Possible cause of damp?

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Potato55

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Hello,

Might anyone have any thoughts on what’s going on inside this built in cupboard and how to deal with it?

The mouldy paint has peeled away revealing a 4cm deep drilled hole near the centre of the mould, screws drilled in that are rusty, and gouges in the plaster that are filled with mould.

This is the outside corner of the house that bears the brunt of the weather. It’s a very old house, perhaps a couple of hundred years old. The cupboard door is left open, with dehumidifier tubs that fill up regularly, and with a dehumidifier running constantly in the landing. Heating is on permanently but this is always going to be a cold spot as it’s the furthest away from the single radiator which is on the opposite wall. We just can’t beat the mould, and have tried mould killer on top of the paint but it just comes back. The metal clothes rail is also very rusty.

Would you suggest I peel off the mouldy paint (it comes off by hand), to reveal bare plaster, treat the plaster with mould killer, polyfiller the holes and gouges, and repaint with mould proof paint??

Any thoughts, opinions and advice very much appreciated - we’re in a rented house and having a bit of a losing battle with mould.

Pictures below.

thanks in advance.

0B91073A-3F62-4E73-8A85-ED697A3CB2B0.jpeg


these mould patches are all in gouges in the plaster
43F4C320-678D-474D-AC87-E2FD30E70B97.jpeg 5CB56AF9-68E3-4BD1-B6AF-325E4B243E85.jpeg

Rusty clothes rail:
5956A98C-F1FA-43C8-A93C-79770E0D72D1.jpeg A7075D64-B64A-47BC-92DF-24B326B05DE6.jpeg C0B30395-9875-44FD-8039-3143F8F30BBB.jpeg

This is the outside
of the cupboard:
CE244E57-3427-4936-94FD-22BB7FF8CD99.jpeg
 

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old old house, uninsulated with possible issues. It will get cold, condensation/damp etc. you will not solve it with your polyfilla and mould killer, although it may make you feel better for a week or 2.
 
This is the outside
of the cupboard:
56604-e185192ca456892e81f2c09bf564f7aa.jpg

My first instinct is that it's probably being caused by condensation (warm humid interior atmosphere meeting a cold wall).

That aside... it's a bit difficult to make out from your picture, but is that garden terrace wall actually in contact with your problem house wall?
 
No there’s about a 1.5 m gap between the garden wall.
I have to keep on top of it as renting, perhaps I’ll skip the paint stripping and polyfilla and just scrub off billy connelly, mould killer and mould proof paint and hope it last longer than a week this time.
 
Hello,

Might anyone have any thoughts on what’s going on inside this built in cupboard and how to deal with it?

The mouldy paint has peeled away revealing a 4cm deep drilled hole near the centre of the mould, screws drilled in that are rusty, and gouges in the plaster that are filled with mould.

This is the outside corner of the house that bears the brunt of the weather. It’s a very old house, perhaps a couple of hundred years old. The cupboard door is left open, with dehumidifier tubs that fill up regularly, and with a dehumidifier running constantly in the landing. Heating is on permanently but this is always going to be a cold spot as it’s the furthest away from the single radiator which is on the opposite wall. We just can’t beat the mould, and have tried mould killer on top of the paint but it just comes back. The metal clothes rail is also very rusty.

Would you suggest I peel off the mouldy paint (it comes off by hand), to reveal bare plaster, treat the plaster with mould killer, polyfiller the holes and gouges, and repaint with mould proof paint??

Any thoughts, opinions and advice very much appreciated - we’re in a rented house and having a bit of a losing battle with mould.

Pictures below.

thanks in advance.

View attachment 58851

these mould patches are all in gouges in the plaster
View attachment 58852View attachment 58854

Rusty clothes rail:
View attachment 58855View attachment 58856View attachment 58857

This is the outside
of the cupboard:
View attachment 58858
Yes! I know exactly what it is
 
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