Condensation Mould in Hull

Why older Hull homes get it

More than half of Hull's homes are terraced, and many were built before 1919 with solid brick walls. The council's own warmth strategy says those homes are harder to heat and harder to insulate. A cold inside wall surface meets warm, moist air from cooking, showers and drying washing, and the moisture condenses on it. Keep that up for a few weeks and mould grows.

How to tell it's condensation

• It appears in winter and fades in summer.
• It's worst on outside walls, in corners, around windows and behind furniture.
• Windows stream with water in the mornings.
• There's no tide mark rising from the floor and no patch that grows after rain.

If the pattern doesn't fit, it may be a leak or damp coming in from outside, and a mould inspection will tell them apart.

What helps

1. Keep the house at a steady low heat rather than blasting it on and off.
2. Use extractor fans when cooking and showering, and keep the kitchen and bathroom doors shut.
3. Dry washing outside, or in one room with the window open or a dehumidifier running.
4. Leave a gap between furniture and outside walls.
5. Open trickle vents, and open windows briefly each day.

What we do

We remove the existing mould safely, including any plaster or board it has got into, then check with readings that the wall behind isn't wet from something else. We'll also tell you honestly what will stop it coming back. Sometimes that's better ventilation or heating, not more cleaning.

Renting?

Damp and mould in rented homes has to be taken seriously by landlords, and social landlords have legal time limits under Awaab's Law. Report it in writing with photos. See tenants and landlords.

If the mould followed a leak, our water damage cost estimator prices the drying and repairs as well as the mould removal.