What's the "dog's" for dealing with black mould.

I wonder why people pay premium prices for antifungal paints when they can just add antifungal compounds to whatever paint they wish.

The cheapest is crushed aspirin tablets. Copper compounds are antifungal, and a longer lasting choice if something of low solubility is picked.

NT

Copper compounds are blue. My ceiling is white! :-)

What do you do? Just stir in some copper sulphate?

Markus

solubility

Brilliant white is mildly blue tinted white rather than pure white, but the amount of copper needed is low enough not to be noticeable. Copper compounds come in blue, reddish, black, etc.

I'd use a less water soluble copper compund myself. Last time I did this I used aspirin, but lower solubility is better, lasts much longer. I worked out how many I'd need to get the concentration required to be effective, powdered them, and mixed in.

If I were doing it today I'd probably just add copper filings, easier and longer lasting.

NT

Polystyrene ceiling tiles?

Look at anti-fungal treatmnts containing quaternary ammonium compounds. They are available (sorry, don't know a brand) as sprays or solutions to kill existing mould growth

Malcolm

insulate the ceiling. I would have thought it far more preferable to eliminate the condensation than to attacked the problem chemically. If nothing else the insualation will last for ever while anytning 'anti-' will deteriorate with time.

Having said that - is the aspirin thing true or are you pulling the collective leg ?

Rob

Rob

OK I could afford to loose a cm or two (but not much more) from the room height and use celotex or similar. But it would likely need to be skimmed over (under really?) to look OK.

Polystyrene tiles are just too naff even for a middle market 1 bed flat.

Could try polystyrene 'lining paper' but that's only a few mm thick and might not work well enough.

"Ed Sirett" wrote | Polystyrene tiles are just too naff | even for a middle market 1 bed flat.

And I think unacceptable on fire safety grounds.

The problem really is not condensation per se, but condensation wetting a surface and providing the conditions for mould to grow. If you can replace the surface with something which sheds condensation, mould will be a lot less likely to grow. Tiles would work, or the tile or marble style plastic laminates used in commercial kitchens or bathrooms. The condensation should simply run off harmlessly, and if some mould does grow then the surface is wipe-clean with bleach.

Owain

I've used it on a cold wall in a bathroom and it worked quite well(in that it moved the condensation elsewhere until proper ventilation was sorted out). Even where water does condense on it it seems to evaporate somewhat faster so minimising the opportunity of mould developing.

I can see no problem with them on a solid concrete bathroom ceiling. By the time they ignited anyone in the flat would long ago have ceased worrying about it.

Suspended polystyrene ceilings are a different kettle of fish.

I think I'll basically clean off the existing with bleach. Add an extractor fan. Which will mean a Part-P building notice . And paint with an anti-mould paint.

The tenants before the last lot did not have a problem so the users also have a big part to play in the matters.

Flat is in a block with communal (unvented) HW the shower is truly superb off a 'contract' grade manual mixer. This probably encourages luxuriating under the warm fire hose...

"Ed Sirett" wrote | Add an extractor fan. Which will mean a Part-P building notice .

But you've got a receipt for an extractor fan you bought last year - proof you started the job before 31st Dec.

Owain

'anti-'

copper lasts many decades - water soluble aspirin wont though.

Sure, aspirin turns into salicylic acid, which kills fungi. I was about to put brush to wall one time and I thought, hold on, it would only take a few mins to put something antifungal in here, and thats what I had to hand. It worked. Safe, effective, very easy, dead cheap, but probably not long lasting.

NT

I always keep 4" bathroom timer fans in stock - it'll be old stock.

IME a 'fungicidal wash' such as the Dulux one here