Dealing with Mould | A Guide for Tenants in New Zealand

Dealing with mould Mould can be bad for your health as wellas the property. Once mould starts to develop it does not take long for it tospread and become a major issue. A well-aired, ventilated house is critical forpreventing mould. Activities like cooking, bathing, or drying clothes insidetend to create moisture. To help remove the moisture from these activitiesensure that you open windows during warm sunny winter days and use anyextractor fans within the house. We have put together our top tips to help tokeep a healthy mould free home and things that you can do to decrease thechance of mould or condensation building up in your rental. Things that you cando to prevent the mould and damp are:

● Open windows and doors whenever you can and open thecurtains right up to let natural light in.

● Hang your washing outside whenever you get the chance andmake sure it’s completely dry when you put it away.

● Keep lids on pots while you cook.

● Keep the shower curtain hanging inside the shower or bathso that water does not drip onto the floor. It is always good to wash thecurtain every few weeks in winter and give it a dry outside.

● Use an electric heater – no portable gas heaters as peryour tenancy agreement.

● Avoid plants inside.

● No mattresses are to be placed directly onto the carpet asthis can cause the carpet to become damp and in turn become mouldy, permanently damaging the carpet.

If you try to adopt as many of these tips as possible youwill hopefully reduce the chance of mould and damp occurring in your rental,keeping your property manager and landlord happier while living in a healthierhome too.

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