Ideas on how to prevent condensation/mould behind wardrobes

[AlfaFoxtrot]

Main bedroom in a Victorian end of terrace house, which has two outside walls. One of them has the radiator and window, so no problems there, but the other is the only logical place to locate some freestanding wardrobes (due to old chimney breast, location of door etc.). Currently getting a small, but recurring amount of mould growth in a couple of places behind the wardrobes.

The window is left open a bit at night, and using a weather station as a sensor, humidity levels in the middle of the room don't normally exceed 60%, which is high, but not excessive. < the house is solid brick construction so generally permeable and not far off outdoor levels. Although I've left a 6" gap on either side of the wardrobes from the walls, the humidity behind them is ~10% higher, and so I'm assuming that there is minimal air circulation going on.

I currently have two ideas to help the problem:

- put a couple of 50W tube heaters (like used in caravans over winter, greenhouses etc.) between the wardrobes and the wall and use a timer or thermostatic plug to come on overnight. This should warm the outside wall directly, making it less likely that condensation occurs, and would presumably set up some sort of convection current as well.

- mount a small fan (would have to be v. quiet) to the back of each wardrobe to pull air upwards and let it exchange with the rest of the room/outside.

Any other suggestions?!

[V8RX7]

Ebac dehumidifier or stick 1" of celotex to the wall.

[Fleckers]

stop hiding in there spying on your wife

then your breath will not cause condensation

[Spare tyre]

I'd get a tiny bathroom extractor and mod it to blow suck in the right area

Plug it into a timer switch and have it come on and off at certain times

[sparkythecat]

Why not put an an airbrick in the wall behind the wardrobe?

[Trif]

How close is the wardrobe to the wall? Does the temperature in the room vary widely?

[Wings]

Just undertaking some remedial works at a rental property, mainly mould issues behind furniture, some fitted, "cold spots" on external single brick walls. Remedial works cover removal of fitted wardrobes, plaster, then fitting thermal plasterboard and redecorating.

[Yazar]

AlfaFoxtrot said:

. Although I've left a 6" gap on either side of the wardrobes from the walls, the humidity behind them is ~10% higher, and so I'm assuming that there is minimal air circulation going on.

Can you move the wardrobe forward a bit?

Wozy (furniture maker) in this thread talks about a 3cm gap from the back. If not then can you drill in some ventilation holes/cut a hole and put in vent covers top/ bottom near the back? (if it is flush to floor then maybe also in the plinth/sides).

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[kryten22uk]

V8RX7 said:

stick 1" of celotex to the wall.

This is what we did. Used to have quite bad condensation (and hence mold) on one outside wall which had low airflow due to cupboards. The wall was physically very cold, which caused the condensation. So we put up Celotex plasterboard, and since then not a hint of an issue, and the wall feels warm to touch. Much recommendos.