Martine Rolls: The health hazards of damp housing

About 30 per cent of homes in New Zealand suffer from problems associated with dampness

The first house we lived in when we came to Tauranga was a dump. After many years of apartment-living in a big city, it was nice to have a back yard and a deck to sit on to soak up the sun, but that was about it. The house itself can only be described as nasty.

I had never seen cockroaches before but in this place, they were crawling everywhere.

The ones on the bedroom ceiling freaked me out most, and there were dozens of them, as I was worried I would have my mouth open when sleeping and they would drop into it. I'm so glad that never happened.

I still think that roaches are gross but I've somehow learned to tolerate this form of wildlife. I don't scream anymore when I see one, but when they start running on those little legs I still get the shivers and have to resist the urge to bolt out of the room.

The many cockroaches weren't the worst thing about the house, though. What was really nasty about it was that it had no insulation and was fundamentally damp.

My son was just a toddler at the time and he had never been sick before, but while living there he had a bad cough and a runny nose all through winter.

He used to be a great little sleeper but after we moved into this house, I was often up at night comforting him as he coughed and cried and had trouble breathing.

It was often colder indoors than it was outside and when we moved out after nearly a year, the things I had stored at the back of the wardrobe were covered in a thick layer of mould.

My boy's health improved as soon as we moved out so it was pretty obvious the house was to blame.

Moisture is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Not even rigorous use of the stuff that promises to kill 99 per cent of germs can compensate for a damp house. Bacterial colonies grow on damp organic matter like wall boards and floorboards. They love it!

I was surprised that living in such circumstances is not unusual in New Zealand.

So many people I knew at the time were looking at buying cheap property with the purpose to rent it out.

It was their retirement plan. All I could see was owners of cheaply built houses charging top dollar to tenants who couldn't afford anything better.

The one we were in had two bedrooms and an office which we used as a baby room and it cost us about $290 a week. Needless to say, it was energy-inefficient and expensive to live in. I received a little top-up from Winz but when adding the power bill to that amount, it meant it cost me more than half of my weekly earnings.

Paying half of your income just to have a roof over your head is pretty ridiculous in my books, but it's certainly not unusual here in Tauranga.

I am still renting and we have moved a few times since then, but we have never had health problems like it since.

Except for one, I've had good landlords. My last one organised insulation as soon as I asked for it and he didn't put the rent up because of it either. The Pink Batts made a huge difference over winter but of course it added value to their property too.

On bayofplentytimes.co.nz on Monday, I read that a warrant of fitness scheme for rental housing has been announced to take place in Tauranga as part of a nationwide project. The project is aimed at making rental housing safer to live in - especially for children, students and the elderly. When the link to the story was posted on the Bay of Plenty Times' Facebook page, reactions from readers came in fast. Most people figured that something like a WOF for rental properties would only make renting more expensive.

Tony Ross for instance posted that it would be a bad thing for tenants as landlords would just pass on extra costs.

"My dog's kennel is in a better state than some rental properties out there," said Tara McKenzie. She agreed that houses should meet a certain standard but she suggests that tenants need to, too.

If it was up to me, I would make it compulsory for every rental property to be clean, tidy and fully insulated before it would be allowed to be put up for rent.

Unfortunately, reality paints a different picture.

According to the figures I found online, about 30 per cent of homes in New Zealand suffer from problems associated with dampness.

Dehumidifiers and ventilation systems can be used to fix the symptoms, but they don't target the source of the problem. If you live in a damp and mouldy house and you don't think you'll get the opportunity to move elsewhere before winter comes around again, there are a few things you can do to improve things a little. I found some tips on consumerbuild.org.nz and energywise.org.nz.

Ventilation is the easiest way to tackle dampness, and simple things like opening windows, keeping furniture away from external walls, not drying clothes inside, and using lids on pots when cooking all help. But the best advice I can give you, especially if your landlord won't do anything about it, and to start looking for a healthier place to live.

Martine Rolls is a Tauranga writer and digital strategist - www.sweetorange.co.nz