Reducing condensation in your home helps to prevent damp and mould from occurring. Everyday jobs around the house like washing and drying clothes, cooking, and bathing all release moisture into the air, and it’s when this moisture settles on a cold surface, such as a wall or window, that condensation is created. If this continues for a long period of time, it will eventually cause damp and mould will begin to grow.
To help our customers prevent condensation in their home, we’ve got a dedicated resource to help you keep your home moisture-free… meet Detective Damp.
Condensation is the most common cause of dampness experienced in our customers’ homes, especially during colder months.
Condensation is caused by moisture in the air settling on a colder surface, such as a window or wall, or in areas of the home with little air circulation, such as behind furniture.
The illustration shows how much extra water you could be adding to the air in your home in a day.
Wipe down windows, windowsills, walls and shower walls every morning to remove condensation. Just opening a window isn’t enough.
To ventilate your home, you may only need to open the window slightly or use the trickle vent if you have UPVC windows. This allows warm moist air to escape to the outside.
If your home has condensation, it is possible that mould can grow, often as black spots on your walls, ceilings, furnishings and even on clothes and toys.
To kill and remove the mould, regularly follow these steps:
There are three other main types of dampness that could affect your home. It is important to understand the difference between them so that we can effectively treat the problem.
This type of dampness is primarily found on the external walls of the property, due to defects such as missing pointing to the brickwork, cracked rendering or missing roof tiles. These defects allow water to pass from the outside to the inner surfaces.
Penetrating dampness is far more noticeable following a period of rainfall and will normally appear as a well-defined ‘damp-patch’ which looks and feels damp to the touch.
This is caused by water rising from the ground into the home. The water gets through or around a broken damp proof course (DPC) or passes through the natural brickwork if the property was built without a DPC.
Rising damp will only affect basements and ground floor rooms. It will normally rise to between 12 and 24 inches above ground level and usually leaves a ‘tide mark’ low down on the wall. You may also notice white salts on the affected areas. Rising damp will be present all year round but is more noticeable in winter.
If left untreated, rising damp may cause wall plaster to crumble and paper to lift in the affected area. If you suspect rising damp, take a photo of it and share it with us via Chatabot on the Great Places website.
Leaks from water and waste pipes, especially in bathrooms and kitchens, are relatively common. They can affect both external and internal walls and ceilings. The affected area looks and feels damp to the touch and remains damp whatever the weather conditions outside.
A quick examination of the water and waste pipes serving the kitchen and bathroom, the seals around the bath, shower and sinks, and the external pipework (e.g. guttering) will usually find the source of the problem.
If you have followed the advice above and the problem persists, please report your concerns to our Customer Hub right away to avoid the issues becoming more serious.
The quickest and easiest way for you to contact us is to use the Live Chat facility on our website. It is four times quicker than phone and available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Alternatively, email us at repairs@greatplaces.org.uk.
