Tips for avoiding damp at home

Most people will spot some kind of damp in their homes at one point or another, but if you’ve been noticing it a lot, you might be wondering what’s going wrong. Not all damp is caused by your actions, but your actions can make your damp problem worse. Luckily, once you’ve got your damp problem sorted, there are lots of things you can do to prevent it from coming back in the future.

Call a professional

One of the best ways to keep your home free of damp is to seek professional advice. Damp is sometimes caused by the way your home was built, so it’s difficult to remedy alone. You can find a damp proofer fairly easily online, so have a quick search in your area and find out how they could help you. Most damp proofers will assess your home and then help you to find solutions to the problems you’re having.

Dry clothes outside

When it’s raining outside, it can be tempting to dry clothes inside on a clothes horse. However, this can cause a lot of condensation to gather, which can lead to damp on your walls. In the summer, always make the most of warm days and dry clothes on the line. In the winter, consider using a tumble dryer for most of your clothes and larger items like bedding and towels. Make sure your tumble dryer has a ventilation pipe that goes outside though, as otherwise, you’ll end up with a lot of moisture in the air anyway.

Open a window when showering

Bathrooms are one of the most common places we see damp, which is down to the fact that they are often damp, moist places. You can combat this by opening a window when showering or having a long bath. You may also want to consider installing an extractor fan, but sometimes these are not effective enough to prevent damp from creeping in.

Wipe away condensation

If you have noticed condensation building up on walls or surfaces, when cooking or showering for example, then don’t assume that dampness will immediately find its way into your home. Damp often takes time to settle, so make sure you wipe any moisture away from surfaces whenever you notice it.

Avoid overcrowding cupboards

You might think there’s nothing wrong with filling your cupboards with as much as they can handle, but you might be inviting damp into your home. Overcrowded cupboards have very little air circulating in them, which can trap moisture and cultivate damp. Instead, try to have more cupboards or shelves and separate your belongings out amongst them.

Heat your home

Most people notice damp appearing in their homes during the winter and one of the causes for this could be a lack of heating. If you don’t heat the rooms you aren’t using, you may be putting your home at risk. It’s important to heat every part of your home, so make sure radiators are on a low setting in rooms you don’t use to keep their temperature steady.