OMG.... I'm sorry to hear the Cologne I don't really know the definitive answers to your questions, but I would have thought the person who's pipe it is has some responsibility. Leaving the windows open may help.  We had a dehumidifier , and never had any probs with using it, but then neither of us have chest conditions...

Get on to your insurance company right away!

I've heard that dehumidifiers aren't good for chest probs too, however in this case as it's only a short term thing... does the benefit outweigh the risk? If the wall doesn't dry out quickly it may go mouldy and I suspect that could be much worse for you.

Maybe your local pharmacist could advise, or you could call your GPs reception and maybe speak to the practice nurse.

I've no idea about the electricity, perhaps your HA has an advice line (I know a lot are absoloute rubbish to deal with)...maybe they could give you a small grant (I dunno if you have a key/card meter or pay by DD) or credit your key with a fiver or something?  It's not something I've ever heard of but still could be possible.

Opening your windows and turning the heating on may work but again that's going to cost you in heating expenses...plus our good old British weather being as unpredictable as it is...it could end up chucking down with rain and undo and drying you'd achieved.

I dunno if any of that is any help, just thoughts off the top of my head....oh and it's just started belting down here. Typical!

  

Baz thank you.

Leccy, it's got to be on for at least 4 weeks, It's already gone mouldy, but the problem is I never go into the airing cupboard because the water is always on. The Larder is stacked full with carp, so I never noticed. I can't smell anything, so it had to gt to the state of the whole thing coming through the lounge wall, we must be taking 2 weeks already. Yesterday, I finaly heard the dripping and realised what was going on. My HA are good TBF. The electrician said to ask them for a gas one because they have to pay for the bottles, but I'm quite worried about my chest really. Thank you anyway. Tiddles wil kill me, no insurance.

Would something like a calor gas heater help in this case then? Rather than a dehumidifier?

Awww  Cologne don't be daft!       Get on to your health centre and explain your circs, get them on side, and ask for advice. Maybe they'll have some clout with the HA and will find an agreeable solution for you. Your health and wellbeing is the most important factor in all of this.    

I think that's what he may have meant. TBH, I'd rather just leave the windows open and get fresh air. I had calor gas heating once and it kept giving me a headache. Also with the dehumid. you have to leave the windows closed, but that means that Mutley (the kitten) can't go out because I'm waiting for a catflap, but don't have it yet. Arrrrrggggghhhhh.

 It's a rented house, so I haven't thought about it enough. Also (get the fiddles out), with hospital and all that carp, it just wooshes over my head. Thing is, if it had really let rip, I'd be sitting here with water damage to my fixtures and fittings, so I really must do something about it. The HA will redecorate when it's completely dried out. I worry about the machine and the cost. I'll call my quack tomorrow and find out. Thanks for all your help everybody.

Cologne anything electric burns the power up no end.We knew that before we got gas central heating and heated the house with electricity.Bills were triple what they are with gas now ,even with all the price increases.You could check your meter and see if the wheel is spinning like buggery when it is on.

OR get a bloke in that can fiddle it...ahem!

I know katty, I'd much prefer gas, but unfortunately it's only in parts of the village for the time being. I'm on the wrong side, I think the last push is next year. As for a bloke that can fiddle,  I used to know lots, but it's all going wrong when you're old.

Cologne..

Just a thought - although you don't have insurance your upstairs neighbour might, and since they caused the problem their insurance might cover you

Cologne, I'm afraid I don't have any useful advice to offer. I just wanted to give you a bigand hope you get it sorted out soon.

That's not so good cologne..

Don't know if this is any help, but my gran had COPD and an asbestos -related chest condition , and her consultant recommended a dehumidifier .. it wasn't one of those great big industiral thingies , but I'm thinking that that may be less likely to aggravate a chest condition than damp, humid air and spores. Also worth asking at the hospital about advice re benefits etc - they may have someone in-house who can help ( again , there was a specialist nurse in the thoracic unit who helped with that kinda thing) or be able to point you in the right direction - you shouldn't be out of pocket for someone else's plumbing problems!
All the best with it!

my sympathies Cologne!    I don't know about dehumidifiers & chest problems...  or about the housing association or electricity costs...

but I know about water leaks.   The water tank in our loft ruptured a while back...  we had water pouring through the central inner walls of the house....   it wrecked loads of stuff (but thankfully we were insured)...

as for drying the house out...     we had all the windows & doors open...    it happened to me in autumn so it wasn't as effective as we hoped....   our flooring needed replacing and we got mould on some of the walls...     we had to keep cleaning it off...   and a year later when we were sure they were as dry as possible we applied anti damp paint.

my boy has mild asthma...   and even that level of damp effected his chest...  

I hope someone somewhere can help you with this...  

I would be very wary of Calor Gas heaters as they really aggravate my chest.
My local chemist used to have one in the shop in the winter and I had to stop going in until Spring came round.

You have a point there. Thank you.


Yogi

I'm sorry, had a friend on the 'phone for a long while. Thank you everybody. Ditty, I feel worse, so I think the spores are flying around and I need to find a way to solve it. Slinkywitch you could be right. I'm going to put it on and see what it does. Chestwise and financially.  I'll talk to HA and Doc tomorrow. Blackpud, I feel like you about that, I don't know what to do for the best. Thank you so much for answering my problem everybody.

They also cause damp themselves. We used to have one in the kitchen, and it went mouldy. But of course if you burn hydrocarbon it produces water and carbon dioxide.

I have to be a scientist to understand that GJ, but I get the drift. Thank you.  

Yep! Gas fires are OK in a fireplace with flues n chimlies n stuff but free-standing need lots of ventilation.

i'm no expert but might it have been a humidifer .........my nan had one as steam helped her with her breathing .............a dehumidifier makes the air very dry. I don't know as I say I'm no expert.

Sorry .................just read up on it....................apparently both can be used for chest conditions. Think I'd speak to my GP.

No good, I don't have a fireplace, more's the pity. I'm going to have a chat with my doc, but my favourite solution is leaving the windows and doors open. Sozzywoo, thank you, the problem is, like you, I don't know which is good or bad, or if they are at all.

Whoever caused the leak that's damaged your flat, has to take responsibility for it. See whether they have insurance, although as it's a flat,I doubt they will..the HA probably will have to cover damage to the buiding however...check with them first..Then the next stop is the docs to see what you can use to dry it out and what the cost to you would be....there may be some help available. The CAB could also point you in the right direction.
Not much help Col, but have a anyways

Thanks KT. Would you believe that the leak was in the cavity between upstairs and my place? It was their pipe though because mine, being downstairs, starts down below at the cockstop. I don't think we need an insurance as tenants, but I have learnt from this. It could have been a lot worse and my stuff needs to be insured forthwith. I will follow everybody's advice tomorrow and hope to sort it out. Thank you very much.  

i'm no expert and don't have a chest problems, but i am very sensitive to those calor gas heater things which make me feel really dried out, ill and headachey.

However i do us a humidifier a lot as my house if quite damp, and it has never had any effect on me at all, and i've left it on constantly for days at a time sometimes with the windows shut.

Ok not really helpful, just to say that heaters and humidifiers might have totally different effects

It could be very helpful DS. Do you think it makes a lot of difference to your electricity bill? Do I HAVE to leave the windows shut?

Hi Cologne - I can't help with the chest problem bit BUT a similar thing happened to my house a couple of years ago and the extra electricity used was covered by the insurance company.,
It comes under buildings -not contents.

yes it eats up the electric...at a rough guess (i'm on a meter)  i used twice as much leccy as usual when it's on

i don't think you have to have the window shut, it just speeds up the drying process massively as you're not letting extra moisture come in from outside

Oh and we had the windows opened when it was sunny as well.

Thanks DS, that confirms my reservations.

Isadora, my thoughts, I just naturally want to open windows and doors. I don't have insurance. It's a rented flat and I've been preoccupied over the last couple of years, but I must start thinking about insurance! 

Col as far as I am aware dehumidifiers are fine to be used around folk with chest/lung conditions....As for the running of it,take a reading of your electric meter now,compare past bills and see how many units you use on average, anything over the average INSIST the HA cover the cost...The damage was caused to THEIR property,no fault of yours either,if need be THEY can recoup the expenses from the tenant in the other property or their insurer.

Yep.. was definitely a dehumidifier my nana had to get though soozy , her house was damp and they reckoned that aggravated her consition.
Good point re the buildings insurance..  cologne, might be worth asking the H.A.  to check to see if the extra cost of running the machine is covered?

.. or maybe it was her conDition it aggravated!

Thank you very much, I'm so glad I did ask on here. You are coming up with things I hadn't thought about.

I didn't know that! 

mind you I can't moan....   my insurance company were amazing when it happened to us...   it was the insurance bloke that came round that started throwing on more stuff that would be covered than we had initially thought...    I cried with relief when he was round my house!