Black mould problems

and some ideas on how to solve black mould

Independent surveyors here to help you

1stAssociated.co.uk are independent surveyors who can provide help and advice with regard to full structural surveys, condition reports, specific defect reports and any other property matters.  We will listen to the problems you have and give you the best solution we can find bearing in mind your circumstances. We, if convenient to you, like to meet you at the property during the survey and we are more than happy to talk to you about our report following the survey.  Please free phone 0800 298 5424 to learn more.

What does black mould look like?

Black mould can be anything from patches of black areas on walls and in cupboards to black mould on clothes and on carpets.  It is probably truer to say it is more of a black/grey colour although we have heard it said to be a black/green colour as well (although we have never personally seen this).

Black mould behind curtain

Black mould

Black mould at low level

Black mould seems to becoming more of a problem

Whilst we are carrying out our building surveys we are seeing a lot more black mould than we ever used to.  We see it in older buildings and modern buildings and even relatively new buildings.  If anything, we see it more and more in modern buildings which you will understand why once you have read this article although it is not exclusive to more modern buildings.

Is black mould harmful to your health or is it just unsightly?

The jury is still out! From what we have read on black mould and lots of literature is coming from the United States of America, it seems to lead to cold-like symptoms such as a sore throat and being blocked up. It can sometimes lead to headaches and other such things as diarrhoea and cause general bad health and generally respiratory problems. We would emphasise that we are still trying to understand the problem.

Our personal experience with black mould

We have talked to people who have lived in properties with black mould when we have been carrying out our surveys who felt quite ill from black mould so yes we feel it does present a health hazard; how big a health hazard is very much dependent upon many factors such as the condition of the property, the health of the person and the extent of the problem.  Probably the true effects from it are still out with the jury.

A friendly chat on black mould

If you are experiencing black mould please phone us on 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat or you may wish to look at the articles below.

Articles on different types of dampness such as  condensation, rising damp and black mould

We have written many surveying articles on this subject which may be of interest to you:

http://www.1stassociated.co.uk/articles/condensation-mould-air-movement-in-home.asp

 http://www.1stassociated.co.uk/articles/condensation-trickle-vents.asp

http://www.1stassociated.co.uk/dampness-rising-damp-mould-black-mould-condensation.asp

http://www.1stassociated.co.uk/articles/dampness-and-black-mould.asp

Is black mould toxic mould?

We have seen the term toxic mould used in reference to black mould.  We could be cynical and say this term is used to gain headlines as the press and websites now have to work harder to gain attention and of course are forever looking to sell more advertising space in both new media and old media.  We could say this term is a misunderstanding.  Black mould in itself is a general term and goes by many other names, about 75,000 different varieties of fungi have been identified in which black mould comes in several varieties:

Aspergillus

Aspergillusfumigatus

Aspergillus and Aspergillusfumigatus

Aspergillusnige

Cladosporium

Fusarium

Penicillium

And the list goes on, which is why it is generally known as black mould or toxic mould by the media.  Without getting too technical, they then produce micro-mycotoxins which are airborne and are generally in the air we breathe which, combined with the relatively high humidity that occur in these properties, then travels with dust and human skin particles, etc to colder areas and the black mould effect occurs.

Will opening my windows get rid of black mould?

Just simply opening the windows isn’t really good enough as it does depend on the conditions in your house and the conditions outside. We think the best way forward is to first of all become aware of the relative humidity in your house as well as outside, and record this. There are lots of good relative humidity and temperature gauges available, which are fairly cheap. We think this awareness will help in you deciding when you can and can’t open the windows, as in some cases the relative humidity is higher outside and when you open the windows it won’t air the property in the same way as it does on a day when the humidity is lower outside.

Where do you find black mould?

High humidity can be found in areas such as:

• Bathrooms are probably the most common place we find black mould particularly small bathrooms and kitchens and where there is not good extraction.  Having an opening window is not necessarily a way to solve the problem of black mould.
• Spare bedrooms that are left cold or alternatively rooms that are used for drying clothes.
• Built-in cupboards in almost any room, although cupboards tend to mainly be in bedrooms.

How is black mould travelling around my house?

Black mould in our experience normally comes from humidity generating areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and rooms where you are drying washing on radiators, etc.  It also needs other factors to be in place, for example the relative humidity on a summer’s day will be very different to humidity on a winter’s day.

We can effectively cause our own micro-climate particularly during the winter or wetter and darker months, when we stay inside a lot more and keep our buildings a lot warmer and have more showers, baths, etc.

We also have the problem of not being able to dry our clothes outside as we never get a dry day to dry them. We have even seen problems where people are working from home so the house is never empty with no-one in the property. This may all seem very strange to someone who has never experienced black mould.

Does the type of property that we live in make black mould more likely?

To some extent the type of property you live in can make black mould more likely. We have surveyed various properties where whatever we have suggested or agreed with the people, the black mould just seemed to stay. We have also data-monitored properties (putting digital thermometers with relatively humidity readings).

We use lots of sketches and photos in our survey reports

If we were looking at your black mould it could be as part of a building survey when you are buying a property, or as a specific defect report when you are already living in the property.

We pride ourselves on having literally thousands of sketches that we have had produced especially for our reports to make them easier to read (as well as being unique to you) and to allow you to better understand the problems.

The feedback we have from our clients is that the sketches and photos help them understand the reports.

Independent Surveyors

If you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a building surveyor, we are happy to do valuations, building surveys, structural surveys, structural reports, engineer’s reports, specific defect reports, home buyers reports or advise on any other property matters.

Please contact us on 0800 298 5424 to have a free of charge friendly chat with one of our surveyors. 

We will email you an example survey report so you can see for yourself how great our reports are

We feel our surveys are quite unique, as they are written to your level of knowledge. The surveys include photos and sketches and definitions. The survey will also include an action required section and an estimate of costs in the executive summary. We are more than happy to meet you at the property whilst carrying out the survey to discuss any specific issues you may have or have a general chat about what we have found at the end of the survey.   Call us on 0800 298 5424 for an example survey.

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

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