This is caused by the walls inside the cupboard being colder than the rest of the room. When you open the wardrobe door you let in relatively warm air which then condenses on the cold walls ( and on the clothes if you are really unlucky making the clothes go mouldy).

If you can put a false back and side in the wardrobe it will help a lot, but you will have to provide ventilation behind the false back otherwise the mould on the wall will get even worse.

Adding insulation is even better but it's not easy with a solid brick wall to ensure you don't make the situation worse.

We have just built wardrobes in a house with solid walls and to prevent this sort of problem we stripped all the plaster off the walls and dry lined them with thermal check plasterboard. Quite a big job but it certainly made the room a whole lot warmer which was a big bonus.

If you are going to dry line then definitely take out the wardrobes and carry the lining behind it otherwise the problem will get a lot worse. The only caveat is that the board will be 40 or 50 mm thick so it could possibly make the wardrobe a tight fit. You can get thinner board but the insulation is far less effective. Make sure you put the thermal board on all the outside walls otherwise the ones you leave are likely to have condensation forming on them. Once you have done this you may find you get more condensation forming on the windows but that is easily wiped up.

Thermal board has its own vapour barrier built in so there is no need to add ventilation behind the board, although there normally is some air flow in an older house anyway.

Adding insulation like this makes an enormous difference to a room with solid walls, once you do one you will want to do the whole house!

I mentioned insulation because you could insulate the wall from inside but you could make the condensation problem worse if you didn't completely seal the insulation to form a sealed vapour barrier. The thermal board is a much better option and should add value to your house, whereas just putting insulation on the wall could well devalue it.

What is rising damp

Rising damp is the upward movement of ground water through permeable masonry walls.  The water rises through the pores in the masonry wall via a process called capillarity. Capillarity is an electro-chemical process whereby water molecules are attracted to mineral surfaces, enabling water to move vertically through pores of a certain size despite the counteractive force of gravity.

What is a damp proof course

There are two main types of damp proof course (DPC). The first is an impervious barrier, usually laid along a bed joint during the construction of a building.  The second is a remedial chemical DPC, which can be introduced by trade specialists, competent builders or DIY enthusiasts.  The damp proofing chemical is normally applied along the base of walls that are suffering from the effects of rising damp.  Contrary to common belief a chemical DPC does not form an impervious physical barrier.  Chemical damp-proofing is an effective method of lining the pores along a stretch of masonry wall with a silicone resin water repellent.  For the purists, a pore-lining silicone rising damp treatment works by neutralising the charge attraction of the masonry pores to the water molecules.

Where should chemical damp proofing be installed

You should choose a chemical DPC system that is specifically designed to be introduced into the mortar joints.  The mortar presents the only continuous passage ascending up a wall through which water is able to rise.  Therefore a mortar bed joint is the only layer that can function as a damp proofing layer.  Introducing a DPC into just each brick or block unit along a stretch of wall will not stop the water rising through the joints between.  In accordance with BS6576:2005 a DPC should be sited at least 150mm above external ground level and internally beneath ground floor joists, or close to the floor if solid.  If the two are incompatible please phone our help line for DIY or trade advice.  Where a newly injected damp proof course is to finish additional injection holes should be drilled vertically, up to a height of 1m in a zigzag pattern that follows the mortar line, and the holes injected with DPC cream to form a vertical damp proof course that will stop the transmission of damp from abutting walls.

Spam removed thescruff