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'Mould means a new shower curtain every three weeks'

BBC Peter looks at the camera wearing glasses and a grey jumper. While bathroom tiles in the background.BBC
Peter Arnesen says he has been dealing with mould issues for a long time

A man has said he bleached his bathroom walls weekly and had to buy a new shower curtain every three weeks because of damp and mould.

Peter Arnesen, a housing association tenant in Swindon, said he had damp coming through the floor as well as walls and had to replace his stair carpet every 18 months.

He said he kept his heating on in the old terrace at 21.5C (71F) all the time: "If I let it get too cold, the damp just goes mad."

The owner, Stonewater, said it had been working with him since June last year to resolve the mould issue and that an independent report did not find any.

Mr Arnesen told the BBC he saw the damp everywhere, learning to fit carpet himself to reduce the cost of repairs, but it was most noticeable in the bathroom, which was part of an extension done some decades ago.

He said he scrubbed it weekly but mould started to grow back within two days.

"The window is always open. Summer, winter, I've got no choice" he said - the bathroom has a ventilation fan as well as a window, but it does not appear to have an effect.

Close-up of a white shower curtain with shell and starfish print. It has black mould on most of it.
The creases from when the shower curtain came out of the packet are still there as it becomes mouldy enough to chuck after three weeks

The damp has lifted off plaster and paint, so it peeled - he said it has even pushed the grout out behind the tiles.

Mr Arnesen said he had tried a glass shower screen, but it was harder to deal with the damp on the sealant than buy a new shower curtain every three weeks.

"The bath panel I took off a while ago because there was a bad smell from under there" Peter added.

bleach outfit
Peter keeps an old outfit purely for bleaching the mould

While Mr Arnesen had lived there for 15 years, more than one housing association has owned it.

For the past few years, it had been Stonewater, which said an independent report it had done in July last year did not find damp or mould, but did ask a contractor to do work which was agreed to.

Their spokesperson added: "We know that bathrooms are most susceptible to mould forming, especially during the colder months. If additional work is needed to alleviate this problem, we will work with Mr Arnesen to find a solution."

Close-up of a wall with black mould and some peeling paint
Peter said the mould makes the paint peel and it starts to return two days after bleaching

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