Could do, but then relatives will sue you cos you did not try to get rid of the mould.
mould takes a long time to kill people and it is not nice and by that time you would of been sued lost everything and still have mould.
steve

MHRV is a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system. It sucks warm moist air out of the house and warms the incoming colder dry air. . . . . . . OR. . . .depending on who you talk to. It sucks cool (dry) air from outside and forces it into the house, which then pushes all the moist warm air out - but on the way out it warms the incoming air.

"but I bet you are not in gb", Where's GB?? You mean great Britain? I surely am!

Posted By: luditethey STILL wanted to knock a hole in our render to put in an extractor fan

Have I missed something? What's actually the problem with installing an extractor fan in the bathroom? Is there something special about the render?

Alternatively, since these guys are actively asking for an extraction system, they probably would use the MHRV if you decided to splash out (ask them?). This would also solve the Q of where infiltrating air is to come from, which could be a prob with a simple extractor.

Come to that, general airtightness might also explain why opening only one window is not as effective as they seem to expect...

Why on earth would anyone dry clothes indoors? Is there no outside with this property? OK for a few items ocaisionally, but not as a standard procedure - that's an awful lot of water.

The problem with extractor fans is not the electricity used to power them, it's the fuel used to heat they air they shift outside (and the racket). I really can't bring myself to use extractor fans except in dire cases (burnt cooking). MHRV, on the other hand, does seem like a good idea.

Ludite - if you did go for the idea of putting a warmer covering on the offending wall then sempatap is often touted as a good solution for mouldy walls syndrome. Other sorts of insulation are cheaper but it is very quick and non-disruptive to fit (goes on like thick wallpaper).

Peter, Solarventi looks very interesting. Would be keen to see others' comments on such devices...any grants available for them?

Wookey, I think you'll find that it is rather more common than you think. Here in York (and Leeds) there's been a rash of flats, bought off plan, and then rented to young mobiles and professionals, who have no outdoor space and frankly do dry stuff on rads. almost certainly not knowing otherwise...as fuel prices continue to rise, alternative solutions need to be explored...education one of them.

solarventi looks a very good product, as i am in the mould eradication and thermal insulation business i am going to follow it through cos the pricing looks fairly reasonable to me and it could be an added bonus to my work.
let alone my house, which seems to be very cold most of the time due to its design, but since fitting sempatap to the outside areas and to the inside walls of the integral garage we have noticed a significant change to the temperature indoors, so now we are saving as we no longer require the heating as high and also we have noticed that the heating stays off for longer, if the solarventi works as well we can have a dry air which is far better for us.
i will keep you posted, and hopefully some of you can keep me posted if you find out anything about the system.

JackyR.

The semi bungalow has one south facing wall, but it is the COLDEST in the whole place. This is because it's around 2 ft from the boundary of the property and has an 8 ft fence on it. Even if we took down the fence, the neighbours have erected a large shed against it. . . . . . .

I think I mentioned earlier on this thread that last year I got an independant expert round to assess the problem. He tested everything for damp and proclaimed that the condensation was caused by lack of ventilation - no other reason.

That was when the tennants wanted to put the hole through our newly applied render and put an extractor fan in the bathroom.

To make things CRYSTAL CLEAR for all parties, I asked the independant expert if this was necessary. ie. were there not enough windows/openings on the property already.

The expert said that an extractor was not needed because it is the same as opening a window/or having trickle vents. . . . . .

If these particular tennants opened their windows, used the extractor fan over the cooker, turned on the heating a little longer, ran the dehumidifier - which we provided them with. . . . . . . . . If they did ANY of these things at all, then I would be inclined to instal trickle vents, extractors, MHRV or all three.

Unfortunately, they DO NOT. I know this because my in-laws inhabit the other side of the bungalow and they know EXACTLY how this couple chooses to live. Incidentially, when I have asked the tennants outright if they use the dehumidifier they say they 'can't afford to run it'. . . . . . .. . When I told them (over the phone) to open the windows, she said she didn't want to "Heat the whole street", and then burst into tears.

BTW. I contacted the boiler people and let them contact the tennants and arrange a mutually convenient time for the visit. They have picked the 18th Dec. . . . . . . IMO Cutting it a bit tight right before xmas, but they can hardly complain that I didn't act to resolve their problems as soon as I was notified.

The thing is you don't generally need much ventilation to cure condensation. The problem with telling them to open windows is the house it makes the house cold when they are in (or do you expect them to leave the windows open when they go out?). The lower level (but continuous 24/7) ventilation provided by trickle vents doesn't do that to the same degree. Point out that the building regs require a certain level of ventilation. Fit the exctractor fan and trickle vents.

In answer to the questions. The boiler was serviced over the summer and the tennants were given the proper certificates. I'm having it done again, by this other firm, because it's only an extra £10 in the with service costs and so I thought I may as well get a second one done.

There is loads of space outside for them to dry clothes - I passed there yesterday and they have 5 vehicles parked on their drive, with the lawned area - about the size of a tennis court still available to dry stuff outside.

To be frank, I know that leaving windows open when they are in, would cool the house, so I don't see anything wrong with leaving windows open - on the SECURITY SETTING - when they are out. It's certainly what i would do if I was living in such conditions.

The problem seems to be this: If windows are there, and can be opened - but remain closed. Why should I go to the bother of installing trickle vents and electric extractors? The type of people who won't open windows are, to my mind, EXACTLY the same type of people who would block up vents - because of the draughts - and not turn on the extractors, because they "can't afford to run them' (which is why they won't use the dehumidifier).

Hence my rational for waiting to see if they want to move out - eventually - and doing these improvements for future tenants. I also intend to have a clause in the lease about condensation and ventilation. . . . . .

Thanks for the advice shepherd. We haven't got an 'agent', exactly. We got one, who found us the tenants, and then manage the property ourselves. We used the agent to find us the 'impartial expert', because they were the firm that we, and the tenants knew to be impartial.

They are our first tenants, but before they moved in, we lived in the property ourselves. There were 4 of us, and a parrot and a cat.

As I have said on other posts. We all lead very different life styles - just like you mention in your post. We didn't have a problem with condensation or mould in the property - they do. . . . . . . . .

Good point joe.e. I'll give it some thought.

Just to keep you up to date.

Got an expert round and they installed trickle vents in EVERY window in the bungalow today- it was the guy who installed the windows in the first place.

When I'd phoned him to ask if he'd do this, he did say that trickle vents sort of cancel out double glazing, because they stop the unit being airtight and they allow noise to get in. - but that he'd put them in if that's what I wanted.

The lodgers phoned tonight to thank me. They said that while the guy was putting in the windows he'd given them LOTS OF GOOD ADVICE. . . . . . . ."really?" I asked. "What did he say?"

"he said that the air in the building may need to be changed with the air OUTSIDE the building". . . . . . ."he said that opening the windows for 5 minutes a day, every day, might help". . . . . . . . .

I asked my lodgers to give me a call in a month or so's time and let me know how they are getting on. . . . . . . . .

I think that the lack of heating is also a big issue here if the issue is only against one particularly cold dark wall.

Cold surface + damp air = Condensation

Ventilation takes care of one but a radiator against the offending wall or EWI to this wall would take care of the other.

J

PS Note on killing tenants by bad housing conditions - this is not possible, certain types of tenant simply thrive on poor internal environment, one particular room in the flat I let and am now living in still has a certain odor after literally days of wall bleaching, repainting, carpet cleaning curtain replacing, buying shares in Fabreeze....

Be very careful of antagonising the tenants, even though you might understandably wish to replace them.
Friends of ours had exactly your problems, and the tenants out of spite complained to the council and said the house was not fit to live in.
The council inspector supported them, and the owners were served with an Unfit for Habitation notice. Having finally got rid of the tenants they then had to engage more consultants to provide evidence to appeal against the order. If they had lost the council were prepared to demolish the property.