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Six Simple Tips to Combat and Reduce Condensation at Home

Six Simple Tips to Combat and Reduce Condensation at Home

  2018-03-07         sparksdirect         Product News » Ventilation News

Due to the lack of adequate ventilation at home we all have condensation, and if we leave condensation untreated, mould growth can happen - and this can be harmful to our health and the health of our children.

How to prevent condensation problems by having proper ventilation.

When mould growth takes place, it can lead to serious health issues and breathing difficulties.

The fact that we have double insulated windows doesn't help, for condensation is kept inside, instead of the air being circulated to remove it.

If there's regular condensation at home, it can cause structural damage to the house, there may be some damp patches that can appear on the wall, and there are steaming windows.

Especially in the cold season when we spend more time indoor and we don't want to open the windows because it's too cold outside, there's a risk of moisture build up, and the humidity levels will increase.

We need to consider how can we combat condensation - how can we reduce condensation at home so that we won't damage our health and our property would not be damaged long-term.

Why do we have Condensation at Home?

We may have noticed the steaming windows (especially after taking a shower, washing the dishes, putting out our laundry to dry inside the house, etc) and we may wipe them regularly, but we need to make sure we deal with condensation properly, otherwise mould may grow.

Whether we live in a listed building or a newly built apartment, condensation has a big impact, and both our walls, our furniture, and our health may be damaged.

Why do we have condensation at home? Condensation takes place when warm air meets cold surfaces, or when there's a high level of humidity in our home.

Especially in the fall or winter time, when we heat up our home, when we cook, take a shower, dry our clothes indoors, or take a bath, warm moisture is released into the air inside the home.

When the warm air filled with moisture comes into contact with the cold wall (especially the wall facing outside), it cools down and releases water, little droplets of water on the cold surface.

We may not worry that much about these little droplets of water, and we may get used to the steaming windows, but we need to consider this since they can lead to such things as sinus problems, skin rashes, and other health issues.

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Six Simple Tips to Combat and Reduce Condensation at Home

Six Simple Tips to Combat and Reduce Condensation at Home

How can we combat and reduce condensation at home? Here are some simple tips offered by experts - some are quite simple and easy to do, while others may require some investment, but they all can help reduce and combat condensation at home.

1. Clean the windows when they get steamy - make sure you clean the water droplets from the window, the mirror, the glass shower dividers, and the wall, when you see that steam builds up. Use the regular window cleaner tool, and then a clean towel to clean up any condensation, to make sure these colder surfaces are clean and dry.

2. Improve the ventilation at home. When we increase the ventilation at home, condensation can be removed. Simply opening the window in the living room and after taking a shower, cooking, or drying the laundry can remove the build-up of moisture inside the home. You can also install air bricks to the outside walls, air vents for the internal walls (or sealed chimneys to allow airflow through the house), roof ventilation tiles, and window vents. Also, we recommend installing ventilation fans in the bathroom and in the kitchen - you can find a wide range of bathroom fans from Airflow, Envirovent, and Manrose on our website.

3. Action-based ventilation: when you cook (with the kitchen door closed!) it is good to turn on the extractor fan in the kitchen on a high power to extract any excess moisture, or at least open the window. When taking a shower (with the bathroom fan ON), close the door and, after you finish, open the window (and keep the door closed). When drying the laundry, do it only in one room with the window open or even better, do it outside.

4. Pets and plants can release moisture and thus create condensation; it is good to cover up the fish tank most of the time, and if damp patches appear on the wall or condensation is on surfaces, it is good to move the plants outside.

5. Furniture tips: it is not recommended to overfill the wardrobes or kitchen cupboards, so that there would be air ventilation, otherwise the air moisture trapped may lead to mold. Also, it is recommended for any furniture to be at least 50mm from the wall, especially the walls facing outside, for air to circulate.

6. Double glazing and loft insulation lead to reducing the loss of heat (which is good), but it can also lead to condensation if no proper ventilation is ensured. The use a of a dehumidifier can also help taking the moisture out of the air.

Trickle vent systems such as the Airflow Loovent Eco and Envirovent ECO DMEV can ensure continual ventilation in your home. As our homes become more insulated and the heat (and moisture) is trapped indoors, we need to make sure we have a proper ventilation together with the tight insulation, so that we may combat and reduce condensation (which, left undealt with, can lead to mould growth).

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There are many other ways to reduce and combat condensation - if you know of a different way to reduce condensation, please write us in the comments.
As a further reference, you may find helpful to also consult the following articles on this topic: how to stop condensation in 10 steps, how to deal with condensation, 14 ways to reducing condensation, and what causes condensation and how to stop it.