54North Homes achieving a clean sweep against damp and mould

Winter is here – and that means damp and mould could affect your home more now than at other times of the year.

Our first priority and responsibility as a landlord is to provide you with a safe and healthy home.

We take that obligation seriously and have put together advice, including this leaflet here, which will help you combat damp and mould.

Tips for dealing with the problem include the following:

• Open windows or their trickle vents for at least 10 minutes every day.
• Dry clothes outside whenever possible.
• Keep temperatures to about 18°c in main living areas.
• Wipe away moisture from windows, mirrors, tiles and shower doors.

Wayne Fox, Assistant Director of Repairs and Asset Maintenance (pictured below), said ventilation is crucial to preventing condensation, which can lead to certain types of damp and mould.

“Out of all damp and mould cases, 90% of them are condensation,” he said.

“Condensation is caused by a lack of ventilation. When a room isn’t ventilated, the condensation settles on a cold surface. And if left unchecked and not cleaned, it leads to mould growth.

“And it’s condensation that causes the black spot mould than can get on your lungs and cause ailments and problems for anyone with asthma or other respiratory illnesses.”

Condensation can occur in any property, new or old.

It is caused when warm, moist air hits a cold surface, such as windows, external walls and toilet cisterns, and condenses, running down surfaces as water droplets.

If left, this can develop into black mould.

Wayne said: “Condensation is worse in winter because of the temperatures and because people don’t have their windows open as much.

“Fuel poverty is also a factor. People can’t afford to have the heating on as much as they used to when energy prices were cheaper.

“And without heating, the relative humidity is lower, so the air can’t hold as much moisture, so it settles on a colder surface much quicker, making the development of damp and mould more likely if it isn’t wiped away.”

Condensation (pictured above) is most likely to appear on windows, colder parts of walls, on external door and window openings, and where ceilings and floors meet with outer walls.

It can also appear in areas where air circulation is restricted, such as inside cupboards and behind furniture placed against an outside wall.

Wayne said modern living environments can lead to condensation and added: “Over the years, houses have become sealed to make them more efficient.

“And a by-product of designing homes to be warmer and more efficient is that they’ve become more prone to condensation.”

54North Homes is going further in its crusade against damp and mould by retrofitting properties.

Wayne said: “We proactively manage any damp and mould cases as soon as they come up.

“By pro-active, what we mean is that in many cases we’ve been fitting a Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) system in the lofts of our homes.

“This creates steady air movement throughout a property and it’s partly through this that we’ve been getting more and more on top of damp and mould issues.”

Further advice can be found in a handbook and video created with help from the Energy Saving Trust.