Controlling the levels of condensation and mould in your home
A guide for tenants
There are three main causes of condensation:
- Moisture is produced by everyday activities.
- Not enough ventilation in high humidity areas
- Cool temperatures
Cooking, drying clothes, showering – even breathing – add to the moisture in the air. If this moisture is allowed to build up it can cause damp. This can increase the risk of respiratory illness and cause black mould growth on walls, ceilings, furniture, and clothing.
Some people do not realize that this mould growth is often caused by condensation from normal activities carried out in our daily lives, mistakenly thinking these are signs of damp caused by problems with the property itself.
There are three main ways to tackle the problem:
- Stop moisture building up.
- Ventilate, or air, the home.
- Keep your home warm. Stop moisture building up.
- Wipe down surfaces such as windows where moisture settles and don’t allow to build up.
- Cover boiling pans when cooking.
- When cooking, bathing or washing and drying clothes, close kitchen and bathroom doors to prevent steam going into colder rooms, keep moisture contained to those areas and let your extractor fans do their job.
- Please keep windows and trickle vents closed during the winter months when temperatures are not equal with inside as this leads to high humidity and moisture levels and adds to the problem introducing moisture to come in from outdoors.
- Dry clothes outside where possible or use tumble drier.
We hope this has been advice on how to treat condensation in the home.