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Mould in rabbit shed

Moonstone

Warren Scout
I used to have the rabbit shed painted in an expensive natural paint that needed repainting once a year but seemed to let the shed breathe. The summer before last I painted the exterior with standard shed paint (I was fed up with the cost and work involved with the other one) and since then have had a problem with visible mould spores growing on all the interior walls.

I put some moisture traps on a shelf they can't reach and that has helped but not got rid of the problem. What else can I do please?
 
Increasing the ventilation will help. eg. If there are windows, leave them open and mesh over the opening, put in a secondary mesh door and leave the main door open during the day. Hutches have a significant amount of mesh on one side, which provides plenty of ventilation - that's what you are trying to replicate with the shed. You do need to be aware of keeping out predators and bad weather, as well as keeping the bunnies in safely.
 
Not a shed but a playhouse: my windows were perspex and battened in so I removed the batten except for the bottom, put in thumb turns (or whatever they're called) and meshed the lot, so I can pop the windows back in when the weather's bad (the turns stop them falling out in the wind).

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You can wash the walls with white vinegar to get rid of what is there already, then ventilate as above to prevent it coming back.
 
Thank you all, especially for the photos.

They have a mesh window and a mesh inner door which I use in the summer but it seems I need to use them in the winter too (it's always the winter I get the mould problem). They also have a mesh covered balcony which I cover with perspex in the winter and in rain.

I have to cover the mesh in the rain or it would just come in, unfortunately the window faces the prevailing wind. I've been covering it in cold weather too as I don't want the bunnies getting cold. But they do have a couple of day hutches inside filled with straw so perhaps I should stop worrying about the cold?

Totally makes sense though, about a hutch having a mesh side and the need to replicate that.

It has a vinyl covered wooden base with concrete underneath the wood.

I'm going to clean off the mould at the weekend. The bunnies are currently indoors (unheated room) as one of them was ill so I'm going to do it before they go out again.

Thank you. Food for thought.
 
It has a vinyl covered wooden base with concrete underneath the wood.
If you look at the all-in photo, you can see the playhouse is on bricks as well as on its own bearers: if you can managed to get the bearers off the ground the airflow improves underneath, but with an existing shed it's pretty difficult without dismantling/lots of help/a massive forklift.

For weather protection, how about this idea: I've rigged a series of hooks above the windows that I hung a section of carpet off when there were fireworks, but Lopsy hated not being able to see out. You could do similar and hang something weatherproof over, maybe corrugated plastic roof sheeting; I've used the lid off an underbed storage box (but with bungee cords) over the hutch we've got, something relatively stiff, hardwearing and not prone to exploding when you drill holes into it (I don't recommend old perspex :lol:)
 
Thank you Keletkezes, I'm going to try to post some pictures....
TPOJHWE


Well, if that worked you can see it has a mesh balcony next to a window that also normally mesh (but I've just removed it because it had a small hole in - about to replace it). Normally in winter the window is covered with the wooden shutter and the balcony is covered by the perspex that you see lying around (bought it pre-drilled).

I like the idea of the bricks but lifting it isn't an option.

I'm getting the impression that I basically need to use the shutter and perspex a lot less to let the air in, even though they will be more cold. I'll have to put them up when it rains though.
 
TPOJHWE


I don't know why the pictures aren't working - I put them in imgur then put the link into the photo icon above?
 
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The window to the left of the balcony normally has mesh in, I'm just in the process of replacing it because it had a hole in.
The shutter leaning up against the side goes in the window in bad weather and the perspex goes around the balcony.

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I normally only use the mesh door in the summer.

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It looks a bit empty because I've taken away some furniture for cleaning.

It sounds as though I need to keep the window and balcony less covered during the day. Please can anyone advise what temperature it needs to be outside for the covers to be up? Thank you.
 
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You could insulate the inside of the shed (eg polystyrene sheets from Wickes between the battens) and then cover with large sheets of thin exterior ply. That could then be painted to protect it and make it easy to wipe down. It would make it less likely to get condensation. Even just painting the bare wood inside will help to stop mould growth. It doesn't have to be an expensive paint - I've used white household emulsion before.
 
Thank you, I thought about insulating it but it gets so hot in the summer, I thought it would make the heat worse. That's a good idea about paint though. I was thinking I could paint the ceiling and the parts out of their reach with a standard fence paint if I keep them out while it dries out.
 
It looks great :love: insulation should make it warmer in winter and cooler in summer :wave:
 
I agree for the cooler in summer: we painted ours white as it sits in full sun, put radiator reflector film under the roof felt (shiny side up), insulated as above and yeah, it's pretty good in summer :)
 
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