Concerned About Condensation? Request Your Consultation from Environ

What are the risks of condensation?

Water sitting on your walls, windows or windowsills creates the perfect environment for rot and mould to spread. If left untreated, your plaster, wallpaper, windowsills or window and door frames could become so damaged that they need to be stripped out and replaced.

Even worse are the implications for your health. The NHS warns about the impact of damp and mould on your health, which increases your risk of “respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma.”

What causes condensation?

Condensation happens when air with a lot of moisture comes into contact with a cold surface, which cools the water molecules, causing them to solidify into water.

The problem is, most of this excess moisture is caused by day-to-day life. Cooking, boiling the kettle, having a shower, drying clothes and even just breathing releases moisture into the air. No one’s going to cut out these necessities, so the only real solution is to increase ventilation, reduce the amount of moisture or warm up cool surfaces.

Because more people are sharing homes in London and people are too security-minded to leave their windows open, condensation is an increasing problem, putting more and more people and properties in danger.

It’s important to bear in mind that condensation is sometimes caused by more serious damp problems such as penetrating, lateral or rising damp. Always have a professional damp survey carried out by a reputable firm so that they can rule out any structural issues that could be allowing moisture to get into your home.

How can you treat condensation?

The best course of action for eliminating condensation depends on the cause, which could be any combination of the following:

• Poor ventilation. The solution may be as simple as opening windows more in the building, but if that still doesn’t create enough airflow or isn’t feasible for security reasons, then you’ll want to have simple trickle vents installed or more advanced PIV units, which promote air flow and temperature to further reduce condensation.
• Too much moisture. This likely means you have another damp problem, such as rising damp, lateral damp or penetrating damp. Read our damp causes guides for each to learn more, as treatments can range from quick and easy jobs such as fixing a leaky gutter, to time consuming and invasive procedures like replacing plumbing or installing a damp proof course.
• Cold surfaces. There are many reasons that a wall or window may be too cold, such as structural defects like cold bridges or cracks, or a lack of insulation in walls or single-glazed glass. If the cause isn’t obvious, heat maps can narrow down the location of the cold, helping us to find the most efficient and cost effective solution.

Condensation solutions

If DIY solutions haven’t solved your condensation problems, you need an expert opinion from damp specialists who are dedicated to long term solutions, not just making a quick profit off a quick fix.

We provide all our clients with a free, no obligation consultation so you know exactly what’s causing your condensation and exactly what our recommended treatment will cost before you have to spend a penny.

Call Environ today or click here to request your callback to find out more about our mould and condensation remedial recommendations.