Conquering Condensation Problems

What causes condensation?

Condensation occurs when warm, moist air comes into contact with colder air or with a cold surface.

When warm wet air comes into contact with cold, the warm air can't hold the same amount of moisture, so the moisture in the air is released in the form of condensation.

You are most likely to find condensation in rooms where there is a lot of warm wet air, such as kitchens and bathrooms. .

Controlling Condensation

Many elements can cause, or add to, condensation in the home. These are some of the ways you can tackle the problem:

Reduce the amount of moisture in the building:

You can do this by limiting the activities that generate a lot of damp warm air, such as letting saucepans boil without lids, or drying washing indoors.

Increase Ventilation:

You can ventilate your home without making it cold.

Open a window when cooking or and after bathing to let the moist air escape. Consider having extractor fans fitted.

Close the kitchen and bathroom doors when washing and cooking. This will help stop the wet air spreading to other rooms.

Keep the building warm;

In cold weather, aim to keep a little bit of background heat in all rooms, so that rooms and surfaces don't get very cold.