When to deal with mouldy damp patch?

Waggledance · Post by **Waggledance** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 12:55 pm

We've had a damp patch on the inside of the outside wall in the dining room of our Victorian house for a little while and it's now getting quite mouldy. It's likely being caused by old leaky gutters and splash back outside the wall - we're in the process of having our gutters replaced to stop this happening. In the meantime we're concerned about the mould and the patch, especially as we have a 2 year old and the room is in constant use.

Do we need to wait for the gutters to be fixed and for the wall to dry out before we tackle it? Or can we just redecorate it now? If we can redecorate now what should we do? Or is it a question of an interim clean up and waiting for the patch to dry before we properly deal with it?

Does anyone have any recommendations on what we can do? We're low on budget having already have to pay for gutter repairs so we're looking to do it ourselves. I just don't feel we can leave it any longer, we're upset about the potential health impact for our 2 year old.

If anyone on here can help we'd be really grateful, thanks.

Waggledance · Post by **Waggledance** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 1:16 pm

See photo ...

Someone-Else · Post by **Someone-Else** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 1:17 pm

If you are on a tight budget, then save your money. If you redecorate now it would be like trying to paint a conveyor belt. (Ok, maybe not that silly) You will have to wait until the wall is dry, which means waiting till the guttering is done.
Nothing to stop you wiping the wall with a water/bleach solution if you have anything growing on the wall, but apart from that leave it.
You could also help if you leave a window open ajar, to help with airflow. IF you get a sunny day (I can hope can't I?) open the window wider.

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:48 pm

As S-E said, wipe the affected area with a 50/50 bleach/water mix. leave for an hour. Rinse thorougly, wear marigold gloves and eye protection.

Once evrything has dried out fully re-treat with either HG mould spray or a bleach solution, redecorate with with Zinsser perma-white (tintable) or another mould resistant emulsion.