If condensation in our homes isn’t dealt with quickly, it can cause damage and even begin to affect the health of people living there. The good news is that it’s relatively easy to fix in most cases, using basic techniques like opening a window. More in-depth changes may be required if more severe intervention is needed, like adding ventilation measures or insulation to your home. However, It’s often safer to hire professional damp investigation specialists to investigate and rectify the problem. This article will look at the causes of condensation in the home and what you can do to eliminate it.
What Causes Condensation?
It occurs when the warm air makes contact with a cold surface or when our homes contain excess humidity. Upon meeting a cold surface, warm air rapidly cools, releasing water vapour, which then causes condensation. The daily routine in our homes contributes to the amount of moisture we put into the air. The main culprits are baths and showers, boiling kettles, cooking and drying clothes. However, breathing can even contribute! Considering all this, it’s no wonder the average family of four produces over 100 pints of water vapour in a week!
How does Condensation Get Worse?
We’re often told that energy-saving measures are good because they save us money and benefit the environment. While this is true, there can be consequences. Particularly as far as condensation buildup in the home is concerned. Measures like double glazing, cavity insulation, and draught-proofing trap air in our homes, blocking any means of escape, causing our homes to be saturated with humid, stale air. This intensifies the condensation problem, making air quality worse, and obscuring our windows with water vapour. As well as causing possible damage to our homes, this can also contribute to health problems. So, homes that produce a lot of water vapour need to take action quickly.
How can I Manage Condensation at Home?
There’s a couple of things you can do. Like improve ventilation, introduce more insulation, or adjust your central heating settings. Here’s a little more about each one.
Ventilation
The simplest way to add more ventilation to your home is to open a window. The majority of people suffering from condensation problems find that this alone is enough to provide some relief. However, other things could be utilized if this isn’t enough like air bricks, roof ventilation tiles, vented soffits, dehumidifiers, extractor fans, or vented window frames. In cases where condensation is severe, households may have to invest in a more extensive, more expensive solution. Such as a positive input ventilation system, which helps move air trapped inside the home to the outside.
It’s worth noting the importance of proper ventilation not only for comfort but also for the health of the inhabitants. Inadequate ventilation can lead to the buildup of harmful pollutants, adversely affecting one’s health over time.
Heating & Insulation
Condensation can be made worse with frequent temperature changes. With this in mind, it’s better to have central heating switched on continuously on a low setting rather than turning it on and off all the time. Just make sure your energy deal is suitable. In addition to this, you may want to consider other measures, like cavity wall or loft insulation or double glazing. Just make sure that these measures don’t contribute to the problem.
Use your windows
A lot of condensation comes from everyday household tasks done without a thought to the impact. For example, cooking, hanging damp clothing over radiators and showering with the windows closed. Getting into the habit of using the windows for regular, short bursts of fresh air circulation is a really effective way of reducing condensation in the home. You don’t need to shower in a freezing cold bathroom or have the window open all the time you’re cooking, though. Just get into the habit of opening the window after you’ve used the kitchen or taken a shower and the moist air will escape, rather than hanging around the cause condensation.
Everything You Need to Remember About Condensation at Home
Condensation builds up in the home if air cannot escape. The problem can be worse in households that do a lot of washing, showering or drying of clothes indoors. It is quite a serious problem because it not only affects the health of occupants but can also damage your property if left unchecked. Usually, opening a window is enough to fix it. However, in more severe cases, you might need to consider a more costly option.
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