Damp

[Phwoffy]

Earlier this year we relocated, and are renting a property that is… well, it has its ‘own’ beach, so it’s pretty close to the sea. As an old house that has been renovated, and very close to the water, we are quickly discovering a little problem… The house has damp.

 In this house lives a bunny, who has the freedom to roam wherever he pleases for most of the day. He spends the majority of his time in his room (the least badly affected – actually the only room in the house with only one outside wall, and was a child’s bedroom before we moved in so not TOO bad) but does like to come into our bedroom to keep watch/snooze under our bed. Our room is probably the worst affected; my boyfriend and I both suffer from cold-like symptoms (stuffed noses, sore throats etc) on especially bad days… so, naturally, I’m concerned as to how this will affect Monty.

 His hutch is in his room (where he spends nights), is cleaned out every day and is in exactly the same condition as when we adopted him. He has a box of hay under our bed, with a bowl of water, that are changed daily. He hasn’t shown any signs of being affected by it, and obviously I’d imagine there are lots of poor outdoor buns who have damp houses/are in cold/wet conditions. The house isn’t cold, doesn’t feel damp… but like I say, sometimes you can smell it a bit, sometimes we don’t feel 100%. It is being discussed with landlords but this may take some time so… yes, is there anything we can do to make sure this doesn’t become a problem for Monty? And, is it likely to cause any health problems? As I say, no symptoms so far (touch wood!), I’m just a worrier and after some reassurance!

[lizyfoxylizy]

i wonder if a dehumidifier would solve some of your issues? preemptive problem solving for your little bun

[JackRabbit]

Maybe a dehumidifier and an air purifying machine? Dampness doesn’t generally cause problems by itself, but unending dampness can contribute to mold in the walls and floors and mold can cause illness in humans and animals.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Ditto the dehumidifier and any other methods you can figure out to remove the humidity!

How long are you renting for? I wonder if the landlord would take care of it? Sounds like it’s a health concern and most places (hopefully where you are!) have laws around that kind of thing.

[DethronedbyQueenB]

I’m a landlord and where I live it can be humid.
We ask tenants to turn on and use basics such as bathroom vents and oven vents, etc, to help combat it.
If a building is near water, there is only so much we can do, but we will loan a dehumidifier to a tenant because not only does it help them but we don’t want our property ruined by dampness.
We are responsible for mold and that has to be addressed ASAP.

Sometimes people have allergies that can flare up during humidity but if you suspect it’s something growing in the unit, such as mold, that needs to be addressed by landlord with reasonable speed.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Oh good info DethronedbyQueenB!!

[Phwoffy]

Thank you all very much for the responses and advice.

We have a dehumidifier on order – postage to get up here can take a looong time, especially when the weather’s bad and all the ferries start getting cancelled, but it’s on the way.

Our landlords know about the problem. Unfortunately, we don’t have vents in any of the rooms in the house – we would, of course, use them if they were there. We cook with the windows open, use the bathroom with them open, have them as open as possible – but as we live in an area that is a magnet for gale force winds, that’s not always possible! But yes, thank you very much for the advice.

As I say, we are dealing with it, just wanted to check that it wouldn’t be a problem for Monty as my partner has allergy reactions to the humidity and wondered if it could affect bunnies too.

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