Black Mould – Why have I got black mould and how can I get rid of black mould

Independent surveyors here to help you

Before we start, we just want to say that we are 1stAssociated.co.uk and are independent surveyors who can provide help and advice with regard to building surveys, structural surveys, specific defect reports and we can help on practically any property matter. Just give us a call on free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Black mould problems

We are happy to offer advice where you have noted black mould if it is a property you are looking to buy, which is particularly useful to know before you buy.

We also advise that, if convenient to you, we like to meet you at the property during the survey and talk through the problems at the property. You can of course just have the report and we will speak to you after, so please feel free to phone us on free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat with one of our surveyors.

Black mould seems to becoming more of a problem

Unfortunately, whilst we are carrying out our building surveys we are seeing a lot more black mould than we ever used to see. This is for a number of reasons and we have quite a few theories on this, but theories are no good if you are suffering from black mould or if you are looking to buy a property that has black mould.

If you are experiencing black mould call us

If you are experiencing black mould, please phone us on 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat.

Black mould can be anything from patches of black areas on walls, in cupboards to black mould on clothes and on carpets.

Black mould to ceiling

Black mould to wall

Black mould is caused by a combination of issues

In our experience there is no one thing that will cause black mould. It is often a combination of issues, although one of the biggest factors we believe is building design which, in some cases you can do something about and in other cases you can’t. You also have to be aware that it could be your actions that could be causing the problems.

Blaming everyone else but yourself

We were instructed to do a Specific Defect Report which is a report explaining problems and how to resolve them. We went to see a property with a new extension which had been built to modern insulation standards, in an older property.

The area with the problems was a kitchen and we also noted a downstairs shower room, which is important to consider where shower rooms are when looking at black mould.

Humidity generating areas

The reason why we always look for humidity generating areas such as shower rooms and kitchens is that the humidity/warm air travels around the property looking for cold spots. The colder spots can often be found in the colder parts of the building, which is likely to be in the older parts of the building where there has been a new extension, and this is where the black mould occurs.

The occupiers were very proud of their new extension and didn’t think there were any problems with it and they didn’t blame their architects or their builders for the black mould as they felt they had done a good job. Unfortunately, the combination of the way the new building had been extended onto an older building and the way they were living, led to the black mould occurring.

There is a solution to black mould

In this case we were able to offer a solution.

Black mould and how others can affect you

There are some situations where the property is an apartment or a flat within a block and you are being affected by what others are doing to some extent.  We have dealt with one flat where the adjoining apartment was let out and multi-occupied with people living in each bedroom.  They were also drying their clothes in each bedroom which was creating a high humidity level and this affected both the flat below and the flat above.

Don’t be alarmist about black mould

We want it to be understood that we feel there is a lot of misunderstanding about black mould and condensation and how buildings work and how people should live to best resolve problems.

There is a whole industry waiting to make money out of you and your black mould

We also feel there is a whole industry who are looking to make money out of problems with black mould.  We have seen kits where you can take samples of the mould and get it analysed, but we do feel that in most cases it is not as important to diagnose the effect as it is to deal with the problem/cause.

Other Articles on Condensation, Rising Damp and Black Mould

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

Condensation, Mould and Air Movement in your home

http://www.1stassociated.co.uk/articles/damp-surveying.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

Landlords who own properties with black mould

Landlords and tenants are both not happy when there is black mould in their property. We have come across a few scenarios when the landlord wants to sue the tenants and where the tenants want to sue the landlords. We would say speak to us first, we feel that in most cases we can get you to come to an agreement which won’t involve any legal scenarios. We are more than happy to talk about your particular situation, please call us on 0800 298 5424 to discuss. We have been successful in identifying the cause of black mould for both landlords and tenants.

What makes our Reports so good – we use sketches and photos to explain things

As you can see from this article we have used photos and we have also used a few sketches. We have many more that we can use to help explain things so that you understand what is going on.

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.