Muffa

[ianthy]

Hi

Does anyone have aproblem with muffa/humidty in their property ? it appears like black mould on the walls. I see locals washing walls with bleach but wondered if there is a permanent fix. Plus there appears to be 1001 different products in the hardware store to help with Muffa but can any of thes products actually elimate the problem.

Airing the house daily is recommended but our house is not used during the winter months - so need to find a way to ventilate without causing a security risk.

Any solutions/remedies for muffa greatfully recieved.

Thks for reading.

[ruefguet]

I believe it's a common problem and related to the lack of foundations in most of the older properties. I don't think there is a cure. I was told by one local that they just accept that every 4 years or so they clean it up and redecorate.

[sheilamarsco]

i use a spray called muffa stop it's quite expensive but works very well. every spring i just whitewash the discoloured parts of the wall as really that's all that can be done. i live here permanently and open the windows to air the rooms but it doesn't really make that much difference.

[italy]

Originally Posted by ianthy

Hi

Does anyone have aproblem with muffa/humidty in their property ? it appears like black mould on the walls. I see locals washing walls with bleach but wondered if there is a permanent fix. Plus there appears to be 1001 different products in the hardware store to help with Muffa but can any of thes products actually elimate the problem.

Airing the house daily is recommended but our house is not used during the winter months - so need to find a way to ventilate without causing a security risk.

Any solutions/remedies for muffa greatfully recieved.

Thks for reading.

as you rightly said its to do a lot with ventilation, and basically houses in the past had bottom floors assigned to storage and or animals with loose fitting doors and windows so air circulated

easiest solution are air-bricks or making a hole and fitting plastic vent covers will start to help.. and reduce the amount of times you have to wash walls.. in fact you being away in the winter helps because you are not adding heat.. and if there are any windows you can leave ajar that will help too

the main problems are based on the use of cement to restore properties .. so if at any time you are actually going to do something permanent in terms of building work make sure you use lime based mortars as this allows a natural breathing within the building .. in fact just getting rid of cement on the outside wall will often resolve problems very quickly.. although saying that there are situations where houses are built in areas where they should never have been built and so airflow will not always resolve problems if there is a site problem, most paints here contain anti muffa products within, and bleach is most probably as good as any product that you will pay a fortune for