Condensation in winter can form in many areas of the home why is this and how can you stop condensation forming in the home?
During winter we tend to lock up the home from the cold keeping windows tightly closed and some of us may never open a window during the course of winter. The fact that today we tend to over insulate our homes to keep cool in summer and warm in winter further exacerbates the problems for condensation in winter, so what are we to do?
SOME THINGS WE CAN DO TO REMOVE CONDENSATION FROM THE HOME
The main areas to take extra care of in the home are the kitchen with cooking, bathroom with baths and showers, laundry etc. Make sure the range hood is ducted through the roof to the outside atmosphere likewise with bathrooms and laundry. Definitely do not dump the moisture from these areas into the roofspace as this will further exacerbate the problems of roofspace condensation.
Up to 12 litres of moisture in the home can be the norm due to the everyday activities of cooking, washing, showering as well as the inhabitants breathing.
One of the major problems for condensation in the home is lack of ventilation so leave windows at least slightly ajar, make sure you allow adequate ventilation to all areas of the home. Do not dry washing inside the home make sure if you have a dryer it is vented, as an unvented dryer creates up to 6 litres of moisture on its own.
CONDENSATION CAN BE THE PRECURSOR FOR MOULD PROBLEMS LEAD ON TO SBS SICK BUILDING SYNDROME
- Duct kitchens, bathrooms, laundries to the outside atmosphere
- Ensure adequate ventilation throughout the home
- Don’t take long showers
- Do not dry washing inside the home
- Make sure bathrooms, kitchens and laundries are clean and dry.
- Dry any moisture collecting on windows and window sills.
These are the things you can do inside the home that you can control yourself. However due to the over insulating of homes today, it is necessary to check that your sub floor is free from moisture look for damp floor coverings this can be a source for moisture in the home.
If you have a problem with the sub floor you may need extra vents in the brickwork for good cross flow to dry out the sub floor. If your ground falls towards the brickwork you may need to dig an AG drain along the extent of the wall to stop access for run off to enter the sub floor.
Possibly the worst contributor to condensation of the home is the roofspace with bathrooms and kitchens just being one of the contributors to roofspace condensation. For the fact that any heated air that escapes to the roofspace will keep rising till it comes in contact with the underside of the roof covering (i.e. tiles or colorbond). As the top of the roof covering is much colder than the underside this heated air will condense and the moisture within will disperse and become water.
It could be raining in your roof, this phenomenon is called the dew point. So therefore to remedy the problem of condensation in the roofspace you need to have an effective roof ventilation system.
Universal Tile Ventilators have the best system for the effective ventilation of roof spaces – the Universal Tile Ventilator System for tiled roofs and the Smoothline Ventilation System for corrugated colorbond roofs.