If your home is damp, it can lead to mould on walls, rotting wood and furniture. Whilst there can be serious causes of damp, some is caused by condensation, which, with some care, can easily be avoided.
Here are our top tips to avoid condensation leading to damp and mould in your home:
1. Try to avoid heating appliances that burn paraffin or bottle gas, a paraffin or gas heater will produce about a gallon of moisture (water) for every gallon of fuel burned. By using a paraffin or gas heater, you are actually making your rooms wetter.
2. Cooking food using pans without lids will produce steam that will condense upon contact with (colder) walls. Try to cover pans, maybe use a lower setting as food will cook just as well, always making sure that the food is properly cooked.
3. Heated Drying cabinets and tumble dryers, unless these are vented to the outside of the house will make more dampness inside.
Drying wet clothes on a radiator will create moisture.
4. Keep one window open, if only slightly, where a room tends to get dampness gathering. Vent the kitchen when cooking, and the bathroom after bathing the kids or whilst taking a shower. When using the kitchen or bathroom close the door to prevent steam from travelling through the house. If possible, install an extractor fan in these rooms.
5. Vent clothes drying appliances to outside the property.
6. Many homes are now closed up tight to keep the winter colds out, and where windows are draught proof, warm wet air cannot escape, so a small amount of ventilation will help to keep rooms dry, as will ventilating wardrobes and other enclosed cupboards.
7. Use a dehumidifier in damp rooms, these appliances are not expensive and they do work. Dehumidifiers suck the moisture out of the air, there is a tank that needs to be emptied, but it is worth the bother.
8. Defend the home from the effects of the weather.
• Fit double glazing
• Install cavity wall insulating
• Have central heating installed, or serviced if already installed.
• Fit draught proofing.
9. In cold weather keep rooms warm enough to avoid condensation by keeping your heating on low all day. Flat and bungalows that are all on one level are particularly susceptible to condensation as bedrooms don’t benefit from the heat rising from the room below, so install a small heater in rooms that aren’t used on a regular basis.
If you have implemented these suggestions and are still suffering from damp and condensation you may need professional advice. Please call us on 233 0015 for a free initial consultation.