Need help with a dampness situation!?

Question

I live in a rented ground-floor flat that has really bad ventilation, no extractor fans in bathroom or anything. Need to keep the window open all the time! Now I have damp around the bottom of the lounge walls, not sure if its rising damp or have I caused it by drying clothes inside etc?I'm just dreading telling the landlady in case she tries to blame me!

Any ideas?

Answer 1

It would be worth having a look at the gutters and checking if they are overflowing near the wall in question.Also check if any water is overflowing from say an toilet overflow pipe. Are there any drains nearby are are they blocked and overflowing or are they efficient and clear of water ?

Answer 2

Most of the help provided is correct. Specifically the de-humidifier. Just to put you at ease; I'm a Landlord, and the properties that are let are meant to be "lived in." If there is a recurring problem with damp, your Landlord needs to be informed. He/she needs to be aware that there is a problem that needs addressing - it's their property, they won't want it ruining and if the problem affects your health it needs to be proved that you have reported it to the correct people and in good time. It's not your fault, but it needs sorting.

Answer 3

Fans aren't going to help your situation unless you open your flat door and blow the humid air out into the hallway!  Fans simply move the damp air around in your flat.

And, if the weather outside is hot and muggy (humid), you might be making things worse by keeping the window open.

You need a mechanical solution.  If the landlady will let you, have a window air conditioner installed.   The condenser unit will remove the humidity from your air and channel it outside.

An even better solution (and one that they landlady won't ever see!), would be to beg, borrow or rent a de-humidifier.  They extract the moisture from the air and condense it so that it falls as water into a reservoir inside the unit.

You will be surprised to see how much water can be removed from your flat with this type of unit...and quickly!  Just be SURE to empty the pan very regularly.  If you don't, they have a tendency to overflow and soak the floor...and messing up your process.

Finally, if you are drying clothes in your flat by hanging them up, it shouldn't cause a problem.  However, if you are using an apartment-sized clothes dryer that isn't vented to the outside, you'll find out that this could be a major source of your dampness.  If this is the case, you will need to make sure that your venting is done to the outdoors.

Good luck with your problem.

Answer 4

I would contact the landlady As Soon As Possible.  She may already know of this problem and when you moved in, she hid it by decorating etc.

The damp solution is not your problem as you only rent, it is your landlady's.  

Drying clothes is not the problem as damp is caused by changing temperature and no through air so I would make sure nothing is touching the walls as they can also become mouldy and she may not replace the items.    

Keeping a window open may be ok for the summer but as autumn is coming round that's not going to be a solution.  Get her to come round and sort out the problem, if she refuses then get out.  Damp homes can cause illnesses which can be hard to sort out.  

Good luck.  

Answer 5

need more circulation, try using fans.