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My wife and I with our 2 children live in a ground floor flat that suffers from condensation on the outside-facing walls (in the 2 bedrooms)... we have lived here almost 2 years now, and in the last couple of months I've realised that though we knew it got a bit moldy occasionally and the windows misted when it was cold outside, there's much worse mold than we first saw (I keep finding it behind cupboards when clearing out etc).
We are always wiping down the windows and spraying that mold remover stuff on the walls; we tried the little chemical dehumidifiers and even have a big mechanical one running almost all the time, but it doesn't stop the condensation/mold (we DO NOT dry clothes on the radiators...)
Today I discovered a major mold colony in the eldest child's room - I almost wanted to cry... do you think there will be a major health risk from this? Obviously we will get rid of it sharp-ish but can it do damage to her breathing that quickly? it must have been there a couple of weeks/months... is it worth getting her checked out by a medic? Can they tell if there's any ill effects due to mold spores or something...?
I've just read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mold_growth#Symptoms_of_mold_exposure and now i'm getting a bit hypochondriac...
I'm not sure about the severity of symptoms, but mold spores are certainly something you want to avoid, if nothing else than for peace of mind. The mold remover sprays are quite effective I find (we get it in our shower) - basically it's sodium hypochlorite solution so you could buy the crystals and make your own solution if you are using a lot - but make sure the flat is well ventilated during and after use as the smell is chlorine gas, also something you don't want to be inhaling.
You can get mold resistant paints, so it may be worth considering these in the bad areas to try to prevent the problem from occurring.
The mould will build up anywhere in the flat that is not getting enough ventilation. Do you keep the windows slightly ajar during the daytime? Easier with the newer windows which can lock into a semi open position, especially on a ground floor.
Wipe it down with warm water and bleach and try and keep ventilated, or maybe a fan in the room to keep the air circulating if you cannot open the windows.
Thanks guys!
yes, we tried almost all of those possibilities - apart from repainting and using a fan...
at the end of the day we probably need to move somewhere else... at least at the moment it's looking better and i think we've discovered all the surprise places the mold was building up...
Zaden was spot on; mold can only grow if the conditions are right. That is why its always worse in the winter, when you are more likely to keep the windows closed.
You need to dry out the affected areas and keep ventilated. Nothing can grow without water/moisture. You need more heating and more ventilation.
Do you own or rent?
if you rent then contact your landlord about the damp issues and ask them to investigate where the damp is coming from.
If you own your own place then you need to work out where the damp causing the mold is worst, it could be something simple like a wall needing pointing or a chimney top needing re-seating/pointing up.......if its at ground level then it could be a damp course issue.
i'm not a builder and there are a lot of other causes for damp but having mold spores flying around the place centainly sounds like it has the potential for health issues.
regarding the decorating bit there are paints and wall preparations you can put on to reduce the mold/damp.
more heat and ventilation will dry the air and walls out eventually......costly yes but what price an you really put on a childs health?
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