Mould on the bathroom walls

[Frostygills]

Hi all,

The recent property I've moved into seems to have a problem with mould on the walls of the bathroom, but it's solely around the window. It's main build up is in either corner where the sill, window and wall all meet. I never noticed it when we first moved in but since we painted it (in a quite bright colour) its there all the time. It returns every week when wiped off. What is causing this? is the wall damp?

One other question, is there a way to bleed the hot water system? Our heating system is pretty quite, but when the hot water system (cold tank in loft, hot W cylinder in cupboard) in first turned on, it gurgles for 3-4 mins around the area of the pump and them proceeds with clanging pipes. Eventually dies down after an hour, but returns when turned on again.

TIA

Frosty

[theonlyone]

If it's a rented property , get the landlord to sort it out . It seems the system has an airlock , easy to do but wouldn't tell you how to do it as i'm not a heating engineer , and you could end up with stains on the carpets , so better safe than sorry !!

[theshedman]

Hi, Frostygills have you tried using Dettol Mould and Mildew remover. Just spray it on the area affected, leave it for 30 minutes or so then wash it off. I have used it a number of times in my bathroom and it usually works. Don't use too much of it though as it contains bleach. Better to do it twice if it doesn't get rid of it all the first time.

[Frostygills]

Thanks theshedman, I'll have a look out for it and give it a whirl, do you know why it occurs? We've never had the problem this bad in our previous house.

-theonlyone, no, it's our house, no chance of a landlord to come to the rescue.

[theshedman]

Hi, frostygills there are usually a couple of things that cause this. You say it is at the bottom where the 3 meet wall, sill and window. That will be the coldest part of the wall and probably the coldest in the bathroom so it isn't drying out and this will not help things. When you painted the wall there could have been a small bit of mold still on it from before you moved in and now it's starting to spread. If any of it is under the paint that is probably the cause and you need to remove all of it from that section of wall even scrape the paint off and treat it with mold and mildew then repaint it. If it is on top of the paint just use mold and mildew treatment and keep a close eye on it in case it returns. Some homes seem to be more prone to it than others. When we wash our walls down I often put a bit of the stuff in the water it seems to help keep it down.

Shed

[Frostygills]

Thanks for that shedman, I'll give it a whirl. Were hoping to replace our very old double gasing windows very soon, hopefully that will help keep some warmth in the room.

[theshedman]

Hi, frostygills if you are getting your double glazing changed I would ask the firm if there will be a vent in the new one, unless you already have a vent in the bathroom. Just a small vent can make all the difference to keeping mold and damp to a minimum and it won't let out your heat either. Good luck

Shed