I'm sorry to say that it is a fact of life in Portugal and really depends on how well your house/apartment has been constructed and how well vented the place is if not lived in full time. Some people (I'm sure there are those on this forum) who have not been subjected to mould, but having lived there for 10 years (in 4 different houses) I have seen it materialize no matter how hard you try to avoid it.
Keep as much of your clothes and bed sheets etc in sealed air tight bags if you are not going to be there then you stand a good chance of staying free. I've heard some real horror stories of people who shut their places up at the end of the summer and then returned for Easter and found the 'black death' all over the house and clothes, It's a sod to get rid of!!
I wish you luck
Joao

We are living full time in our house, opening blinds and windows daily and still have it though I think this year it's because the weather has been particularly bad, the room it is worst in is where we have an outside vent on the wall and I think the wind has blown the rain in through the vent. With it not stopping raining it's just not had a chance to dry out.

The house is only about 5 yrs old.

G

I agree, mould on the walls is a real buggar but I was given a good tip last year. Fill a spray bottle with neat Lixivia (bleach) and spray the affected area. Don't bother to wash it off, let it dry and air the room. It works a treat, after a couple of hours however black it was the stain has gone. However, don't forget to wear goggles, Marigolds and a long sleeved shirt.

That's exactly how my dad was dressed the last time he had to catch a lizard

I have a villa in Carvoeiro, last winter I noticed the black mold on the walls of the corridor and the bedroom upstairs, I wiped the walls with Laxiva, they looked very fresh afterwords, in November I left 2 dehumidifiers on timers to work for 4 hours every night, I went back in January this year and the mold is nearly not there, I left the dehumidifiers to do the same hours and will see when I go back in March.

I am often to be seen listening to the drips in my front room in Caldas da Rainha. I think that the earthquake caused a bit of damage and some water is finding its way in.

Ahhh well, it could be worse.

Something to put up with i´m afraid, portugeuse construction is poor end of!

I think its a combination of houses built for hot weather , 2nd its an area of high humidity between October and April being made worse by heavy rain and last , the houses are not occupied during the winter, I will be interested to know about south Spain, France, Italy???

high humidity for sure! Our house is less than 3 years old and luckly only one bedroom gets some mould, something that should be noted with houses here is that there is no vent in the rooms to let the wall cavity breath(as with British houses) Im gonna try putting a vent in to see if it resolves it!

It's the room in our house with a vent that got mouldy...I think because the rain came down so hard it gor inside the vent.

My builders have advised me to do that in our bedroom.The main part of the house is 150 yrs old...no problems...the bedroom is in the new part (about 15 years old)

it's not just PT, I have spent the last 3 days cleaning the black stuff, and touching up the paintwork, to hide it.

Sorry I should have been clearer, a vent to air the wall cavity (not going to the outside...only from cavity to inside of room)

Cleri if it works or not... keep us updated on your cavity

how rude , asking a lady about her cavity