Damp - built in wardrobe

Hello everyone - id really appreciate some advice.

I have some built in mdf wardrobes, they’re built on the inside of an external wall. We’d turned the heating down this winter due to the cost and think damp has started because of that. Basically the insides of the wardrobes have got wet and mouldy, and even though we’ve turned the heating back on and wiped off the mould, it keeps coming back. Unlike the rest of the wardrobes, the back panel is very thin - would putting a thicker panel on the back stop the damp, or is this covering up the problem? Or are there any other ways of stopping the mould? Thank you
 
Generally you need to improve the airflow. That normally stops it. Anywhere you can add vents without them being too obvious?

Also make sure you don’t have stuff stacked against the wall in question.

I assume you don’t mean properly ‘wet’. That would point to a different issue such as guttering problems on your property.
 
I would suggest - as a first measure - install wardrobe air vents ...as the damp is probably caused by condensation - very common when warm air can't circulate freely around your walls - so condenses in your wardrobe - where the air is colder. You can buy neat ones to install will a hole saw. Search for 'wardrobe vents' on Amazon (other retailers available!)
 
Generally you need to improve the airflow. That normally stops it. Anywhere you can add vents without them being too obvious?

Also make sure you don’t have stuff stacked against the wall in question.

I assume you don’t mean properly ‘wet’. That would point to a different issue such as guttering problems on your property.


Generally you need to improve the airflow. That normally stops it. Anywhere you can add vents without them being too obvious?

Also make sure you don’t have stuff stacked against the wall in question.

I assume you don’t mean properly ‘wet’. That would point to a different issue such as guttering problems on your property.


To be honest it is wet to touch, or damp I should say. But the gutters are clear and not overflowing.

do you mean air vents into the room, or drill through the external wall and have air vents on the actual back wall?
 
OP, you dont say if the wall is cavity or solid. If its cavity do you have CWI? Is the outside rendered?
Your safest bet is to remove any built-in's from the outside wall, & keep the outside wall free from storage or furniture items.
Even free standing wardrobes or units need to be kept well off the wall to allow ventilation in the room.
Trickle heat(rads) and trickle venting(windows) 24/7 work well. But might be expensive?

Typically, what you describe is condensation.
 
OP, you dont say if the wall is cavity or solid. If its cavity do you have CWI? Is the outside rendered?
Your safest bet is to remove any built-in's from the outside wall, & keep the outside wall free from storage or furniture items.
Even free standing wardrobes or units need to be kept well off the wall to allow ventilation in the room.
Trickle heat(rads) and trickle venting(windows) 24/7 work well. But might be expensive?

Typically, what you describe is condensation.


Thanks for the post. These are solid walls, pebble dash on the outside: no cavity
 
To be honest it is wet to touch, or damp I should say. But the gutters are clear and not overflowing.

do you mean air vents into the room, or drill through the external wall and have air vents on the actual back wall?

Air vents into the room and don’t have too much stuff in there. A real pain as the whole point of a wardrobe is to store stuff.

It’s very common. Even free-standing furniture against outside walls has a tendency to generate mould behind it.

if you don’t want to start drilling holes in your wardrobes just yet then to test the theory, clean all the existing mould off. Treat with Dettol mould and Mildew and leave the doors open for a bit.

Careful with the Dettol. It’ll bleach your clothes if it touches.
 
Solid walls have often been retro-rendered and dashed to prevent damp penetration and or condensation.
So, unless your dash is in a bad state then work on the assumption that you have condensation issues.
If you pull the built-ins off the wall (you should) you will possibly expose slime mould and badly damaged plaster.
 
Solid walls have often been retro-rendered and dashed to prevent damp penetration and or condensation.
So, unless your dash is in a bad state then work on the assumption that you have condensation issues.
If you pull the built-ins off the wall (you should) you will possibly expose slime mould and badly damaged plaster.


Yes I’ve cut a panel out of the back panel and the wall is mouldy and flaky! So exactly what you’ve suggested. Could it have been because we went through a cold period whilst not having the heating on as much as possible?

A couple of things we’ve thought about and wonder what you think:
1. Take the mouldy backboard off and replace with a slightly thicker board.
2. Doing the above but also buying a dehumidifier
3. Or bringing the wardrobes maybe 6 inches further off the wall, and creating a dummy sort of gap behind them so that there’s more airflow? (Not sure if this is a good idea or not)
 
Its not due to any cold period - bits & pieces attempts at solutions wont work - it requires what I suggested in post #6.
 
I think bringing them out 6 inches (though 2-3 inches would suffice) and keeping a gap behind will almost certainly solve the problem and much less drastic than removing them altogether!
 
I think bringing them out 6 inches (though 2-3 inches would suffice) and keeping a gap behind will almost certainly solve the problem and much less drastic than removing them altogether!
But you would have to make sure there is a free circulation of air to the gap behind!
 
There’s a significant amount of work in moving built-in wardrobes forward 6 inches not to mention loss of space in the room. Try venting them first as suggested.

One question on this - although the resulting problem is mould on the inside of our wardrobes and clothes, it seems the issue begins behind the wardrobes where the back panel touches the wall (the wall is wet and flaky, as is the panel). So how would vents in the wardrobe help? Surely the problem will still arise behind that where moisture is sandwiched between back panel and wall?
 
I've had this problem too. I've tried increasing airflow with louvres and using those chemical damp-traps. At present I'm using a little electrical dehumidifier in the cupboard from Amazon which cost about £47 and doesn't cost much to run. It seems to be working quite well. I have also stopped storing anything like clothes, shoes etc which tend to attract mould/mildew and just use it for 'solid' stuff like the hoover etc. Remember mould thrives on dirt so keep the place scrupulously clean and don't store any dirty items like muddy shoes etc in there.

Putting anything on or near outside walls, especially north facing walls, has usually been a problem in most British houses. Unfortunately nowadays people seem to have forgotten that and think it is some 'fault' in the house when mostly it's just the laws of physics. And as Scottie in Star Trek was always pointing out, 'Ye cannae change the laws of physics, Captain!'
 
My buit ins (at home, not my work) are doors and faceframe with just exposed single skin external walls inside. Im going to insulate the walls with pir and vapour barrier, to reduce condensation on the walls.

i have a client in your position that wants me to take apart their 6month old built in (also not my work) so they can address the mould then rebuild. Tbh I’m trying to suggest the ventilation option as in this instance as truckcab said it’s a lot of time/money and pretty much a thankless task. Depends on your construction but should try ventilation first as cost relatively minimal
 
Not read all the above just skimmed through it but sounds like common issue of cold, solid walls / furniture-wardrobes close up to walls / limited gap, zero air flow at this point / cold heavy air is trapped here and doesn’t warm up as rest of house

Warm, moist air from all over the house that can’t escape to the outside, will be attracted to these cold surfaces (wall, wardrobe backs, even clothing - especially leather items) and cause damp, mold, smells, etc as it condenses back into a liquid state

After pulling robes forward, cleaning down wall and any repairs to walls and wardrobe backs carried out, wondering about insulating the wall using Wallrock Thermal Liner (read up about it)

This isn’t a cure for damp, although as above, more likely case of condensation forming due to inadequate ventilation around house and not actual damp

But the thermal liner keeps wall warmer and will distract the warm moist air from settling here, especially if you can increase air gap between wall and robes

That warm moist air will then find the next coldest spot to settle on and cause issues so best method is to increase house ventilation to let the stuff escape outta house

Very common issue, houses become more eco friendly and sealed, insulated boxes that trap warm moist air from everyday tasks such as breathing, cooking, showering, etc

Whilst thermal efficiency of older solid brick walls remain terrible and a magnet for this type of problem

Anyway, read up on the Wallrock Thermal Liner and consider
 
Years ago I used some polystyrene wallpaper on the outside wall of a fitted wardrobe, it did reduce condensation/damp a bit, but in the end it was only a dehumidifer which solved the problem completely. (Bear in mind this was a room which was a single-ply back extension with flat roof and no DPC, so it was very damp-prone).
 
This is one of those situations where modern ideas just cause problems.
Vinyl paint on walls acts like a layer of cling film, preventing walls from breathing in the way they would with old style paints.
Central heating and double glazing, as opposed to fresh air being drawn through by the fireplace.
Or forebears knew all this, ok, maybe not the thing about vinyl paint, but look at a dresser. That supposedly decorative cutout in the plinth was there so air could circulate under and behind the dresser itself, preventing damp and mould. Same with a wardrobe standing on feet. But thats old fashioned, so everyone wants floor to ceiling furniture, and wonders why there's problems
 
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