Welcome to Mildew .org.uk

Nobody like`s to have mildew or mold in their home or work place, mildew is another word for mold. The perfect conditions for mold or mildew is normally a damp area or where there is a problem with moisture holdings are high. A normal place to start to see mildew would be in the bathroom, perhaps in the shower on the walls near the windowsills or anywhere where the damp will hold for a while. Mildew will start to grow and flourish wherever it stays damp or it is cold and has very little circulation, if you don`t have good ventilation in your attic, this can attract a condensation on your felt which will either find its way to the floor or to the timber beams which support your roof. If you have a vent in your bathroom please use it after you have showered or bathed or the condensation from your walls or window will start the mildew process and you will start to see signs of black mold everywhere. Please try the companies listed if you cant stop the mold and see If they can help you solve your problems.

Removing Mildew or Mold stain

When attempting to remove a mold or mildew stain from anything you need to start straight away, If you have a damp patch on you carpet or even a mattress the best way to sort these out is by getting the sunlight or heat to them as soon as possible, this will not only start to dry everything out it, but the heat and light will start to kill of the fungus and take any smell away. once whatever you are drying is dry take it outside and brush of the dry mildew remaining on the surface, this should rub off lust dust, please do this outside as it might still have harmful spores that could fly into the air and around your home.

DAMP

Damp damages most structural materials and all forms of decoration. It may result in an unhealthy atmosphere and make a home feel cold and cheerless. Regular maintenance can generally prevent it.

There are three main causes, Structural faults, leaks and condensation.

Structural faults

These may occur in the walls, floors, roof, chimney stacks and both door and window frames.

Faulty DPC

The damp-proof course – generally called DPC – is an impervious layer set horizontally in the house walls at least 6 inches above the soil level – most evident during wet weather. Even if the DPC is sound. It may be bridged by water splashing above it. Make sure that heaped soil, rock gardens and stored building

Materials are not allowed too close to it and that paths are not built too high against house walls.

Gaps around the windows and doors

Timber shrinks when it becomes dry and gaps may appear between frames and masonry. Seal with a flexible mastic compound.

Internal damp patches under a window may be due to a fault on the ledge outside. There should be a lip or groove on the underside to ensure that rain drips off it. If this is damaged or filled with paint rainwater may seep into the wall.

Missing or damaged slates and tiles

Displaced or damaged slates and tiles, and damaged felt or flat roofs, can allow water to enter a roof causing stains on the ceiling.

The best time to find faults is during heavy rain, when water can be traced back to their source. Sometimes the water will travel for a distance along roof rafters, and the damp patches may appear some way from the point of entry. Replace missing or damaged slates and tiles. Repair minor felt damage with bituminous mastic, but replace the felt completely if it becomes brittle and cracks.

Damage to Chimneys

This generally shows as damp areas on chimney breasts in bedrooms, which may stain the wall paper or cause mold. The trouble stems from porous brickwork, damaged or missing pointing, damaged flashing's or damaged flaunching. Seal porous brickwork with silicone water repellent. Replace damaged pointing and cap the flue if it is not in use. You don`t want to see the start of mildew or mold.

Damaged flashing

The seal between roof and stack – is a common cause of damp. If the fault is only a small crack or gap, seal with bituminous mastic. More extensive damage can be repaired with a pliable sheeting which can be softened with heat.

Damp may sometimes be caused by cracked flaunching – mortar bedding in which chimney pots are set. Replace with a 3 to 1 mix of sand and cement. Fill minor cracks with mastic or cover the flaunching with a fresh layer of mortar.

Condensation

This is seen in the first place as fine water droplets on cold surfaces, such as window panes and outside walls. In severe cases it may also affect clothing in wardrobes, carpets and other soft furnishings, leading to mould growth and musty smell.

Condensation on floor coverings is sometimes mistaken for rising damp, and the wrong remedy applied. An almost infallible pointer to condensation is when an external wall becomes damp during cold, dry weather.

Condensation occurs when warm air, holding moisture, comes into contact with a cold surface. He warm air in a bathroom for instance, may be charged with vapour which becomes visible only when it touches a cold surface, such as a window. Here, the excess moisture is on the window pane as tiny droplets.

When a house is double-glazed excess water is more likely to be shed on cold wall surfaces.

There are four ways to prevent condensation: 1. Get rid of moist air by fitting an extractor fan or static ventilator.

2. Increase the room temperature, if necessary warming a particularly cold wall with an electric tubular heater. Do not use paraffin or flue less gas heater.

3. Fit double-glazing to windows. Improve the insulation of cold walls by covering with expanded-polystyrene veneer before wall papering.

4. Avoid creating water vapour by leaving kettles on the boil, or water in bowls.

How to get rid of Mildew

Getting rid of Mildew can be quite easy, you need to stop where the cold and damp is coming in or settling before you can get rid of Mildew, when everything is dry you can firstly clean the Infected area with a good domestos then once dried paint or brush the dried up mildew away, avoiding spreading the pores everywhere, if possible don't Inhale.

Damp floors

Solid floors, particularly those in basements may become damp if they do not contain a waterproof membrane. This is often the case in older houses. For a permanent cure, especially where damp is severe, cover the floor with heavy-grade polythene sheeting or two coats of bitumen-latex waterproofer. Cover this with a 2 in layer of fine concrete.

Where the trouble is less severe, or if there is no room for extra depth of concrete, seal the floor with a damp resisting liquid, such as Stroma, or with a bitumen-latex waterproofer.

Porous walls

Porous brickwork, damaged or porous pointing between bricks or badly damaged rendering may allow water to penetrate a wall at any height.

A cavity wall offers some defence, but if the metal ties that link the two walls are bridged (perhaps by pieces of brick, brick dust or lumps or mortar), damp will pass across the gap to the inner wall. The damp shows as dark patches, blistered paint or wrinkled and peeling wallpaper.

Treat porous brickwork externally with a silicone water repellent to prevent rain from penetrating but allowing moisture to escape.

Replace damaged pointing. Fill cracks in the rendering and cover the wall exterior masonry paint.

Leaks

Check gutters and down pipes annually, making sure that the joints between lengths of guttering are watertight and brackets tightly fixed.

Check metal water-storage tanks annually. Corrosion can be prevented, but not cured, by coating the inside with a bituminous paint. Similarly, check joints in water pipes and central-heating pipes for signs of weeping. Look under carpets and vinyl sheeting to make sure there is no hidden damp.

Basement Walls

The walls of cellars and basements often show signs of damp and Mildew. Treat a small wet area with a damp-resisting liquid, such as Stroma, but if the damp spreads fit a damp-resistant wall surface of pitch impregnated sheeting.

Remove any damp plaster back to the brickwork and fasten the sheeting with masonry nails or galvanized nails.