Damp in wardrobes

[laserblazer]

We are having wardrobes fitted and would welcome any advice regarding insulation and heating to reduce damp. I think it makes sense to put something between the back of the wardrobe and the wall, especially where it's an outside wall. What sort of heaters are best?

[fmm]

If you avoid putting them on an outside wall, then you should not get damp wardrobes. As you saw, my apartment is a prime example of one on an outside wall and one on an inside wall. Have had the same problem in the UK as well!

[laserblazer]

We didn't notice any damp in your wardrobes but the weather was pretty good and that outside wall gets a lot of sun on it. The wardrobes have to go into existing reccesses, so we are stuck.

[fmm]

And they are on the outside walls? Would it be possible to put a dressing table in there and have free standing wardrobes elsewhere or would that encroach on the available space?

[laserblazer]

And they are on the outside walls? Would it be possible to put a dressing table in there and have free standing wardrobes elsewhere or would that encroach on the available space?

Unfortunately not. The bulder has just told me that the 80w wardrobe (space) heaters are €90 +iva. I don't know if these have thermostats but I think it may be the way to go. We can put the bedding etc in the wardrobes then and leave it ticking over during the winter. We are also having a PIV installed, which should help no end with the damp.

[fmm]

The trouble is, my experience is that even in the UK with a centrally heated house, sometimes the wardrobes on an outside wall attract damp and mould. It is something to do with the outside walls needing to breath (can you tell I am not very technical about these things!)

However, I assume if you have a heater inside them then that would work. I am lucky that one of the wardrobes is on an inside wall and that is where all the bedding goes. Otherwise it would all smell like a church if I had to use the other wardrobe!

At the moment I am tempted to remove the built in wardrobe and put in a free standing one and leave a larger gap between the wardobe and the wall to give everything a chance to breath. Hmmm. May look at that in February!

[sunman]

hi laser,

we've been at this 10 years now & it's a regular problem, particularly last year when it pretty well rained non-stop for 4 months

the electric wafer rads are quite good, the thermostats work well & they keep the air in the room nice & dry but there's a limit, if it rains non stop for a few days even they can't cope with the humidity & we fall back to the good old dehumidifiers as backup, it's amazing the amount of water they can pull out.

I think it depends on one's circumstances a bit; if you leave the place empty for the winter then the rads should easily cope; if you leave clothes/ bedding etc in the wardrobes it could be tricky; some folk we know hook a dehumidifier on a medium setting up to a pipe and run it to the shower or a toilet; for anyone who hasn't done this it's simple & it works but remember to put plugs in all holes & put toilet seats down or the dehumidifiers will just go on sucking water from those.

IF you have a friend or a maid or villa maintainance person etc., get them to open the place up whenever there's a sunny day, makes a huge difference.

[laserblazer]

Thanks for the advice sunman. When I first went in last month, it had been shut up for a while and was very damp. But after a short while with the windows open, it soon dried out. I would think that stuffing some roof insulation behind the wardrobes would help, for what it would cost.

[maccasa]

We had mold problem last year, when we left the house closed from 7th Jan until end Feb - it was on every wooden section, everywhere in the bedrooms - even coating a pair of leather shoes. We believe we have solved the problem by moving all the beds from the walls, moving the mattresses away for the ends of the bed, leaving wardrobes open, bedroom dooors open and leaving two windows slightly open (with the shutters closed). We have also left the upstairs in a similar state so that the air can circulate HOWEVER we will be there next week so will see the results as we have been away since end Nov!!

[pat anderson]

You could put vent behind the wardrobe that should help

[laserblazer]

We are going to have Positive Input Ventilation installed. http://projects.bre.co.uk/positivevent/index.html People we hae spoken to who have had it fitted are very happy with the improvements it makes.

[Polli62]

Is there an outlet for installation available on the Algarve, as I noted on the link given the addresses where in the UK?

[laserblazer]

Hi Polli62, yes there is. Would you like me to ask them to PM you with details?