has one!) & had her landline disconnected. She had let place to friends of hers for 5 years until they went into a retirement home & i dont think she is very clued up on how to let a property in the real world. She had a proffessional inventory done which has masses of discrepancies in so i sent that back with MY version but not heard back from letting agent.theres a surprise lol. She had had a friendly neighbour (ive not met him yet) come in over the years to do "little" DIY jobs & these are done terribly. He laid a new kitchen/hallway floor with laminate............ok so far.....but the beading around the edge isnt mitred into corners & infact he didnt even cut it off when he reached a doorway...just left random lengths sticing out. Thats just one of the bodge jobs.i could go on but it would bore you lol...........The gas was scary as it had made me feel ill & kinda drugged my too dogs into little stone ornaments rather than crazed bouncy balls as per usual so i knew something was wrong soon as i got home. The Transco guy said the hob & oven where probably obsolete over 20 years ago.....maybe im fussy but id have thought a new one would have been recommended to the landlord by the letting agent?