What Is Condensation & How Can You Prevent It In The Home?

Condensation can be a serious problem for your home – particularly during colder months such as these. But what is condensation, and how can you prevent it from becoming a problem in your home? Read on to find out.
What Is Condensation?
Condensation is excess moisture carried in the air that turns into droplets of water. This occurs because warm air is capable of carrying a lot more moisture than cold air. When this warm air suddenly cools (by being too close to a window for example), it loses the ability to carry this moisture and causes it to reform as water droplets.
Common signs of condensation include:
- Visible water droplets on windows and ceilings
- Musty smells in the home
- Peeling wallpaper
- Damp patches on ceilings or walls
What Is Condensation Going To Do To My House?
While water droplets are initially harmless, they can cause severe long-term issues if allowed to persist for long enough. The possible problems caused by condensation in the home include:
- Mould Growth – An excess of moisture encourages the growth of mould and mildew, which is a major health hazard. Mould growth vastly reduces the air quality of your home, and can trigger respiratory problems and allergies very easily.
- Structural Damage To The Home – If moisture is allowed to seep into your walls and woodwork, it can cause structural damage. Wood will begin to rot, compromising vital support beams and flooring. Bricks can also begin to expand and crack when permeated with moisture.
- Causes Inefficiency In Insulation – You might be asking yourself ‘what is condensation able to do to my insulation?’ When materials get wet, it increases their thermal conductivity, allowing heat to pass through more easily. This is naturally counterproductive to your home’s insulation, which should be trapping as much heat in the home as it can. A reduction in your insulation’s efficiency directly leads to increased heating costs to make up the difference.
How To Prevent Condensation In The Home?
We understand that it can be concerning to read of the damage that can be caused to both you and your home if condensation is left to do its thing. However, there are a number of simple tricks and solutions you can deploy to keep condensation at bay in your surroundings:
- Improve Your Home’s Ventilation – Making an effort to improve your home’s ventilation should be at the very top of your efforts to prevent condensation. You can do this by keeping windows open regularly, but you may also wish to invest in a more long-term solution such as an MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) system. This kind of system is the best of both worlds, being able to keep heat energy trapped within your home while also continually cycling air through the home – removing pollutants and moisture quickly and efficiently.
- Maintain A Consistent Temperature – You should also make an effort to keep your home temperature consistently warm as much as possible, as the fluctuation in warmth can lead to an increase in condensation. If you struggle to keep on top of this, we suggest opting for smart controls for your home heating to ensure that your home remains heated just the way you like it to be, wherever you may be.
- Use A Dehumidifier – Condensation stems from moisture in the air, so efforts to reduce this moisture will also go a long way. Consider investing in a good dehumidifier if all else fails as this will work to extract the moisture before it can become condensation around your home.
We hope that this blog post has helped you to understand how to prevent condensation in your home. If you require any assistance with the different products available from us at Pipelife or are looking for a team of experts to help you with top-quality home heating solutions, then please get in touch with us today.