Major condensation in top floor of brownstone

I am suffering through excess of mould growth in bathroom. I know this happens due to poor ventilation. Condensation in bathroom mainly caused when hot steam hit cold walls and it takes plenty of time to dry wall after someone showers. We have water-repellent paint on our bathroom walls where water can dry easily but condensation happens enough these days and the wall provide perfect breeding area for mould.

alicemurphy

in Walls and Interiors 10 years and 5 months ago

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cliftonetc | 10 years and 5 months ago

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Not sure what the boiler is, since we don’t have access to the basement. To make matters worse, the tenant who is on that floor is out of town so there’s no way to get to it now. It also seems that some warm/wet air (when the heat was running) was coming out above the (now decorative) fireplace above a permanently mounted mirror. Some strange rusty/oily liquid also appeared on the mirror the day before yesterday, a long drip down the surface, as if something strange was happening behind the mounted fixture. Is it possible that maybe something in the chimney has broken/collapsed/become blocked forcing some air into the inactive duct?

steam_man | 10 years and 5 months ago

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The heating duct and the chimney are in no way connected. The liquid is just condensation seeping through the wall or metal and picking up that discoloration. Seems like two different problems since they are coming out of two places that are not connected.

cliftonetc | 10 years and 5 months ago

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I’m almost certain the two issues are connected in some way as they start and stop at the same time. Whether that means something is busted somewhere else along the line that is sending the hot/wet air up the old vent shaft or something else, I just don’t know. But hot/wet air shouldn’t be pushing out above the fireplace, either. We don’t get our heat from this vent and normally nothing ever comes out of it. Steam is still coming out of the chimney on the roof, seemingly as normal. Or was, until the heat stopped.

steam_man | 10 years and 5 months ago

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Then you may have a busted steam line in your boiler room. Or a blown main vent.

cliftonetc | 10 years and 5 months ago

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You seem to be a man who knows his steam! Forgive me while I ask some questions… If it broke down near the boiler, would our neighbors below also be getting the same hot/wet air? What does blowing a “main vent” entail? Should we be concerned that the heat has turned off, or might that just be an indication that something has tripped the boiler? Thank you!

BobMarvin | 10 years and 5 months ago

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It’s probably a good thing that your heat has completely stopped working. At least your landlord will no longer be able to say that he “doesn’t think there is actually an issue”. Good luck!

cliftonetc | 10 years and 5 months ago

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Thanks! We need it! It’s supposed to hit the single digits this week…

Rick | 10 years and 5 months ago

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I still think you have blockage in the chimney and it’s not venting properly. I have seen this before. Since you are on the top floor I’m betting you have blockage between the fireplace and the top of the chimney. The vent in your wall is a leftover from an old forced air system that is no longer used because you have steam radiators. The constriction in the chimney is pushing the exhaust through the old decaying brick in the chimney and leaking into your apartment. Please let us know what happens when it finally gets fixed.

Arkady | 10 years and 5 months ago

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Are there other tenants between you on the top floor & the people on the bottom floor who are away? If so, have you asked them if they have any problems &/or heat?

BobMarvin | 10 years and 5 months ago

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With no heat shouldn’t you be calling your landlord and/or 311?

cliftonetc | 10 years and 5 months ago

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Thanks again to everyone for the input. A chimney person has been able to confirm that the chimney was obstructed near the roof and the liner was in bad shape. The air had managed to push through the deteriorated bricks and make its way to the old ventilation shaft. Until the moment when the heat was shut off the landlord wasn’t responsive, she now realizes the critical nature of the situation and what could have happened. Again, thanks all!

steam_man | 10 years and 5 months ago

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How you didn’t die of CO poisoning is beyond me. I didn’t give any credence to the collapsed chimney theory because I figured the CO would have done you in. Wow. You are so lucky, you have no idea.