Hefei Expat - China
Old Forums => Shopping and Restaurants => Living Here => Topic started by: Virginia9742 on November 28, 2011, 03:18:56 pm
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Has anyone had a problem with the humidity here? The weather here is like a jungle :( I've got some mold growing in my apartment, and wet things don't seem to dry. It's partly from the shower steam, and partly because I don't have a dryer yet, so I have to hang-dry clothes.
Thankfully I'm moving to a new apartment soon, and I will get a dryer then, but I would like to reduce the humidity...
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Is there anything I can do? The mold is pretty bad at this point, though not growing as fast as when it was warm.
I tried spraying it with concentrated alcohol, but that only slowed it down.
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Mould basically needs a food source, air and water.
The food source is the most difficult to remedy but if you eliminate one of the others, the triangle will be broken.
The easiest to remedy is standing or absorbed water. This is caused by stream, rising damp or leakage.
Steam - vent the room to create air flow, open a window, use an extractor fan, prevent the steam from condensing on cold surfaces.
Standing water - keep water from gathering in places, especially hidden corners and under objects.
Absorbed water - this is usually because surfaces are not sealed properly and water is trapped in the porous material such us grout.
Air - air circulation and temperature control will prevent mould re-growing. Humidity must be kept below 60%.
Solution
Dry mop all areas to remove excess water, use a mould remover to clean the areas to remove the food source, air the area with warm air to remove absorbed water, seal grout and surfaces, maintain air flow.
The heating lights with fans for the bathroom are excellent for controlling mould.