Mould testing on the Sunshine Coast

Hinterland homes in the cloud

On the range, it is common for outdoor humidity to sit near saturation for days. A house there can only stay dry if it can shed water and move air: good roof drainage, a ventilated subfloor, and somewhere for moisture from cooking, showers and wood heaters to go. Shuttered holiday cottages and homes with enclosed subfloors are where the problems show up — on ceilings in the cold rooms, behind furniture on south-facing walls, and on leather and timber furniture.

Because outdoor air on the range can carry a heavy spore load, an indoor air sample there is only meaningful next to an outdoor control taken at the same time.

Split-level houses cut into the slope

Buderim, Palmwoods and the range towns have many homes stepped into the hillside, with a lower level partly below ground. The uphill wall of that level holds back soil and water. If the waterproofing behind it or the drainage at its base has failed, water moves through the masonry and the room behind it smells damp no matter how well it is aired. Readings across the full height of the wall show the telltale gradient from the bottom up and the back out.

Coastal units and investors

The 2021 Census counted 27.3% of occupied dwellings as rented. Coastal investors face the same issues as elsewhere on the coast — closed-up units, exhaust fans vented into ceilings, balcony leaks — and the RTA’s damp and mould standard applies to every tenancy. A dated moisture record at the start of a lease is the simplest protection for both sides.

Suburbs and towns in this council area

Caloundra · Kawana · Mooloolaba · Maroochydore · Buderim · Sippy Downs · Nambour · Coolum Beach · Beerwah · Maleny · Montville · Palmwoods