As temperatures plummet across the UK and many parts are blanketed with snow, a common household problem will be rearing its head in many homes: condensation. At best, condensation is a nuisance, at worst, if you don’t prevent condensation, it can cause some real long-term issues.
For example, condensation can lead to damp and mould, both of which can not only damage your walls and furnishings, but also pose a risk to the health of your family.
how can you prevent condensation in your home?
[Related reading: Top Tips for Effectively and Efficiently Heating Your Home This Winter]
But before we unveil our top tips, let’s have a quick look at what causes condensation.
Condensation occurs when air that is saturated with moisture comes into contact with a surface that’s colder than it. Upon touching the cold surface, the moisture condenses and water droplets appear.
Now, here are our top tips to prevent condensation in your home:
Reduce the moisture in your home’s air
The bottom line is the more moisture in the air in your home, the more likely it is that condensation will form on your walls, windows and glass doors. So if you can reduce the amount of moisture in the air in your home, you will also reduce the chances of condensation appearing.
Moisture can be reduced in a few simple steps:
- Turn on extractor fans when cooking or showering/bathing
- If you don’t have extractors, open a window/outside door
- Try not to dry clothes indoors
- Use a towel to wipe away any condensation you find
The bottom line is moisture can be effectively removed from your home by improving the ventilation.
Prevent Condensation by Buying a dehumidifier
It’s not always practical to have a window open during the day. This is especially true during the winter when it’s freezing outside (sound familiar?).
One way to get around this is to purchase a dehumidifier and place it in the room in your home that suffers most from condensation.
Dehumidifiers work by filtering the air in a room and removing the moisture in it. While they are not likely to cope in rooms that contain lots of moisture (kitchens and bathrooms) they do work well in most other rooms.
Install double-glazing
Older, single-glazed windows tend to suffer from condensation pretty badly. That’s because they lack the extra insulation of their double- and triple-glazed counterparts. As a result, older windows are physically colder to the touch and that means they are more susceptible to condensation build up.
With double- and triple-glazed windows, the innermost pane of glass is kept warmer and that reduces the likelihood of condensation forming on it.
[Related reading: 8 Benefits of Double Glazing]
Check your insulation
If your home is poorly insulated, you are less likely to prevent condensation. That’s because proper insulation keeps surfaces warmer. For example, in homes that have cavity wall insulation, the interior walls are usually warmer to the touch. This translates to them being less prone to condensation than walls that are not properly insulated.
In other words, if you want to reduce the chances of condensation on your walls/ceilings, take a look at your insulation setup.
