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Mould in an air tight house


Triassic

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Since we moved into our air tight cabin we’ve noticed a slight Mould problem around the places we remain stationary for long periods, behind the headboard and above the Work from home desk (the wife sits here for the best part of nine hours per day).

 

Any thoughts on what’s going on and the cure?

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28 minutes ago, Triassic said:

Since we moved into our air tight cabin we’ve noticed a slight Mould problem around the places we remain stationary for long periods, behind the headboard and above the Work from home desk (the wife sits here for the best part of nine hours per day).

 

Any thoughts on what’s going on and the cure?

More info please ! 

PiV / Trickle vents / MVHR ?

 

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Insulation level? I am guessing not good as you need a cold surface for moisture to condense and start mould.

 

Having been in the caravan for over a year and through a cold winter, I can assure you you need a LOT of ventilation to keep condensation at bay.  A blast of the dehumidifier from time to time helps dry things out.

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I'd say it's still drying out and not near enough ventilation. It's so small and you are both producing a lot of moisture breathing, cooking, showering, etc. Are you planning MVHR or DCV?

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A lot of tiny homes have the same issue. I recall that they recommend purging the air by opening all the windows daily. There's an article here worth looking at:

https://tinyhousebuild.com/how-to-save-your-tiny-house-from-mold-and-moisture-issues/

 

Some type of active ventilation will most likely be necessary.....there's one mentioned in treehugger:

https://www.treehugger.com/tiny-houses/leaf-3-tiny-house-designed-seriously-cold-climates.html

http://www.lunos.de/en/product/e_with_heat_recovery/

Less ducts but any active system would help.....you need to move air through the property if possible.....

 

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You can get through-wall extractor fans that have some heat recovery. They aren't very efficient compared to proper ducted MVHR units, but still better than constantly opening windows to get fresh air in.

 

Edited to add: Missed the previous post - the Lunos unit above is what I was talking about.

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Yes our last house which we rent out has the same mold problem, double glazing was installed before we bought it but with no trickle vents!!!. I told them they needed to open windows daily but they don’t appear too.

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Do a search for "DIY MVHR".

 

Someone posted a link to this: http://handmadematt.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/heat-recovery-ventilation-heat.html

 

Note that this is a crossflow unit, rather than the counterflow approach which is used in commercial units. Crossflow is easier to make, but has a hard limit on effeciency of (from memory) 75%. Real-world will be a lot lower.

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