Your home is the perfect environment for mould to thrive. There are many rooms that have the best living conditions, especially the bathroom and kitchen. Mould grows in dark, damp places and isn’t the most pleasant thing to look at or live with. There are a number of health risks that mould brings into the home and if you already have allergies or asthma, your symptoms may heighten. Typical symptoms that occur when mould is present are: Sneezing, wheezing, nasal congestion and in some cases, extreme asthma. Reducing the conditions that mould thrives in lessens the chance of it even beginning to develop. Mould needs moisture and the right temperature to grow in and some sort of food substance (usually plaster from the walls or wallpaper) to live off of. Allowing sunlight to enter the home, you take away the dark factor in which mould grow. There are a number of very simple steps to take to reduce condensation and stop mould growth.
1. Reduce moisture in the air. There will always be moisture in the air but the more there is, the higher the chance that the air will condense and leave areas damp. When cooking, a lot of steam comes from pans and the best way to minimise the moisture is to make sure you always put a lid on the pan to stop so much steam from escaping into the room. If you have an extractor fan, you are also advised to use this to re-direct the moisture away from your home. Especially in winter, drying your clothes outside can be an issue so you would turn to either air drying them inside, or throwing them in the tumble dryer. Don’t just leave wet or damp clothes lying around; deal with them as soon as you can. If you are going to air dry inside, you should dry them somewhere ventilated and possibly with a ventilator or an extractor fan. Dehumidifiers also help with removing moisture from the air and are worth considering either buying or renting.
2. Warm up your home. Heating up your home even slightly stops condensation from forming and lowers the amount of moisture in the room.
3. Allow proper ventilation. Where you can, keep windows and doors open to allow the air to circulate so that moisture won’t collect in one area.
4. Insulate as much as you can. Increasing the insulation in your home can reduce the amount of condensation that forms. There are many things you can insulate but the places that let in the most air are the loft and windows. Double glazing is a great way of insulating, and it is suggested that if condensation is forming on windows, you should wipe it clean to reduce the moisture.
When mould starts to grow, you have to tackle it as best you can so no spores remain and can regrow not long after you got rid of the first lot. If you have asthma or any other allergies, you should be careful as breathing in the spores may cause you to react to them. You can either use watered down bleach or a special cleaning agent to tackle the mould with and you should follow the instructions on the bottle if you do so. When actually cleaning the area, you shouldn’t brush away the mould as the spores will be released into the air which isn’t beneficial to anyone’s health. If mould is recurrent, then you might have an underlying problem that needs to be seen to. Rising damp is when moisture from the beneath your home rises and causes the strength of your walls as well as creating the perfect mould environment. Any leaks that occur should also be sorted out. Preventing mould growth is a lot to think about but one you get into the routine, it’s just becomes part of your everyday habits.
