The battle commences

A wet, cool British autumn has been steadily enveloping this soggy island. We had been trying to hold off turning on the heat for a little longer until it was actually cold. It's still bearable, albeit with a sweater and warm socks on. However, we have been noticing a creeping dampness setting in. Our clothing and bedsheets have been ever so slightly moist. It doesn't help that we don't have a tumble dryer or even a condenser dryer, so our clothes have to dry on a clothing rack inside (we are not permitted to dry clothes on our patio because of the eye-sore that is created). So, a couple of weeks ago, we set the thermostat to fire up our radiators for a couple of hours every morning and evening. It has helped a bit. However, it looks like we may have been too late...

Mo(u)ld has been blooming in the window sills and in a couple of dark corners of our bedroom (the wall that gets the brunt of the wind and rain). This morning, I moved my dresser out from its corner to have a look. Huge patch of mold. We spent about an hour searching the flat for more of these breeding grounds, spraying them down with bleach, and scrubbing away the mold.

We thought this flat was going to be free from this scourge because it is much newer than the others we've lived in and it has been newly renovated. Apparently, you can't judge flats by appearances. It's quite frustrating. We started thinking that perhaps it was us. Are we overly moist people? Every flat we've lived in here have had some kind of damp/mold problem, though it seems like we're moving up in the world because each flat has been slightly less moldy, the Norwich one being the worst. Anyway, I don't think we're to blame. Our apartment in Brussels had zero mold and it was just as rainy there as it is here. It must be this soggy island. We've asked a few of our British friends and they have basically just shrugged. Perhaps we're being too sensitive, but this dampness makes us yearn for Arizona! We had a humidifier in our bedroom when we lived there. I suppose we need a dehumidifier for our bedroom here! I wonder if our landlord will agree to buying one. Probably not. She'll just think we're being too nitpicky. What do you mean "mould"? This is how we make our stilton cheese!

Anyway, that battle has commenced. We will be on mold-patrol until summer rolls around again. Our spray-bottle of bleach is locked and loaded.

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Mold isn't the only critter in our lives at the moment. We also have our neighborhood grey squirrels which we've been feeding peanuts on a daily basis. I know they're a non-native species that has driven the native red squirrel nearly to extinction, but they're still cute little buggers! And they're the only pet we can have at the moment since this building has a "no pets" rule. They've gotten quite brave, almost daring to take peanuts directly from our hands. These cute rodents aren't going to go hungry this winter!

I wonder if they would eat mold?