Hi all, hoping someone can give some advice.

First a bit of background.

We bought the house almost two years ago...and for a good portion of the first year it was empty. We then moved in last july...we painted the room to the color you can see..It was initially white.

After some time we noted these black spots on the bottom of walls. Over time they have just increased.

Are these signs of dampness?

ps sorry these pictures are in portrait mode, it was the only way to get the full scope of the damage!

Yes mate, there are certainly issues, its mould, and mould likes moisture. I think you need to provide a bit more info. for anyone to give a decent diagnosis.

Is it downstairs?external wall? cavity wall? solid wall?bathroom?north facing?any heating in there?any ventilation? was there mould there and you just painted it over?

So probably a bit more history needed, and I could give you one opinion - I'm sure you'll get others.

Sorry i should have given more info.

This is an interior wall and is downstairs. Its a solid brick wall on the outside.

I dont think its a north facing wall but im not sure.
We dont have any heating in the room we currently use the adjacent kitchen cooker for heating. (its a small house).

There was no mould there previously. We didnt paint over it either. Indeed if anything in the year that the house was empty the walls were clean.

No ventilation. We keep most of our windows closed especially since we moved in last autumn/winter and its been cold!

Please shout if you want more info !

The key probably lies in the no ventilation issue - when you say 'adjacent kitchen cooker for heating' does that mean we're in the kitchen or the cooker's in the adjacent room? How old is the house? How many sq.m approx is this room with the mould? Is there any problem with the wood/laminate floor?

the cooker is in the kitchen...but we leave it running for warmth in the adjacent room...

The house was prob made in the 1920's but this maybe just an estimate.

the room is 4mtrs by 4mtrs. The laminate floor seems fine..

I hope this gives you a better idea! :)

Can you take some pictures from further back showing the whole of thet end of the room. Is there a chimney near by? What is the other side of that wall? - another room? - if so any sign of the mold in the other room? - or outside? if so can you take a picture of the outside of that wall.
There is damp or humidity coming from somewhere - or has been at some time in the past. Just need to figure out where from.

_________________
Mike

Yes there is a chimney in the middle and both sides of this wall has these same signs as posted in pics. On the other side of the wall is an alley way shared between my house and the one next door. These signs are not visible in the adjacent room or adjacent kitchen. Plus the wall outside seems fine too but I will take pictures to show.

One of my thoughts is if there was damp in those walls why didn’t it show up in the year when the house was empty and unoccupied…its only since we started living there that it showed up..but im no expert! :)

Just tried posting some stuff but it disappeared somewhere

Anyway, as Mikew1972 says - more info good.

Fundamentally though, from what you're saying, I don't think its structural damp. Its a ventilation issue. I still can't work out which room we're in but basically hot bodies and kitchens produce mositure that has nowhere to escape.

You need to improve ventilation, and you don't say if you have any extraction in the kitchen. Also the heating set up isn't really that ideal!

You can kill the mould with a mould killer (diluted bleach works for me, or others might disagree!) but it'll be back if you don't improve the overall situation.

Anyway, this is the real basics, and with more detail, I'm sure it can be narrowed down further.

Best

Julian

Some very basic pointers for you:

The solid wall will present a cold surface on which any moisture will condense.

If the cooker is a gas cooker then this is kicking out a lot of damp air which will condense on all cold surfaces.

You really need to address your heating issues as a regular dry heat source like a radiator will eventually warm the face of the walls giving less chance for condensation there.

So reduce moisture in the air and warm the room. This means closing the kitchen door when cooking and also closing bathroom doors after showers etc. Isolate non vented tumble dryers or clothes drying on a stand.

Get rid of the mould spores with a mild bleach solution

Good luck

DWD

I think we hit at the same time Julian

DWD

You DWD, me and mike

Also I just remembered to mention that when I say I use the cooker for heating…I mean we just run the cooker…sometimes one burner and sometimes two. In fact the cooker spends more time heating our room then it does being cooked on.
“If the cooker is a gas cooker then this is kicking out a lot of damp air which will condense on all cold surfaces.”…I have also just remembered that the window panes on the doors also have some water condensation…maybe this is because of this.
There are radiators but we rarely use them . Why warm the house when I can warm the one room we sit in 90% of the time and save money…me thinks!!!
Also when you bleach, do you mean normal off the shelf bleach ? How would I make this solution? Two cap fulls of bleach added to hot water ….then wipe off?

I think you've just outlined where the problem lies!

You are basically providing a perfect environment for condensation.

On a more serious note - if you're running a gas cooker for long periods with no ventilation, you do risk carbon monoxide poisoning. I'm sure you are aware, but in case you are not, this can be fatal. If you haven't got a detector get one.

If you're worried about the costs of heating, I'd venture to suggest that using the cooker in this way will also be pretty costly! Just put your radiators on low.

With the bleach, yes just a couple of caps in a bucket of warm water, wash down and rinse - but it will be back in a few days if you don't change your situation.

Again, the carbon monoxide issue is a serious issue and you need to address it.

Best

Julian

ok...so i will try from now to ventilate the house more frequently (ive today left the window open upstairs along with the stairs to give it some air)...plus i will wipe the marks down with some bleach...on a side note...Will the bleach remove the marks as if brand new? or will there be telltale signs?

Cooker as heating is a no-no from now...will use radiators. Btw, i did know about the CM issue but thanks for re-inforcing it!

Will report back next week to let you know of the progress!

talk about answering your own question

just thought id mention that 'cillit bang with bleach' (make sure its the 'with bleach' version) works absolute wonders on mould, grimy grout etc...
tried it almost by accident, was cleaning the bog and sink with the missus cleaning products and got some overspray on the tiles.... bit of mildew round the silicon line etc....
forgot about it for a bit, then rinsed it off....
missus couldnt believe it!.. neither could i... cleaned the grout lines up loverly!

_________________
http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/