Damp, Mould and Condensation

What are the signs and how to manage damp, mould and condensation in the home?

Welsh homes can experience damp, mould and condesation with causes varying. Here are some useful tips and video on how to manage condensation in the home which is the leading cause of damp and mould.

What causes condensation?
Condensation is caused when humid air meets cold surfaces, such as walls and windows.
When the temperature goes down, the amount of moisture that the air can hold falls and the tiny drops of water form on the surface.
The amount of moisture in the air is increased by the release of water vapour from cooking, bathing and showering, and even breathing.
If condensation is allowed to sit on walls for long periods of time, it can penetrate the outer layers of your walls and seep into furniture where it becomes a longer-term problem, causing mould to grow.
What are the different causes of damp and mould?
Moisture in our homes can lead to condensation, damp and mould, especially in the colder months.
There are three main causes of condensation in your home:
Too much moisture in the air indoors.
Not enough ventilation for air to move around.
Your home or room being too cold.
Types of Mould
If you have spotted black mould around windows or patches on the walls and ceilings in your home your first priority should be to get rid of it. One of the reasons that it has appeared may be due to condensation.
If your home does not have a continuous supply of fresh air into it the relative humidity rises, and the internal atmosphere quickly becomes full of airborne moisture. Eventually this build-up of water in the air leads to condensation forming on the colder surfaces of your home including windows, corners of rooms and cold walls. This condensation moisture is pure water which mould just loves to grow on!
Black mould has been shown to be harmful to health and the NHS state that if you have black mould in your home you are more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma.

Top tips to prevent condensation, damp and mould

Dry clothes outside
Drying clothes inside is one of the main causes of creating excess moisture in your home. Whenever possible dry your clothes outside or use a tumble dryer (ventilated to the outside or a condensing type). Using tumble dryers can be expensive & may not be possible for some. A simple option may be to dry your clothes in 1 room, keep the door shut and the window open to provide good ventilation when drying the clothes. It might be worth drying your clothes in the bathroom with the door closed and the extractor fan on.

A tidy home
Air needs to be able to flow freely around your home. If air flow is restricted by having lots of things piled up in rooms it could make that part of the room colder which may mean the vapour will condense on the colder surface. It may also be a good idea to leave storeroom cupboard doors slightly ajar to allow air flow into the space.

Keep the bathroom door shut while bathing / showering
Steam from the bathroom will float around the house until it finds a cold surface on which to condense. Use the extractor fan / open a window while showering to get rid of the excess moisture.

Cooking with the saucepan lids on
Use saucepan lids when you are cooking to help reduce the amount of steam being produced. Also ventilate the room by using your extractor fan or by opening a window.

Increase the air flow in your home
Air flow helps dilute the amount of moisture in the air, open a window or the trickle vent in the window if you have them.

Heating
In cold weather the best way to keep rooms warm enough to prevent condensation is to keep low background heating on. Warm air can hold more moisture.

Sleep with the bedroom window slightly open
Overnight an adult will breathe out around 1 litre of water into the air. If there are 2 adults in the room that is 2 litres of water that has to go somewhere. Opening the window slightly will allow that moist air to escape. If you have them, make sure the trickle ventilators in the window are open.

Use your extractor fans when cooking or bathing
Always use your extractor fan while cooking or bathing. If your extractor fan isn’t working, then contact Cynon Taf so an engineer can fix it for you.
Some homes have continuous ventilation systems installed. You can check whether the system is working correctly by holding a piece of tissue / toilet paper up to the grill. In the kitchen and bathroom the grills should be extracting air (pulling the tissue paper towards it) and in other rooms (eg living rooms & bedrooms) the grill should be putting air into the room (pushing the tissue paper away from the grill).
One of the more recent developments for treating mould around windows is to invest in a window vac which effectively sucks away the water droplets on the window. Using the window vac every morning will help prevent mould around windows.

Follow the link below for more information on ventilation