Mr T,
Firstly as I understand it to be you have a present rented accommodation with mould currently there and tenants at the same time and somebody to install the extractor fan convince you that would sort the problem out for two weeks and then they can actually remove the mould if that is remotely true it is all a load of cods wallup…
If the above is true then your first objective is to get rid of the mould without any doubt or any questioning whatsoever you need to get that gone.
Please do note that no amount of kind of bleach or disinfectant will ever remove mould so don’t waste your time and if it’s as bad as you say it is simply hack off the plaster and start again otherwise the mould will keep coming back forever and will only get worse when the tenant starts complaining of respiratory issues.
Also I just like to tell you that whatever extractor fan you have had installed is a complete waste of time and money if the same room is not adequately heated or if the tenant turns off the extractor fan which I find 99% of tenants do.
If you want to permanent solution without any question on down and you want to take the horse by the rains then you need to buy the extractor fan which has a memory bank and well give a read out of when it’s been on and when it’s been off on the extractor fan must be one of those trickle extractor fans like environment which when on is on all of the time slow and increases in speed by it’s self when the humidity rises.
In addition to this you need an independent battery operated Wi-Fi humidity sensor alarm which you can buy on Amazon for about £60 and that will give you alerts straight to your mobile phone or email so that you have tangible evidence of what exactly is happening in the property when you’re not there.
This is obviously all in addition to you needing to hack off all of the plaster and re-plaster or whatever you’re doing in the bathroom.
When any of my bathrooms go above my pre-selected alarm option which I have presently set to 65% humidity I also get a further alarm telling me when it’s dropped back below the 65% humidity so I can easily see how quickly after rush-hour does the humidity get back to where it should be at around 50 in my case.When any of my bathrooms go above my pre-selected alarm option which I have presently set to 65% humidity I also get a further alarm telling me when it’s dropped back below the 65% humidity so I can easily see how quickly after rush-hour does the humidity get back to where it should be at around 50 in my case.
Hi Andrew8,
Thank you, the fan is an Envirovent one. And also intended to get mould washed off professionally by Envirovent who advised waiting two weeks for spores to die.
Hoise totally refurbished with a very recently installed new heating system, window which opens and fan installed (original was not Envirovent) back door right by bathroom.
When mould first appeared (three months after their moving in) I was notified by the agent we were using at the time. Tenants failed to follow my instructions (have text messages from tenants which clearly state this to be the case).
Inspections were carried out nothing more mentioned either by the agent or tenants so thought the issue was resolved as I it was a a few specks to begin with). The main purpose of using an agent was to do,the inspections as I am a long distance away. But I also keep in touch with tenants, and like to know what is going on and want to maintain my investment. I made it clear they could contact either/or myself or the agent and we both answer messages immediately and instigate repairs as soon as I can get a trades person which is usually within days. (Don’t have the agent anymore so did the last inspection myself). Mould not mentioned until it’s in this state. Despite the fact they have contacted me personally regarding other more trivial things! Bizarre. But think you are right it’s probably time to rip out the bathroom or get a survey by qualified surveyor.
Regards and thanks.
if the mould is bad it would be almost impossible to clean the mould as mould roots dig deep inside of plaster hence plaster needs to be removed usually.
No extractor fan can help with existing mould, ever.
Make sure the radiator in bathroom has lockshield valves and fully rotatable caps or tenants will just turn the rad off to save on heating bill leaving your bathroom with mould once again.
I defo recommend to at least get a sensor in the immediately so you have a full remote report live on the rooms situation.
Also, get a immediate quote from a damp expert just incase the mould has been caused due to a hidden reason and then you have carried out due process and taken action.
If you must employ another gold grabbing con which i think you call an Agent then make sure your contract with them is specific and direct including totally legally signed off as well as forcing them to carry out a mid-term inventory every 3 months and you looking through it along with monitoring the new wifi sensor as you need to ensure the end goal is making it almost impossible for this to happen again or at least for you to be able to address any issue early so they can be dealt with cheaply
Have got rid of the agent and driving 8 hours to do it myself now.
Think you are right about the mould taking roots, I did question Envirovent’s dubious advice about a fan killing mould spores, but more gold diggers, just wanting to sell an over priced piece of equipment, but hopefully it will be effective once the problem is solved.
I am going to get a roofer to check things just in case as have had a lot of rain lately.
Never heard of the radiator valves, need to add that to my list of things to look up.
Hi @Colin3.
I know you said you were not able to tell me about the insulating boards as that was you, but are you able to tell me of a roofer in Liverpool please? Probably not allowed either though. Got an app called Next Door which in my area is very widely used for passing information regarding good trades people but in our area in Liverpool it’s not very popular. Thanks anyway.
Hi Colin.
Yes I found you on Gumtree. Think there’s possibly a leak, if not in the bathroom then definitely in the hall as water marks there, so trying to find a roofer to take a look. Yes, house is in Liverpool.
Mr-T If you are not too far away from my unit ,near Edge Lane i would be happy to take a look at the bathroom to give my advice. I am a busy man as a builder, landlord and insulation supplier . so am unable to do any work at present as the mate I work with is building a bungalow for his son, so I am working on my own jobs but I would be happy to check it out as long as you or your representative is there Regards Colin
@Colin3, Hi Colin,
That is really kind of you. We are in Bootle and just looked at the map and think we probably are a bit too far away as I appreciate you are very busy with your own stock. There is definetely a leak in the hall so need to get that fixed first I guess. Best wishes and thanks again.
Hi @Colin3 Just back from Liverpool. Bathroom being given a couple of mould washes and builder has told tenants to heat and ventilate. They have listened to him and apparently set their thermostat accordingly. They weren’t listening to me and became rude and abusive (not for the first time) for which she did apologise and I graciously accepted. However, I feel the relationship is souring and not sure if the tenancy is going to go well from now on in.
Don’t think this is your fault at all, this is just down to a lazy tenant who cannot be bothered to open the windows and let air through the property, I take it you have extractor fans installed, again a lot of lazy tenants cannot be bothered to switch them on, best bet is humidistats. regarding having to remove the tiles I think this is not required.
There are two ways you can approach this, one is to contact a company called Mould Growth Consultants, they will supply a pack to kill off the mould and stop it from returning.
The second is a method I have proved to work several times, purchase a couple of bottles of Domestos bleach (only Domestos will work) with a mask on and goggles plus rubber gloves paint the neat bleach onto the mould leave on overnight and you will find the mould has melted away, obviously wash down the treated area will hot soap and water.
Hi @Tony9,
Thank you for your reply. I hadn’t heard of the mould packs and also good idea about painting on neat Domestos. I didn’t think about using a paint brush.
I have now had a builder come and put on a mould removing solution and also had an Envirovent fan put in. There is a window that opens and a new heating system, but like you say they just can’t be bothered. They think they are going to lose all their heat. Thank you though very interesting about the Domestos, I will remember that one.