Bathroom condensation help

[Ryanb26]

Hi i have just been my grandad that lives on the ground floor of an old veterans apartment.
He is having problems in his bathroom with dampness and condensation. Black mould was appearing in his bathroom from it, so he got people round to sort it. There is a 5w extractor fan in there. No windows. He has been told to turn the radiator off in there as this may be causing it. ( i would have thought the opposite?) also keep the bathroom door open. there doesn't appear to be any leaking pipes. The de-humidifier was put in there for 3 days before they started work. He says it collect 20L. It has been sorted now but the problem is starting again with condensation appearing on things. Any ideas what might be causing this/ how to prevent it ?


I do have a picture of it but it wont let me upload it.

 

[brum]

check extractor is working correctly ie sucking not blowing incorrectly wired extractors can cause motors to run in reverse blow smoke towards fan and see what happens also check that fan ducting is clear keep rad on condensation can be expected on cold pipes also on cistern to a certain degree..brum

 

[Millsy 82]

As above check extractor fan.If there is no windows and the doors are shut then the fan will just be sucking against nothing. So look at putting vents through door to allow for the fan to pull something through.

 

[townfanjon]

Don't know where to start with this one, the main prob you have got is the mould has already started, it's like rust , once it's started it's too late LOL. After you have checked the fan, defo put the radiator on , yes leave the door open too, don't dry towels in there, the only other problem you may be getting is damp , down to it been on a ground floor, is there any signs of damp in the flat ? is there any other damp in any of the other flats ?. The biggest problem is knowing if the problem is damp or condensation , I know they sound the same but they are not. The older the flat the more chance it's damp as well.

 

[Centralheatking]

Leave the radiator on and leave door open. Letting air circulate is part of the battle
so closing the door will not help. Its also worth checking that NO bottled gas heaters
are being used as they produce massive amounts of moisture as well as being dangerous.
CHK

 

[stevetheplumber]

i would also change the fan for one with an humidistat and wire it permenantly on via the stat its made a huge difference to my sons flat which had similar problems

 

[woodytheplumber]

if there is a 4 inch fan chances are its massively undersized the minimum we put in is 6 so as steve said replace wit a 6inch fan wit humidstat

 

[kris]

I would be inclined to purchase a new fan, new fans these days will tell you the volume of air that they can move measured in m3 per hour air flow, me id go for biggest and best ,
Condensation is usually caused by poor air circulation when the humid heat builds up then hits the cold but with a stronger fan youl reduce the amount caused, you could take the old one apart and clean the propellers ( take care when touching anything thats electrical )

 

[kris]

Heres a peacher but not cheap,
Airflow iCON30 Extractor Fan iCON 30 - Fastlec.co.uk

 

[Ryanb26]

Thanks for all your help and to townsfanjon i think its damp as well as condensation

 

[townfanjon]

Ryan, if there's damp as well, you are fighting a loosing battle pal, this won't help your granddads health . Sorry

 

[Millsy 82]

If it's damp start looking for leaks, blocked gutters, broken drain pipes/down pipes etc