I'm having a few problems with condensation in wardrobes, the condensation
is causing mould which is settling on clothes. I installed fitted wardrobes
as the problem was really bad with free standing wardrobes and even though
it's a little better the problem is still there. I know ultimately the cure
is to stop the source of condensation, but that's easier said than done.
Until I can do that can anyone offer some advice on the following ideas I
have:

The fitted wardrobe is on an external wall, the wall is a thick stone wall.
I've read that condensation occurs when air cannot flow freely so I'm toying
with the idea of installing a couple of air bricks in the wall, however as
this will also make the area colder won't this make the inside of the
wardrobe more likely to attract condensation/mould?

I'm thinking of painting the inside of the wardrobes with anti-condensation
paint, then lining the walls with that polystyrene on a roll, then painting
the polystyrene with the anti-condensation paint. This will increase the
temperature of the wall so it won't attract the condensation/mould, but does
that mean the mould won't settle on the walls but instead will settle on the
clothes making the situation worse than ever?

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave on
for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes. Any advice
would be helpful as I'm pretty desperate to cure this annoying problem.

Mike

mikey wrote:

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave on
for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes. Any advice
would be helpful as I'm pretty desperate to cure this annoying problem.

Can you not leave the dehumidifier on all the time and let the
humidistat decide whether it needs to be switched on or off?


--
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http://fitness-equipment-uk.com - UK's No.1 Fitness Equipment Suppliers.
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""Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk ;¬)"" wrote in message
. uk...
mikey wrote:

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave
on for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes. Any
advice would be helpful as I'm pretty desperate to cure this annoying
problem.

Can you not leave the dehumidifier on all the time and let the humidistat
decide whether it needs to be switched on or off?


To be honest I've been leaving it on maximum more or less right through the
day and I'm still getting mould on clothes. The wardrobes have many
compartments and sub compartments and I don't think the dehumidifier is good
at reaching into all the nooks and crannies.

Mike

On Mon, 5 Mar 2007 13:40:50 -0000, "mikey"
wrote:

The fitted wardrobe is on an external wall, the wall is a thick stone wall.
I've read that condensation occurs when air cannot flow freely

Condensation occurs when warm moist air meets colder objects.

with the idea of installing a couple of air bricks in the wall, however as
this will also make the area colder won't this make the inside of the
wardrobe more likely to attract condensation/mould?

Yes.

I'm thinking of painting the inside of the wardrobes with anti-condensation
paint,

That won't do anything.

then lining the walls with that polystyrene on a roll, then painting
the polystyrene with the anti-condensation paint.

Your problem is the house is inadequately ventilated. The wardrobes
are trapping moist air from the house and getting cooler because of
the outside walls thus causing condensation to occur.

To raise the temperature of the wardrobe you need to line the outside
wall with something better than a mm or so of polystyrene. Ideally
use a cm or so of Cellotex (Kingspan) on the walls facing the inside
of the wardrobe. Do not insulate anything other than the outside
wall.

but does
that mean the mould won't settle on the walls but instead will settle on the
clothes making the situation worse than ever?

Condensation doesn't settle - it appears on cold objects subject to
warmer moist air. The air cools when it passes the cold object and
water condenses out onto the object.

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave on
for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes. Any advice
would be helpful as I'm pretty desperate to cure this annoying problem.

You need to improve the house ventilation or raise the house
temperature. Once you have insulated the outside wall the problem
should reduce or go away. If it doesn't using the dehumidifier will
certainly work but you will need to make sure there is adequate
airflow in the wardrobe so it can function. It may be necessary to
cut slots in shelves to allow this or shorten them by a cm to allow a
gap between the shelf and the doors to allow air to circulate.

Putting better ventilation on the wardrobe doors will also help - if
the wardrobe contents are at the same temperature as the room
condensation can't occur (or if it does will occur everywhere in the
room).

--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/

In article ,
Peter Parry writes:
To raise the temperature of the wardrobe you need to line the outside
wall with something better than a mm or so of polystyrene. Ideally
use a cm or so of Cellotex (Kingspan) on the walls facing the inside
of the wardrobe. Do not insulate anything other than the outside
wall.

In a similar situation, I've used 25mm cellotex on the inside of the
wall with plasterboard screwed through it into the wall, and skimmed,
and that's worked fine. (It would be easier to use the cellotex which
has a plasterboard finish one side, but I already had all the other
bits left over from finishing another job.) These are the backs of
old fireplaces, which were only 4" single skin brick north facing wall,
and are now used as alcoves/cupboards. An infra-red thermometer shows
them to be warmer than the surrounding 9" brick wall when it's cold
outside. You do need to ensure the room air can't circulate in any
gap between the wall and the insulation, or you'll get torrents of
condensation there.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 5 Mar, 13:40, "mikey" wrote:

I'm having a few problems with condensation in wardrobes, the condensation
is causing mould which is settling on clothes. I installed fitted wardrobes
as the problem was really bad with free standing wardrobes and even though
it's a little better the problem is still there. I know ultimately the cure
is to stop the source of condensation, but that's easier said than done.
Until I can do that can anyone offer some advice on the following ideas I
have:

The fitted wardrobe is on an external wall, the wall is a thick stone wall.
I've read that condensation occurs when air cannot flow freely so I'm toying
with the idea of installing a couple of air bricks in the wall, however as
this will also make the area colder won't this make the inside of the
wardrobe more likely to attract condensation/mould?

I'm thinking of painting the inside of the wardrobes with anti-condensation
paint, then lining the walls with that polystyrene on a roll, then painting
the polystyrene with the anti-condensation paint. This will increase the
temperature of the wall so it won't attract the condensation/mould, but does
that mean the mould won't settle on the walls but instead will settle on the
clothes making the situation worse than ever?

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave on
for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes. Any advice
would be helpful as I'm pretty desperate to cure this annoying problem.

Mike

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave
on for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes.

Your dehumidifier is faulty then. Leaving a working one on a tenth of
the time would give you bone dry clothes. They can look and sound like
theyre working, but if the refrigerant circuit is faulty, no result.

A dehumidifier is a great solution, more info:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Clothes_Dryer

You really need to sort the house damp problem though. Expertise on
this:
http://periodpropertyshop.co.uk/phpB...18275ac5 cd5d

Ps anticondensation paint is about as useful as a chocloate teapot.


NT

On 5 Mar 2007 09:51:25 -0800, wrote:


Ps anticondensation paint is about as useful as a chocloate teapot.

Rubbish - you can eat a chocolate teapot.
--
Peter Parry.
http://www.wpp.ltd.uk/

wrote:
On 5 Mar, 13:40, "mikey" wrote:

I'm having a few problems with condensation in wardrobes, the condensation
is causing mould which is settling on clothes. I installed fitted wardrobes
as the problem was really bad with free standing wardrobes and even though
it's a little better the problem is still there. I know ultimately the cure
is to stop the source of condensation, but that's easier said than done.
Until I can do that can anyone offer some advice on the following ideas I
have:

The fitted wardrobe is on an external wall, the wall is a thick stone wall.
I've read that condensation occurs when air cannot flow freely so I'm toying
with the idea of installing a couple of air bricks in the wall, however as
this will also make the area colder won't this make the inside of the
wardrobe more likely to attract condensation/mould?

I'm thinking of painting the inside of the wardrobes with anti-condensation
paint, then lining the walls with that polystyrene on a roll, then painting
the polystyrene with the anti-condensation paint. This will increase the
temperature of the wall so it won't attract the condensation/mould, but does
that mean the mould won't settle on the walls but instead will settle on the
clothes making the situation worse than ever?

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave on
for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes. Any advice
would be helpful as I'm pretty desperate to cure this annoying problem.

Mike

I actually have a dehumidifier in the bottom of the wardrobe that I leave
on for several hours a day but I'm still getting mould on clothes.

Your dehumidifier is faulty then. Leaving a working one on a tenth of
the time would give you bone dry clothes. They can look and sound like
theyre working, but if the refrigerant circuit is faulty, no result.

If it's collecting water, presumably it's working. However, with the
wardrobe door open, it'll be pulling in moist air from all over the
place. You really need to seal the area for a DH to be effective, which
isn't practical in a house you're living in.
If it's a north facing wall, insulation is probably the only long term
solution. For a cheap/quick fix the polystyrene stuff on a roll might
help. Not ideal but better than living in an unhealthy environment


A dehumidifier is a great solution, more info:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Clothes_Dryer

You really need to sort the house damp problem though. Expertise on
this:
http://periodpropertyshop.co.uk/phpB...18275ac5 cd5d

Ps anticondensation paint is about as useful as a chocloate teapot.


NT

Stuart Noble wrote:
If it's collecting water, presumably it's working. However, with the
wardrobe door open, it'll be pulling in moist air from all over the
place. You really need to seal the area for a DH to be effective, which
isn't practical in a house you're living in.

But one section of the wardrobe could be bone dry and the rest damp.
You might be better off putting it out in the room and opening all the
wardrobe doors, possibly with a couple of fans and some warmth in there
for a few days to give it a head start. Shut the rooom door and windows
tight if you do this of course.

--
Spamtrap in use
To email replace 127.0.0.1 with btinternet dot com

mikey wrote:

The fitted wardrobe is on an external wall, the wall is a thick stone wall.
I've read that condensation occurs when air cannot flow freely so I'm toying
with the idea of installing a couple of air bricks in the wall, however as
this will also make the area colder won't this make the inside of the
wardrobe more likely to attract condensation/mould?

I'm thinking of painting the inside of the wardrobes with anti-condensation
paint, then lining the walls with that polystyrene on a roll, then painting
the polystyrene with the anti-condensation paint. This will increase the
temperature of the wall so it won't attract the condensation/mould, but does
that mean the mould won't settle on the walls but instead will settle on the
clothes making the situation worse than ever?

Further to others' comments, I've had good success with lining the
outside wall with polystyrene wallpaper (2 layers is better than 1), and
improving ventilation/airflow between tne room and the wardrobe.

And use Dettox mould killer (in a spray bottle) to get rid of existing
mould.

David

On Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:32:14 GMT, Lobster
wrote:

Further to others' comments, I've had good success with lining the
outside wall with polystyrene wallpaper (2 layers is better than 1), and
improving ventilation/airflow between tne room and the wardrobe.

And use Dettox mould killer (in a spray bottle) to get rid of existing
mould.

David

That was my solution in a small bedroom and it cured it but of course any
moisture has to go somewhere and the windows do get wet on very cold nights
since I dropped the CH temperature a couple of degrees this winter.

The situation would also be improved by reducing the amount of moisture being
generated by using an extractor when cooking for example.

Andy