spider1 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Think its condensation Put some heat on leave window ajar / If it is penetrating damp plaster would be wet through and fall of wall not run down wall [ Seen lots of cases of condesation peole get right panic on over nothing ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnvqsos Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 When was the loft converted? The roof provides ventilation and can be sometimes blocked by a conversion if the company hasn't put the correct vents in. And does she dry clothes in the house? And if unvented the purlins could rot leading to damage to roof and house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rupert_Baehr Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 The first thing you could do (and it costs pennies) is open all the windows of the house for 5 minutes in the morning. Neither the walls nor the radiators will cool significantly, but the (comparatively warm) moist air will be replaced by drier cold air. That air will warm up rapidly - it costs far less to heat dry air than it does to heat moist air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICKY BLAKE Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 try a bit of through ventilation leave the window open slightly so there is greater air circulation especially when the heat is on and try leaving the room door open when she is around this may help, it is a very common problem also check for air bricks in the wall and keep them uncovered these are the grates or bricks with holes in mostly it is the room ineffect sweating good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev45 Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thanks to everyone who has replied so far . To answer any queries raised my daughter has a tumble dryer that collects water in a built in tank so drying clothes isn't contributing . There are no vents anywhere inside the house not even in the bathroom so obviously that doesn't help . There are two air bricks outside at ground level one at front and one at the back that presumably vent under the property .Actually when the house was surveyed prior to her purchasing it a couple of years ago the surveyor suggested fitting two more air bricks to improve ventilation, he didn't mention anything about any other vents but then it was only a standard survey for mortgage purposes . I must admit I'd never heard of positive pressure ventilation systems so I'll read up on that . What was the loft is now one large room with only a Velux window I believe they are called so no chance of any ventilation there unless the window is open . I think the answer initially is to open the windows more and then look to fit some ventilation to the house . Thanks once again to everyone showing interest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergeantb Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 My mid terrace house suffers from this issue... Houses built around this time often have solid walls which do not have cavities. This means that heat can quickly escape in the winter months and water can slowly penetrate from the outside to the inside if a particular wall is subject to heavy rainwater overflow for example. I would recommend that you get a builder to have a walk around your daughters house, a good builder should be able to give her some basic advice. How old are your daughter’s double glazed windows? UPVC window frames do not last forever. I personally eradicated the vast majority of the condensation on the inside of my windows by adding trickle vents onto the top of the window frames which allowed air to circulate. I also measured several of the windows and asked my builder to order new glazing and install it into the worst effected windows. Adding new glazing is remarkably simple and doesn’t cost that much. A side effect of the condensation is the build up of mould around the window Jamb which is unpleasant and unhealthy. I have recently stripped back all the paint around the windows and treated the areas with anti fungal paint which should help to reduce/ stop any mould from returning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppins Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 My mid terrace house suffers from this issue... Houses built around this time often have solid walls which do not have cavities. This means that heat can quickly escape in the winter months and water can slowly penetrate from the outside to the inside if a particular wall is subject to heavy rainwater overflow for example. I would recommend that you get a builder to have a walk around your daughters house, a good builder should be able to give her some basic advice. How old are your daughter’s double glazed windows? UPVC window frames do not last forever. I personally eradicated the vast majority of the condensation on the inside of my windows by adding trickle vents onto the top of the window frames which allowed air to circulate. I also measured several of the windows and asked my builder to order new glazing and install it into the worst effected windows. Adding new glazing is remarkably simple and doesn’t cost that much. A side effect of the condensation is the build up of mould around the window Jamb which is unpleasant and unhealthy. I have recently stripped back all the paint around the windows and treated the areas with anti fungal paint which should help to reduce/ stop any mould from returning. Serg, whats anti fungal paint ? is it clear, can it be used on walls , brick and wood ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sibon Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Is re-opening the fireplace an option? That will improve ventilation. An open fire doesn't cost much to install. They are lovely too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 It sounds very much to me like the closing off of the fireplace and the fitting of properly sealed windows have just stopped the house from being able to vent the moisture which we constantly breathe out whilst living and create whilst cooking, showering and the like. My first stop would be to open the windows and doors first thing every morning and put a fan on somewhere to create a good up draft to move out the stale air that's inside the house for 5 minutes, then close everything back up again and see if that reduces the problems. If that helps then ventilation is far more likely to be the issue rather than rising or penetrating damp, and you can address each room individually with how you can improve that (air brick, vent, windows in bathrooms etc). Another thing is that even with a tumble dryer you do put an awful lot of moisture into the air as you dry clothes, unless you cook the clothes until they're crispy, which is really not a good thing. In a house which already has condensation problems your daughter should close off the rest of the house from the room with the tumble dryer in, open the window and vent the room thoroughly when emptying the dryer as the steam contained in the clothes is a really strong cause of condensation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergeantb Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Serg, whats anti fungal paint ? is it clear, can it be used on walls , brick and wood ? There are different types available; you can buy a wash which you simply paint onto walls before painting them with your normal paint, for example this stuff from B&Q http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/decorating-sundries/treatments-cleaners-protection/cleaners/B-and-Q-Fungicidal-Wash-Clear-1L-9190533 or you can just buy paint which has the stuff in it such as this http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/paint/specialist-paints/anti_damp_paint/Ronseal-Anti-Mould-Paint-Matt-2-5L-11348502 or this http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/paint/specialist-paints/anti_damp_paint/Ronseal-One-Coat-Anti-Damp-Paint-White-10299598 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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