Condensation Advice
Condensation is natural and is caused when humid air meets cold surfaces like walls and windows. As the temperature goes down, the amount of moisture that the air can hold falls and tiny drops of water form on the surface.
The air in your home is naturally humid, but the amount of moisture is increased by the release of water vapour from cooking, bathing, 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.
Condensation is the leading cause of damp and mould but luckily it is the easiest and most cost effective to treat. Please read our advice about how to understand the prevention of condensation and treat it if it occurs.
Risk of Condensation
Our team of Surveyors have put together this graph to help explain how condensation can build up. It shows the correlation between how heating your home and reducing moisture can help to eliminate unwanted effects from condensation in your home.
The optimum conditions to help keep your home free of condensation is to keep your heating above 17°C and reducing moisture.
Watch our video about condensation:
Top tips if you've got mould growth:
Reducing Moisture
- Avoid drying your washing directly on a radiator.
- Dry clothes outdoors where possible. If you need to dry your clothes indoors, use a clothes airer in the bathroom with the door closed and either a window open or extractor fan on.
- Dry or wipe down humid areas such as condensation on windows.
- Ensure your extractor fans are working and 'on' when you need them.
- Always bath or shower with the door closed.
- Ensure your tumble drier is vented to the outside (never into the home).
- Always cover pans when cooking and do not leave the kettle boiling.
Ventilating and Prevention
- Keep your property heated to at least 15degrees celsius at all times, for your health and comfort in addition to prevention of condensation.
- Do you need more or better extractor fans? We can identify properties that need these and install these in homes that need them.
- Ensure window vents are open.
- Keep furniture away from cold external walls.
- Do not block any air bricks.
- Open windows slightly if condensation starts to appear. This will let the moisture escape.
- Wipe down windows if condensation appears.
Cleaning
- Clean mould off when you first spot mould spores appearing.
- You can clean using easily purchased mould remover spray which you can buy online or in a supermarket or you can use water.
- Do not brush mould, as it can release the spores into the atmosphere, breathing it in can be dangerous.
- Once clean and dry, you can redecorate.
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