19 yr old house wife with no experience needs help from nice elders!!?

Question

I'm 19 and been living with my hubby for about 5 months. we've only been married about 2 weeks.

We live in UK where there's no Cenrtal air conditioning in our flat. Could that be the cause of all the mold/mildew that forms everywhere? Well, it's gets all around the window edge and blinds. Also, it gets along the bottome of the walls, in corners, and behind things. Also, it's all over my hubby's guitar case , and my suit case?

***How can I keep it from occuring?
***What's the best way to clean it off the walls? (white painted)
***Will bleach-based cleaners kill the miold or only dye it?
*** should I leave the windows only more??
(In my defense, I come from Texas, and it's usually not this cold, so I tend to want to close the windows all the time! )

Thanks for any help you can offer! :-)

Answer 1

ahhhhh, sweet Q, first congrats on new life,,,
I live in the UK as well, damp is always an issue here,
unless u live in a barn of course
its all that moisture which of course in Texas u have a
superabundance of, not,....
First it's a toss up between freezing and scuba diving,,
ok seriously
the key is ventilation, the more the merrier
window or windows open if not is a must
so back to freezing or swimming
some extractors are quite good sucking moisture out
look into getting one in a window
also you can get dehumidifiers,,,,
first treat the wood with an anti mould
then dry em out..... warm fan
but WELL ventilated should do it in a few days
for the meantime put rags at the bottom of the windows
good luck in everything

Answer 2

I'm orig. from Texas so I can understand about the 'not this cold' thing!

Try wiping down the mildew(wear gloves)with a solution of bleach and water. Let it dry. Then see if there is a product available there called Killz. It's like a white paint. Paint it on the area. Sometimes a second coat is good. Then you can either leave it the white that it is, or paint it another color.

That takes care of the immediate problem. The next step is to find the cause of the mold. Do you rent your flat? If so, the landlord needs to be called in. I'm sure there are renters rights there, just as there are, here in the U.S.

If you bought the flat, you need to bring in outside help.

I would probably replace the guitar case and suitcase. And see if you can get one of those small ceramic heaters and also a small fan. Keeping air circulated helps and keeping the place somewhat dry(as far as humidity) helps too. If you get a new guitar case, don't lean it against an outside wall.

Answer 3

Hi, Congrats on getting married!
We have this problem in our flat. Open the windows more, even a slight gap in the cold weather helps. Wipe off any condensation on the windows in the morning. Keep a gap between all furniture against the wall, such as wardrobes to help the air flow.
I found our main cause was drying washing in the flat. Like hanging it on airers in our bedroom. It causes a lot of moisture in the air, thus creates mould.
We went to B & Q and bought a humidfier thing and that really helped. It's a container witha moisture absorbing tablet in it, then you empty it out. You'd be amazed how much it collects!
They also do a mould killer that's meant to stop it coming back. And you can get paint that is anti mould.

Just a few tips that I find help.

Answer 4

You have sympathy.... my trouble & strife (wife....ok) is from South Africa.... had to take her out for walking on ice practice (complete with padding!!!!)
OK, this moUld/ mildew is caused by condensation when warm, moist air hits a cold surface. Now, tex, your swimming pool...used to put chlorine in it to stop it going green didnt you. The green was Algae, an airborne spore, same as mildew. So, a weak solution of bleach (teaspoon to a pint) in a spray will kill the spore before it becomes mildew. Particularly good in bathroom. You need to ventilate (and keep air moving) to remove the wet air. Problem areas, like behind wardrobes, go to DIY store (homebase) get some 'Warmaline' like a roll of thick wallpaper...stick on wall, paper over, will stop wall from getting cold, and causing condensation to form, then mildew. After that, its down to a dehumidifier. You are not by chance using a Calor Gas Heater.....are you????? they really give problems of condensation. Is hubby english????? maybe mother-out-law will help .....

Answer 5

The mould you are experiencing is undoubtedly caused by the condensation of moisture in the house being deposited on surfaces usually near windows and on walls. The solution is to stop breathing. Not possible? Ventilate the kitchen when cooking. OK? And also open a window, even in the winter, to make sure that moisture is ejected from the house. There are dehumidifiers available but I am not sure how effective they are.

Answer 6

Put about 1/4 cup of bleach in one gallon -US or imperial - of water, put on rubber gloves, and wipe that on the mildew with either a sponge or an absorbtive cloth. Open some windows so that the fumes of the bleach will not knock you over. To keep it from growing, a humidifier is recommended, however, you have to either empty the humidifier on a regular basis or mount it up so that a hose can go into a sink drain.

If you have to repaint, you can repaint and when they are mixing the paint, ask them to put a fungicide in the paint. It might be a dollar more.

Answer 7

Congratulations on getting married.
I had the same problem in Central Europe. Bleach is good to get rid of the mold (& keeps it away). I tried something actually for the grout in bathrooms, seemed to do a good job.
Ventilation is also a must, but instead of keeping the windows open a crack, open them completely for about 10 minutes a day, and then turn the heating back on. Also, remember to keep a gap between the walls & furniture. Good luck.

Answer 8

You need to cross ventillate to prevent damp. This means opening doors or windows at opposite ends of the room if possible to help air flow.
You can buy mold/mildew specialist cleaners if you have deep mold or a lot of it but I have found cold water + bleach helps if its only a bit.
For more info check out www.mymold.info

Answer 9

Can you get heating installed?

That is the best long-term answer.
So you don't get ill...

In the meantime, try one or more low-cost plug-in air heater/s that dry the air as they heat. These are fairly economical to run.

Avoid a gas-cylinder type heater which pump out moisture & smell, cause head-aches etc.

Find out where / how the damp is coming in.
& cure that.

To help you do that, you can buy liquid resin to paint over areas & seal them to stop water entering (smells awful when applying!) (purchase from a car spares shop or boat builders or DIY store).
It's transparent, so need to overpaint unless you want to.

Answer 10

You should check around your windows for any mini vents which may be closed. Also check outside to make sure your natural ventillation bricks are not blocked. These symptoms are generally caused by poor ventilation. Once normal ventilation is restored your mildew will clear up. Then it can all be wiped up.