Mould in the apartment (Canberra)

[vit]

Hi all,

I live in Canberra and we've bought an apartment in Watson (Starlight complex) on the ground floor at the corner of the 2 story building about a year ago. When we were inspecting it I could smell the mould but it was painted over so just decide to deal with it later. Then we had an issue with previos tenants related to the extensive moisture and mould. Now we have the same issue with the new tenant. So it doen's look like it is a "tenant related issue". Especially becase in the body corp records I found complaints from other tenants living in the place as well.

We tried to increase the ventilation by setting up windows locks to allow partially open windows and fresh air intake but it doesn't help. The mould comes not from the bathroom as you would expect but instead it is built up in bedrooms, closets, dining and lounge rooms. (As I read the forum it migth be explained that bathrooms have fans but other areas don't).

I had a gut feeling that it can be a rising damp. So I raised it with the body corp and made them to bring the structural engineer. I participated in his inspection. However he rejected the idea of the rising damp saying that there is a big underground parking underneath (under the whole building) and the ventilation is very good over there.

But if this is not the rising damp then what it could be?

I'm looking for any advice or any contacts of people which I can talk to and bring them to the building to inspect the issue and happy to pay for the job. I guess I need to look for the structural engineer especially for someone who can not just reject the rising damp idea but instead can figure out what is going on and how to fix it. Any help will be very appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Vit

P.S. I've searched and read the forum re: mould and damp - so now I'm looking for references of professionals to inspect and fix.

 

[mattysavager]

Hi There.

Does the apartment get any sunlight? What about breezes? Do you have a tumble dryer that blows damp around the unit?

The best breeding ground for mould is a darkish area without fresh air blowing through it.

We had a ground floor apartment that had trees all around it, making the air feel damp and still. It got no sunlight due to the large trees. We ended up convincing the owner to trim back some trees to allow the sunlight to hit the unit (they weren't too happy). We also had them install good security on the bedroom windows so they could be left open when the tenants were home.

It fixed the problem. It doesn't sound like rising damp if you have parking below the unit.

Matt

 

[vit]

Hi There.

Does the apartment get any sunlight? What about breezes? Do you have a tumble dryer that blows damp around the unit?

The best breeding ground for mould is a darkish area without fresh air blowing through it.

We had a ground floor apartment that had trees all around it, making the air feel damp and still. It got no sunlight due to the large trees. We ended up convincing the owner to trim back some trees to allow the sunlight to hit the unit (they weren't too happy). We also had them install good security on the bedroom windows so they could be left open when the tenants were home.

It fixed the problem. It doesn't sound like rising damp if you have parking below the unit.

Matt

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the response.

I think the unit has a "limited" sunlight during the day. I certainly can pay attention to the factor and maybe to trim some trees.

The unit has two bathrooms and one has a wash and dry unit. The dry unit is the cheapest one and DOES produce a lot of moisture into the air when it works. However if the ventilation is Ok then with the closed bathroom door it should take care about it (but I don't know if this is the case in reality).

Currenlty I'm thinking probably about purchasing a dehumidifier - buy, install and keep it going for a month - to see whether it will resolve the issue.

We did install window locks to allow keeping them in half open stage. But I think some people (including our tenants) are reluctant to keep the open all the time. So I can't really push them to do that - I can only recommend politely.

 

[Scott No Mates]

I would probably be looking at hiring a dehumidifier first rather than paying the $1,500 up front. Maybe do a deal with the supplier that the rental cost comes off the purchase price if you go ahead?

As for the dryer, see if you can get some flexible ducting installed with an in-line fan and blow the moist air either outside or into the building's exhaust system.

 

[Spencer]

Hi all,

I live in Canberra and we've bought an apartment in Watson (Starlight complex) on the ground floor at the corner of the 2 story building about a year ago. When we were inspecting it I could smell the mould but it was painted over so just decide to deal with it later. Then we had an issue with previos tenants related to the extensive moisture and mould. Now we have the same issue with the new tenant. So it doen's look like it is a "tenant related issue". Especially becase in the body corp records I found complaints from other tenants living in the place as well.

We tried to increase the ventilation by setting up windows locks to allow partially open windows and fresh air intake but it doesn't help. The mould comes not from the bathroom as you would expect but instead it is built up in bedrooms, closets, dining and lounge rooms. (As I read the forum it migth be explained that bathrooms have fans but other areas don't).

I had a gut feeling that it can be a rising damp. So I raised it with the body corp and made them to bring the structural engineer. I participated in his inspection. However he rejected the idea of the rising damp saying that there is a big underground parking underneath (under the whole building) and the ventilation is very good over there.

But if this is not the rising damp then what it could be?

I'm looking for any advice or any contacts of people which I can talk to and bring them to the building to inspect the issue and happy to pay for the job. I guess I need to look for the structural engineer especially for someone who can not just reject the rising damp idea but instead can figure out what is going on and how to fix it. Any help will be very appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Vit

P.S. I've searched and read the forum re: mould and damp - so now I'm looking for references of professionals to inspect and fix.

Hi Vit,

We have also recently purchased an investment property in the Starlight complex in Watson. Our apartment is on the ground floor and is demonstrating a similar problem with excessive moisture and mould.

Have you been able to figure out what the issue might be?

We also have advised our tenants to increase ventilation and have installed a dehumidifier in an attempt to correct the extensive amount of moisture. The body corporate has recently organised an inspection of a few apartments who have reported the same problem.

Any information you could help us with in this very difficult situation would be much appreciated.

Spencer