Peter Arnesen and his wife have been dealing with mold issues in their bathroom for over six years. Their persistent damp issues over the years have led to ugly peeling plaster and paint. They’ve given the bathroom’s financial structure a terrible blow. No matter how much the homeowner tried to scrub away the mould, it comes right back—a tough reality for many homeowners to face.
The moisture in Arnesen’s bathroom has forced grout out from behind the ceramic tile, making the situation worse. To stave off the mould, he responds by bleaching the walls and scrubbing them down every week. Unfortunately, this punitive schedule has been shown to be counterproductive, with mould starting to regrow after only two days. As the infographic below demonstrates, the outlook has gone from bad to catastrophic. Now, due to ongoing mould development, Arnesen has to replace his shower curtain every three weeks.
Beyond the bathroom complications, Arnesen deals with moistness challenges in his customer’s property. He soon noticed moisture coming up through the floors and the walls. Because of this, he has to replace his stair carpet every 18 months due to moisture damage. He even took the bath panel off himself when he started to smell something rotten coming from underneath it, a sign of more hidden problems.
Arnesen’s bathroom has been in an addition made a number of decades ago, which could be leading to the issues raised. Bathroom with a ventilation fan and window side by side. None of these measures have done enough to bring down the moisture levels. “The window is always open. Summer, winter, I’ve got no choice,” he said, illustrating his desperate attempts to ventilate the space.
He too has taken the plunge with a glass shower screen in an effort to keep the moisture under control. But he soon discovered that this approach made maintenance more difficult because it introduced challenges with the sealant. “If I let it get too cold, the damp just goes mad,” he added, emphasizing the delicate balance he must maintain in his home environment.
Stonewater, Arnesen’s housing association, has been collaborating with him since June of last year to tackle his mould problems. Despite their efforts, an independent report conducted by Stonewater in July did not identify any damp or mould in Arnesen’s home. Even the spokesperson for the company responsible for the bathrooms, Stonewater, admitted that it is hard to prevent bathrooms from developing mould. As they were quoted saying, “We know that bathrooms are the most versteckten molds, especially in wintertime. If more is required to address this issue, we will continue our dialogue with Mr. Arnesen to address it.
