How do I stop mould coming back in a bathroom?
Removing it is the easy part — the ventilation and habits that stop it returning are what actually matter.
beginner1 hr2 min read
Household Problems
Damp, draughts, smells, noise and the other slow annoyances.
284 guides in Home & DIY
Is my damp wall caused by the gutter?
Rainwater faults are one of the most common causes of a damp patch, and they are distinguishable from other causes by where the damp is and when it appears.
beginner30 min2 min readWhy are my windows wet every morning?
What morning window condensation actually indicates, whether it matters, and the changes that reduce it.
beginner20 min2 min readWhy do my lights flicker?
Which flickers are a cheap bulb problem and which mean a loose connection that needs an electrician.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy does my bathroom smell of sewage?
The dry trap that causes most of it, the other four causes in order of likelihood, and what needs a professional.
beginner45 min4 min readWhy does my dishwasher leave a white film on glasses?
Two completely different faults look identical: limescale, which comes off, and etching, which is permanent. One test separates them and the treatment is different for each.
beginner30 min4 min readWhy does my extractor fan not clear the steam?
Blocked, undersized or venting into the loft — three causes, and the paper test that identifies the first in seconds.
beginner40 min2 min readWhy does my fridge freeze everything?
Thermostat setting, where things are placed, and airflow — three causes, and the food itself is often the clue.
beginner30 min2 min readWhy is upstairs so much hotter than downstairs in summer?
Three separate mechanisms make the top of a house hotter than the bottom in summer, and only one of them is the one everybody names. Which applies to you decides what actually helps.
beginner10 min5 min readWhy is water leaking onto the floor outside my shower?
The three tests that separate spray escape from a seal failure from a tray or waste leak — done in an order that costs nothing before anything is taken apart.
beginner1 hr5 min readWhat do I do when the electrics trip?
How to safely reset a tripped consumer unit and identify which appliance caused it — and when to stop and call an electrician.
beginner20 min3 min readWhy is tumble dryer lint a fire risk, and what must I do about it?
Lint is a fine, dry, highly flammable fibre that accumulates in exactly the places where the machine is hottest — and the mechanism is a loop, because the more that accumulates, the hotter the machine runs.
beginner25 min5 min readHow do I know if I have bed bugs, and what do I do?
Confirming it is actually bed bugs rather than something else, the containment steps that matter before anyone treats, and why this one is not a DIY job.
advanced4 hr5 min readHow do I read my consumer unit?
What each switch does, telling an RCD from a breaker, and building the labelled map that makes every future problem quicker.
beginner30 min5 min readI have drilled into an electric cable — what do I do?
The first sixty seconds, why you must not pull the drill out first, what has to happen before the wall is closed up again, and why this is one of the few jobs with no user-level fix.
beginner15 min5 min readIs black mould dangerous?
What the evidence actually supports about mould and health, who is most affected, and why finding the moisture matters more than the colour.
beginner10 min2 min readWhat should I do about a wasp nest?
When a nest can simply be left alone, why aerosol treatment goes wrong, and what a professional treatment actually involves.
beginner20 min5 min readWhy can I hear my neighbours talking through the wall?
Airborne noise gets through a wall in three ways — through it, around it and through the holes in it — and identifying which one dominates decides whether anything you do will work.
beginner30 min5 min readWhy does my toilet keep blocking?
Repeated blockage is a symptom — what goes down, a weak flush, or something wrong with the drain itself.
beginner30 min2 min readWhy is my fridge making a noise, and what do the noises mean?
Most fridge noises are the appliance working correctly — gurgling, cracking, ticking and a low hum are all normal. The ones that matter are rattling, buzzing that changes with the door, and a loud click every few minutes.
beginner20 min4 min readWhy is there black mould on the wall behind my wardrobe?
Why the coldest square metre in a bedroom is behind the furniture on the external wall, and the changes that raise that surface temperature enough to stop mould returning.
beginner45 min4 min readWhy will my circuit breaker not reset?
The ordered half-split method that finds why a breaker keeps dropping, and the point at which the answer is that the fault is in the wiring and not in anything you can unplug.
beginner25 min5 min readHow do I check my house for a hidden water leak?
The meter test that proves whether water is being used, then a systematic isolation to narrow down where.
beginner1 hr4 min readHow do I deal with a stain on the ceiling?
Finding the source before decorating, why emulsion never covers a water stain, and the primer that does.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min read
Going deeper: MaterialWorld
Material properties, comparisons and suitability — paints, fillers, sealants, timber, tile, insulation.