Water damage and London's bathrooms...

I've just moved to London from a strange and foreign country (not really...) and am trying to find a somewhat long-term place to stay and... I'm a bit baffled by the amount of apartments with some sort of water damage in the bathrooms. Be it just severely stained grouts or ones that have already built up considerable mold.

And I wonder why that is...
Is it just my budget, which at 1200 max. is too low to expect a well-maintained flat in zone 1 (with maybe a hint of 2), even when it's shared?

Or are they generally (or usually) built with underpowered ventilation?

Or do a lot of people simply not get what it does when you just close the door and turn off the fan after you've taken a shower? (Like my landlord where I currently stay does... and it shows. I've never seen or smelled a bathroom this nasty in my life... complete with urin stains... mmm...)

It's not like I've never come across it before or that I don't understand that it just happens even if you are careful with getting the dampness out. But... I've never seen it this often, to these extents.

No airflo Andy and new non wood windows and doors..went to friends new house and felt like I was living in a tupperware box, and the bathroom had a weird non-toilet smell...when I have a shower I just open the window and leave the door open!

Councils and trusts are now putting in extract fans that come on with the light and stay on for ten or so minutes after the light has been switched off,may help.

Trouble with fans that come on with the light switch is when using the lavatory at night the fan goes for fifteen minutes or so, environmentally unfriendly if you have a large house hold, and expensive. Two switches are better....that's if you have bathroom and lavatory combined like me.

Yes, good point Jan,I wonder if those little fan thingys that were cut into the glass pane with the spinning thing (great description eh?)could make a comeback.

@ boroughonian:

Ten minutes?! Jeez, those better be some damn powerful fans. The one where I currently stay needs 1-2 hours to completely get the moisture out there if I keep the door closed.

@ Jan:

I can't say for sure but my guess would be that the wattage on those things is pretty low... probably ten minutes less TV per day and you're covered for the difference.
But... yeah, opening whatever is available (window and/or door) is usually what I do too.

This is embarrassing but my embarrassment is somewaht eased by the fact that no one in work coulld work it out,we're electricians and cannot work out how,after cutting the power the fan still runs,but we have at least concluded that it can't be costing anything when the lights off and the fans running,perhaps there's a better spark about to put us straight.

I've got a new fan which can be set to go off when the light goes off thank God because I was stumbling around in the dark for years before so as not to set the damn thing off and be kept awake by it rumbling for ages afterward before.

Doesn't help your moldy bathroom issues and the problem there is simply lack of ventilation.
My no window bathroom has a vent set into an old chimney breast which takes some of the damp out plus I keep the door open when I bathe otherwise the room steams up terribly even with the vent. Tricky in a flat share situation though I grant you.

AndyO - did you ever get this sorted?

Boroughonian - the fan is powered from the mains but needs the switch from the lights to start it up, and then there's a timer, or moisture measurer so it only goes off after a certain time, or below certain humidity. it's probably an electromagnetic switch(like in a doorbell) - when current flowing in light circuit, electromagnet pulls switch for current in fan.

LOL a room full of sparks got it wrong, we should of listened to Jan!

Cheers Jon