3 Ways to Prevent Mould from Entering Your Home

This is a sponsored guest post. 

Mould in your home is both ugly and structurally damaging, which is why it’s important to stay on top of any problems that do arise. If you’re unaware, mould is a fungus that thrives in damp conditions, meaning that it only becomes an issue in homes that have continually wet walls or surfaces. In order to preventmould from becoming a problem, it’s important to understand the differentcauses of damp because by preventing damp, we can stop the mould before itstarts growing.

In this post, we will look at three of the main causes of damp – condensation, leaks and rising damp.

Condensation

Condensation is one of the most common causes of damp and is actually surprisingly easy to prevent. Without going into the science, condensation occurs when water evaporates into water vapour and then comes into contact with a surface that is cold enough for the gas to become a liquid again. In the home, condensation is common in the kitchen and the bathroom because when we shower or cook, the water vapour in the air is heated up enough to become condensation when it touches mirrors, windows or other cold surfaces.

Particularly in winter, the walls of your home can get very cold to touch, so when you shower or cook and hot water vapour comes into contact with the cold walls, it makes them damp. If the wall remains consistently wet, then this damp can be the perfect breeding ground for mould.

To prevent this from happening, ensure that your home is suitably ventilated so that the water vapour in the air can escape your home without coming into contact with the walls. Alternatively, change your bathroom or cooking routine so that the walls of your home for mould exposed to condensation.

Leaks and Guttering

Damaged guttering or leaking pipes is a very common cause of damp. Usually, people associate household leaks with bursting pipes and flooding, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes smaller pipe damage can lead to just a trickle of water being released and in these situations, it can be difficult to detect the problem until a damp issue has made itself apparent. The most obvious sign of damp issues are mould or, if you have wooden structures in your home, then dry rot.

Dry rot is a form of mould that specifically destroys wood and occurs when a spore finds itself in moist wood, enabling it to grow and eventually develop into a rust coloured mushroom known as a ‘fruiting body’.If the dry rot has reached this stage, then it has already started to damage and consume the wood it is attached to and will continue to do so until it has been dealt with.

In urban settings like Birmingham or London, dry rot treatment can prove quite easy because the core aspect of the treatment process is removing the cause of the moisture and drying out the wood. In urban properties, this is usually simpler because they have less wood present compared to their countryside counterparts, but it depends on the individual case.

Regardless of the type of mould in your property, locating the cause of the damp and fixing it is absolutely essential, whether it be a leak, a broken gutter or something else.

Rising Damp

Rising damp is the final cause of mould that we will look at. Rising damp occurs when water from the ground rises through the mortar in a building’s walls, causing structural instability and a visible wetness. This damp environment is where mould thrives and because rising damp is widespread throughout the wall, it means that mould can grow across the entire structure.

To prevent this from happening, walls are built with a product known as a ‘damp proof course’ which prevents water from travelling too far up the wall. If you suspect you have a rising damp issue, make sure to get a professional evaluation on your damp proofing as soon as possible and deal with the problem because it only gets worse over time.

Now that you know some common causes of damp and mould, you can quickly deal with any damp issues which occur in your home with damp wall treatment services. Staying on top of building maintenance is a big part of keeping your home healthy and safe, so hopefully thishelps!