# Looking for mold - free place in Spain



## LisaDav (Feb 3, 2019)

Hello,

I am considering moving to Spain from US. I am sensitive to mold so I need dry place without mold and fungus issues. And no floods and too much rains and snow of course not to say hurricanes and tornadoes. Please let me know if there are nice places to live close to ocean or lake but not too wet.

Thanks,

Lisa


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## kalohi (May 6, 2012)

Then Seville is not the place for you!! I just spent the afternoon mopping down the walls with bleach in several rooms to kill off the mold. 

It's very hot and dry here in the summer, but the winter is the rainy season and indoors the houses are cold and damp. Few houses have heat so the cold and damp just settle indoors. 

Almeria is the driest area of Spain. Maybe someone who lives in there can comment on if there is a damp problem in the houses.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

LisaDav said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am considering moving to Spain from US. I am sensitive to mold so I need dry place without mold and fungus issues. And no floods and too much rains and snow of course not to say hurricanes and tornadoes. Please let me know if there are nice places to live close to ocean or lake but not too wet.
> 
> ...


Anywhere coastal will be humid/damp. Where I live we regularly have 99%+ humidity at night - all year round, & daytime it rarely drops below 60%.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

One of the problems in southern Spain is it is in a seismically active area, i.e. earthquakes are not unknown so they do not put in damp-proof courses to help avoid the building sliding off its foundations. This means that rising damp can often be a problem.

Frequently the Spanish way is to fit ceramic tiles to the lower metre of the downstairs walls - the damp is still there but it is enclosed so there is not much mould forming dampness on the surface. There are other ways of forming a damp-proof barrier including the use of PVA to form a plastic barrier.

Upper walls and walls in general do not have a cavity so the wall you have on the inside is the same wall as is on the outside. This means that exposed walls can get a lot of rain which causes damp (and mould) on the inside. Barriers are the way to prevent this happening. Again the use of PVA on the inside of the wall and the use of an impervious render on the outside. Once you have the impermeable render (I can't remember the name of it!) paint with plastic emulsion paint. DO NOT use cal which requires re-painting every year and flakes off when it rains.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

EDIT:
It is called Capa Fina


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## Beach buddy (Jul 7, 2018)

Lack of damp courses doesnt help. Would recommend New build, built with your supervision then you could put one in. I have lived in quite a few houses and all have had damp to some degree or other.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Beach buddy said:


> Lack of damp courses doesnt help. Would recommend New build, built with your supervision then you could put one in. I have lived in quite a few houses and all have had damp to some degree or other.


If you are in the seismic zone it is illegal to put in a DPC


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## Beach buddy (Jul 7, 2018)

Well dont choose an area that is prone.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I've never known a house that doesn't get winter mould in southern Spain. The answer is to attack any patch of mould with diluted bleach immediately it starts to appear. Moisten it with a sponge and leave it for half an hour to kill the spores before washing it off - never scrape dry mould because that's how the spores spread.

Look for somewhere well ventilated, and install dehumidifiers or extractor fans if necessary. I think the room temperature makes a difference too; since we put a heated towel rail in the bathroom (left on all winter) there hasn't been any mould there.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> I've never known a house that doesn't get winter mould in southern Spain. The answer is to attack any patch of mould with diluted bleach immediately it starts to appear. Moisten it with a sponge and leave it for half an hour to kill the spores before washing it off - never scrape dry mould because that's how the spores spread.
> 
> Look for somewhere well ventilated, and install dehumidifiers or extractor fans if necessary. I think the room temperature makes a difference too; since we put a heated towel rail in the bathroom (left on all winter) there hasn't been any mould there.


We don't have mould, at least not now since we dealt with it as described in post 4


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## Robors2 (Jun 12, 2015)

baldilocks said:


> If you are in the seismic zone it is illegal to put in a DPC


How about using slate tiles as DPC.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Robors2 said:


> How about using slate tiles as DPC.


Nope, they reckon that the property could still slide off the foundation.


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> I've never known a house that doesn't get winter mould in southern Spain. The answer is to attack any patch of mould with diluted bleach immediately it starts to appear. Moisten it with a sponge and leave it for half an hour to kill the spores before washing it off - never scrape dry mould because that's how the spores spread.
> 
> Look for somewhere well ventilated, and install dehumidifiers or extractor fans if necessary. I think the room temperature makes a difference too; since we put a heated towel rail in the bathroom (left on all winter) there hasn't been any mould there.


I agree. We have not had any mould since I installed a powerful extractor fan. We also have two log burning stoves which are almost continually alight during the winter months and this keeps the house warm and dry. We also have a tubular greenhouse heater in the fitted wardrobe which is left on 24/7. It is only 80 watts but keeps our clothes aired. Being inland, we don't appear to have such humid air as on the coast and this obviously helps.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

The Skipper said:


> I agree. We have not had any mould since I installed a powerful extractor fan. We also have two log burning stoves which are almost continually alight during the winter months and this keeps the house warm and dry. We also have a tubular greenhouse heater in the fitted wardrobe which is left on 24/7. It is only 80 watts but keeps our clothes aired. Being inland, we don't appear to have such humid air as on the coast and this obviously helps.


Don’t come to Extremadura either. 


We are about to put in a small extension which is basically a boot room that will also lead into the existing bathroom, closing off the existing door from bathroom into kitchen, we will also install a second wood burner wood burner in the new room which we hope will negate the mould in the winter that we get in the bathroom


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## LisaDav (Feb 3, 2019)

I appreciate your responses, great information!
What about Alicante which has very dry climate?
Using citrus seed extract will be better for me as I am sensitive to toxic 
chemicals too.

Lisa


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## JimmyBSpain (Feb 6, 2019)

Hi. Have you considered Madrid? Ok its 4 hours from the coast but it is surrounded by great hills and countryside and is a fantastic manageable capital. But most importantly it is dry dry dry. No humidity and no mould. I have not seen a mosquito in 19 years! Plus all homes have heating. Very hot in summer and quite cold in winter. A great place to live


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

LisaDav said:


> I appreciate your responses, great information!
> What about Alicante which has very dry climate?
> Using citrus seed extract will be better for me as I am sensitive to toxic
> chemicals too.
> ...


I live in Alicante province, in an area reknowned for it's clean air.

However it's far from dry. When it rains it RAINS, although it doesn't rain all the time, of course.

It's humidity which is the problem. 
This is fairly normal for this time of day & it rises to 99% or more most nights


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

I am in Valencia region and it's best you dont come here

We have a week long annual mould festival in which we celebrate St Mo Uld- the patron Saint of bathroom tile stains

For us it's a great air condition to celebrate and the streets are packed with stalls selling pro mould spray as well as bands entertaining the tourists with Spanish mould music ( Mouldy old doughs a regular favourite) and local eateries serving mould inspired delicacies


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## JimmyBSpain (Feb 6, 2019)

So basically... everywhere on the coast in Spain is humid and potentially mouldy!! Come to Madrid. Dry as a bone. Plus the tap water is excellent... which you cant say for many places on the Mediterranean coast.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

JimmyBSpain said:


> So basically... everywhere on the coast in Spain is humid and potentially mouldy!! Come to Madrid. Dry as a bone. Plus the tap water is excellent... which you cant say for many places on the Mediterranean coast.


 I also live in the Madrid area and now find I can't deal with high humidity at all, and if you put heat into that equation...
Nerja in August - yuk! Valencia and Tarragona in July - yuk!! Even the UK in a good summer is difficult for me.
Have to say though, that this autumn was the first autumn in 24 years of living in my present house that I had biscuits that went soggy due to the high rainfall and increased humidity.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

JimmyBSpain said:


> Hi. Have you considered Madrid? Ok its 4 hours from the coast but it is surrounded by great hills and countryside and is a fantastic manageable capital. But most importantly it is dry dry dry. No humidity and no mould. I have not seen a mosquito in 19 years! Plus all homes have heating. Very hot in summer and quite cold in winter. A great place to live


Plenty of mosquitos where I am, although it's not in the capital and it does depend on the year. Last year there were very few for example


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

JimmyBSpain said:


> So basically... everywhere on the coast in Spain is humid and potentially mouldy!! Come to Madrid. Dry as a bone. Plus the tap water is excellent... which you cant say for many places on the Mediterranean coast.


It certainly is dry! Too dry for me, in over 30 years living in the UK, I never had a nose bleed, but in the dry spells in Madrid I get them quite frequently, due to the very low humidity.


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## JimmyBSpain (Feb 6, 2019)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Plenty of mosquitos where I am, although it's not in the capital and it does depend on the year. Last year there were very few for example


you are right, I am in the capital, on a 9º floor so they dont get up to me!!


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## Overandout (Nov 10, 2012)

JimmyBSpain said:


> you are right, I am in the capital, on a 9º floor so they dont get up to me!!


The height thing about mosquitos is a myth.

I lived in an eighth floor flat in Madrid and they bit me nearly to death. A colleague of mine even used to joke that my building must have been built on an old indian mosquito burial plot and I was haunted by their spirits...
In Bangkok I lived in a 15th floor apartment and the balcony at dusk was a lizard's banquet.

Mosquitos fly as high as they need to to bite me!


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## The Skipper (Nov 26, 2014)

xabiaxica said:


> I live in Alicante province, in an area reknowned for it's clean air.
> 
> However it's far from dry. When it rains it RAINS, although it doesn't rain all the time, of course.
> 
> ...


There is a world of difference just 50km inland! Humidity here is often shown on my digital met centre as "low," meaning below 10%. At the moment it is showing 34%.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

The Skipper said:


> There is a world of difference just 50km inland! Humidity here is often shown on my digital met centre as "low," meaning below 10%. At the moment it is showing 34%.


There truly is!

I can hardly ever remember humidity going as low as that here.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

There is no perfect place to live. If there were, the prices would be too high for ordinary mortals. Madrid (city) may have low humidity but has scarily high air pollution.

The answer is to adapt the space you live in. You can modify your dwelling, but you can't do much about the environment outside.


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## Redworm (Feb 7, 2019)

Alcalaina said:


> There is no perfect place to live. If there were, the prices would be too high for ordinary mortals. Madrid (city) may have low humidity but has scarily high air pollution.
> 
> The answer is to adapt the space you live in. You can modify your dwelling, but you can't do much about the environment outside.


There IS a perfect place to live according to Guns 'N Roses and it's called Paradise City  As far as humidity goes, if I'm not mistaken, the only solution is indoors - otherwise, I would've had a much better time when I was living in Istanbul where humidity is almost always above 90%. Speaking of prices though, being a foreigner contemplating buying a summer home in Spain (but not wanting to get ripped off), could anybody with local experience advise if the prices are inflated on these cottages for sale? If so, I'm looking for your advice on probably local providers e.g. ParuVendu in France where I can find better deals.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Redworm said:


> There IS a perfect place to live according to Guns 'N Roses and it's called Paradise City  As far as humidity goes, if I'm not mistaken, the only solution is indoors - otherwise, I would've had a much better time when I was living in Istanbul where humidity is almost always above 90%. Speaking of prices though, being a foreigner contemplating buying a summer home in Spain (but not wanting to get ripped off), could anybody with local experience advise if the prices are inflated on these cottages for sale? If so, I'm looking for your advice on probably local providers e.g. ParuVendu in France where I can find better deals.


They might be - try changing the price range to up to 100k and see what you get, you might be pleasantly surprised.


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## LisaDav (Feb 3, 2019)

Hello, everybody again.
I would like to ask those who live in costal area how flooding affect your homes? 
Did you get mold after flood in April this year and last year? 
I was looking for information about flood and I found that flood happen even in Madrid in 2017.
Is there is any place in Spain that is not flooded at all.
I also found that Hualva province is relatively not humid but it has marshes especially in Ayamounte city and probably mold in it. If anybody live there or travel there? How is it looks like? Any smell? Bugs? What about other cities including Hualva city itself? Thanks,
Lisa


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

> Is there is any place in Spain that is not flooded at all.


I live in a town that is built on a hill, and we never get flooded. The relative humidity is comfortably low most of the time.

But houses still suffer from damp and mould during the winter months. This is because of moisture generated INSIDE the home - hot showers, cooking, breathing, gas heaters all generate water vapour.

Good ventilation is the key, and cleaning off mould as soon as it appears.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Alcalaina said:


> I live in a town that is built on a hill, and we never get flooded. The relative humidity is comfortably low most of the time.
> 
> But houses still suffer from damp and mould during the winter months. This is because of moisture generated INSIDE the home - hot showers, cooking, breathing, gas heaters all generate water vapour.
> 
> Good ventilation is the key, and cleaning off mould as soon as it appears.


We don't have mould now that we have stopped damp coming through the walls and up from the foundations.


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## Love Karma (Oct 10, 2018)

baldilocks said:


> We don't have mould now that we have stopped damp coming through the walls and up from the foundations.


After 20 years in various properties and never been able to solve the *rising* damp problems and being repeatedly told by Spanish builders and various neighbours that it is part and parcel of living here especially in older house and there is no economical solution I would be most interested to know how you have cured the damp coming from your foundations.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Love Karma said:


> After 20 years in various properties and never been able to solve the *rising* damp problems and being repeatedly told by Spanish builders and various neighbours that it is part and parcel of living here especially in older house and there is no economical solution I would be most interested to know how you have cured the damp coming from your foundations.


See posts 4 and 5 of this thread.


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## Love Karma (Oct 10, 2018)

baldilocks said:


> See posts 4 and 5 of this thread.


Yes I am aware of those work around fixes but they relate to "penetrating" damp and don't have any effect on "rising damp" or as you say "damp coming up from the foundations". The rising damp will still be there even if masked by tiles etc.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

Love Karma said:


> Yes I am aware of those work around fixes but they relate to "penetrating" damp and don't have any effect on "rising damp" or as you say "damp coming up from the foundations". The rising damp will still be there even if masked by tiles etc.


All you can do is trap it in the walls so that it doesn't come out onto the surface and cause mould. I don't know of anyone who has tried the electrode method of connecting the wall to ground and stop the electric potential differences. That method which does work might not do so, here in Spain, because of difficulties in accessing the walls.


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## LisaDav (Feb 3, 2019)

During the Summit I wrote about one expert Scott Swanson ( Swanson Associates in Austin , TX) said that they use Magnesium Oxide for cement and panels on the walls. You may buy ready panels and cement or make it yourself. 
As for mold in home - I found out that we have it in out apartment in the air duck of conditioning ( air force heating and cooling). New apartment manager replaced filter there as usually they do every year but after noticing mold he spread something there ( I was told it is called T 14 spray) . I learned that Mg oxide spray is available too but I already bought one spray with enzymes that kills mold, it is called Mildew and it is safe alternative for chemicals. Experts told that bleach will overgrow again so better not to use it as it is also toxic. I sleep better now and do not wake up too often. I researched this problem and found out that I have hypoglycemia from mold toxicity. I had to take many supplement to reduce toxic effect and protect brain but mold in the air duck was surprise for me. Though expert say it is always there I believed that we don`t have it because filter is always changed. Sure, I will try to reduce water vapor using ventilation but also will have to use spray on regular basis. Best heating is use of radiators not air force heating. I study some other tips on home building with alternative materials now to see if we can built home clean and free of such issues.


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## LisaDav (Feb 3, 2019)

We used to paint our apartments by MG as I remember in the childhood but now it was replaced by other paints that are not protective for mold. It was easy to buy Mg on the market, add water to it and paint the walls and ceilings 2 times. Some people would add color to it but we p[refer it white with some blueish additive.


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