Death of a two year old in substandard social housing

I open my window very wide when I get up in the morning and leave the bedclothes pulled back. After breakfast I tidy the bed and close the window.

nanna8

Sometimes mould is more or less permanent ,especially in older houses. We stayed in a hotel on Norfolk Island and it smelled strongly of mould and we were stuck there with Covid for a week. Both our symptoms were no doubt worsened by the air in there. Apparently most of the rooms were the same because of the climate. If a place isn’t built with sufficient ventilation you are going to get mould, it can happen very quickly. It is so sad that no one told this family of the dangers of not ventilating a living area and the fault lies with the owners / council for that but it is not a totally straightforward issue. Rarely is. I am sure it will happen again somewhere and probably the causes will not even be diagnosed.

There is a terrible mould problem in Brisbane after the floods, not just in houses that were flooded. The past damp winter hasn't helped either.
Now there are more floods in NSW.

Caleo

I open my window very wide when I get up in the morning and leave the bedclothes pulled back. After breakfast I tidy the bed and close the window.

Good for you! Do you have children to get ready for school/nursery and have to make sure you leave home on time for work? Do you live in a flat with ground floor windows? Or have a bathroom with no window at all?

Good for you! Do you have children to get ready for school/nursery and have to make sure you leave home on time for work?

That would stop someone being able to open a window would it?

tickingbird

^Good for you! Do you have children to get ready for school/nursery and have to make sure you leave home on time for work?^

That would stop someone being able to open a window would it?

It might mean they can't close the window again if they are not home or if they live downstairs, they'd get burgled. Opening the window might not be problematic but the consequences might be!

tickingbird

^Good for you! Do you have children to get ready for school/nursery and have to make sure you leave home on time for work?^

That would stop someone being able to open a window would it?

It might mean that they forget to shut it and leave an open invitation for housebreakers. If you've been in that situation, I'm sure you remember how stressed the first hour of the morning is.

Snap icanhandthemback.

In any case, I've never opened windows as a habit in the morning and never had mould either.

I have trickle vents on my windows and my homes have always been well-built and adequately heated and insulated.

The reason mould becomes a real problem is because homes aren't properly protected.

I’m not suggesting the mould was anything to do with the parents but I can’t understand why a poster was jumped on for saying she opens a window first thing and. yes, I have had the morning rush with kids but it has never stopped me having 10 seconds to open a window. It’s not bedlam for everyone getting up and getting children to school. It’s not as if there’s an air raid siren sounding!

It takes longer than 10 seconds to open and close all windows.

If a property has good ventilation, it's not even necessary.

Margiknot

The coroner ruled that little Awaab died due to a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in the child’s home environment.
It’s possible - perhaps that the limitations imposed during the pandemic (such as having to use translation services via phones at the hospital, lockdown restrictions keeping children indoors, launderettes being closed, etc may have added to this developing tragedy, but the primary cause- was the deadly mould. Reports in the papers show the parents tried to get help for years to first treat the mould then try to get rehoused.
Mould and damp needs to be taken seriously.

The coroner actually found
However the very difficult question in light of the position of the NCA and the evidence of Dr Panesa is, would Awaab have died at the exact time he did if appropriate advice and treatment had been given. Dr Panesa was pressed on this point in questions from myself and his evidence to the court was that Awaab would not have died if an ambulance had been called or if he had been taken directly to Oldham Hospital

He explained that they would have been able to place the ventilation tube further down past the blockage which would have prevented the cardiac arrest

So the confusion about the medical help he needed contributed to his death

Caleo

I open my window very wide when I get up in the morning and leave the bedclothes pulled back. After breakfast I tidy the bed and close the window.

That's what I do too.

Growstuff It takes longer than 10 seconds to open and close all windows.

Yes obviously but the poster concerned said she opens one window and I concurred. No need to exaggerate.

the level of mould shown in the photographs wouldn't have been solved by opening the windows for a bit in the morning

JaneJudge

the level of mould shown in the photographs wouldn't have been solved by opening the windows for a bit in the morning

No, it wouldn't. Not only that, but opening windows when it's cold and wet outside is counter-productive as far as damp is concerned.

It was totally shocking and unacceptable. Apparently mould in rented properties is a grey area for action! Tenants would need a survey, they can’t afford that. Landlords can say the mould was caused by the tenant not airing the house, drying washing inside and not opening windows. Without a survey to prove structural issues, tenants have nowhere to go, it is totally wrong. The situation will probably worsen now due to the high energy costs. For the loss of a life to open the debate is a very sad situation.

I live in a rented property and have an annual inspection. I don't have any issues with damp or mould, but the agent always checks the extractor fans in the toilets/bathroom and the one over the hob, the trickle vents on the windows and the ventilation brick. I'm asked how I dry my laundry. The agent also gets somebody to check my gutters to make sure they're not blocked. I've been told to keep the room temperature at 15 degrees and my insulation has been checked to make sure I'm not wasting my money on heating. I haven't had the heating on at all this year, but the property is so well insulated it's still quite warm which older/cheaply built properties often aren't. If I can keep my windows shut, I don't accept that it's compulsory to open them. A warm room with double glazing shouldn't have that much condensation.

The parents of the toddler who died had reported the mould, but nothing was done. It was acknowledged that an extractor fan wasn't working and I wonder how often the property was inspected. They were told to paint over the mould, which would have been ineffective. Other tenants in the block said they had the same problem, so it sounds as though there could have been a structural problem.

Opening windows is not advised

growstuff

In any case, I've never opened windows as a habit in the morning and never had mould either.

I have trickle vents on my windows and my homes have always been well-built and adequately heated and insulated.

The reason mould becomes a real problem is because homes aren't properly protected.

The mould reported in the property where the child lived is not the kind that can be sorted by opening a window every morning as I do, I realise that. I also have trickle vents on my windows and can afford to heat my home, an option not available to many this winter. Irrespective of our individual situations, it cannot, should not, be denied that some housing is simply not fit for habitation whether or not z window is thrown open every morning. News at 10 on ITV have been reporting on seriously substandard housing for some time, none of them could be sorted out by "a but of bleach and elbow grease" as some on here think.

I accept that ventilation is not enough. But ventilation by some means is necessary.

Also necessary is a sufficient heat source which the householder can afford.

Is it alleged that houses have been built that were unfit ?

News at 10 on ITV have been reporting on seriously substandard housing for some time, none of them could be sorted out by "a but of bleach and elbow grease" as some on here think

I've seen those reports. Sometimes ceilings have collapsed as they are wet and have rotted.

I do wonder if cavity wall insulation is counter productive. Cavities are left between walls for a reason and it is thought that if the cavity is filled with certain materials, then damp could wick through and cause mould.

I open my windows every morning (the bedroom window is open all night) and I still get mould. Unless I open the window whilst taking a shower, the bathroom gets mouldy despite the extractor fan.

Callistemon21

^News at 10 on ITV have been reporting on seriously substandard housing for some time, none of them could be sorted out by "a but of bleach and elbow grease" as some on here think^

I've seen those reports. Sometimes ceilings have collapsed as they are wet and have rotted.

I do wonder if cavity wall insulation is counter productive. Cavities are left between walls for a reason and it is thought that if the cavity is filled with certain materials, then damp could wick through and cause mould.

Yes, it can be.

www.neverpaintagain.co.uk/blog/why-cavity-wall-insulation-causes-damp-and-mould/

It's something which has concerned me for some time.

I’d be interested to know what the property was like before they moved in. Was it a historical problem.