High Humidity/Cold surfaces
To first understand condensation related issues in your home, you MUST analyse the amount of moisture in the air. If you suffer with either mould or stagnant air, a hygrometer will give you factual data of the atmospheric conditions.
As a rule of thumb, we say that anything between 50% – 60% Relative Humidity (RH) is acceptable. Whereas RH levels over 70% is not acceptable and further investigation is needed to help reduce.
Cold surface temperatures will allow warm moisture laden air to condense upon it and turn to liquid water.
This water is not pure but tainted with bacteria, tiny creatures, and mould spores.
When this combination of water soaks into the walls, or wall papers, it soon takes life and colonises. This is when you start to see black mould appear and Thermal imagining cameras will be needed.
Don’t Just Wipe it…
Extract it.
The primary objective is to remove the excessive atmospheric moisture from the internal environment. Not simply wipe it away and hope it won’t come back.
You must look at the indicators and react to reverse the conditions that is giving life to the natural world. It is not good for anyone’s health to be surrounded by this amount of bacterial laden humidity.
Walls that are cold, unventilated, and constantly moistened by condensation will appear to have issues with rising or penetrating damp.
Therefore, it is crucial to test the air, investigate the surface temperatures and scrutinise all possible avenues with specialist equipment before reaching a diagnosis. You may also have to monitor the atmosphere.
Don’t rely on damp meters for this testing.
Improve your indoor air quality
If your property’s internal atmosphere – the very air you breathe – is loaded with mould spores, VOCs, bacteria, dust mites, pollen, and toxic carcinogens, it can have a serious impact on your life.
Black mould growth will thrive if the environment is damp enough. Initiate drying, ventilation and extraction and the problem will disappear and the air quality improved.
Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) virtually eliminates condensation and mould within a building by constantly ventilating that area. This means that that it eliminates the risk of cosmetic damage as well as mould, condensation, and musty cupboards.
Positive Input Ventilation or PIV Systems work by encouraging the movement of air from inside to outside from a unit that is installed in loft void. These PIV units reduce or eliminate surface condensation altogether by replacing humid stagnant air with fresh filtered air.
To Quickly Round Things Up:
- Condensation related problems are something to investigate and not to be ignored. If the atmosphere is high in humidity, you should actively work to reduce the levels so it cannot sustain life. Opening windows in the Winter just won’t cut it.
- Condensation related effects will tend to manifest itself as an ongoing damp issue, especially rising damp claims. The water is surface based and not underlying. A damp meter cannot tell the difference and will just scream WET and DAMP, without any logical scientific explanation.
- Try to produce less moisture. Keep lids on pans when cooking, only boil as much water as you need in the kettle, dry your clothes outdoors (and especially not on radiators) and make sure your tumble dryer has a vent to the outside.
- Warm months of the year, not cold, windows can be opened to remove humid air, or better use your extractor fan. Keep your bathroom door shut when taking a bath/shower to stop moisture escaping into the rest of the house and open a window to let it out instead.
- Let fresh air circulate. Make sure there’s a gap between your furniture and the walls, plus occasionally give wardrobes and cupboards a good airing.
- Heat cold rooms. These are more likely to get damp and mould than warmer rooms. Set the thermostatic radiator valve to 2 in unused rooms to give out a little bit of heat. Or if you don’t have central heating, maybe use a room heater with a timer and temperature control. Also, air rooms you don’t use very often.
- And if you are still in need of assistance and don’t want to waste your time and money, then we can help fix the situation – permanently!
- A simple hygrometer with 3 separate sensors can tell you a lot about your indoor environment.
Here’s what some of our customers have to say…
k ellis2024-03-24Sussex Heritage Damp Restoration are fantastic to deal with from start to finish. Their knowledge and work is outstanding and I would not hesitate to recommend them.
A Taylor2024-03-24I'm so glad I stumbled across the SHDR website when looking for a solution to condensation problems. Aaron got straight in touch, and came around to assess the situation. Since then he and his team (thanks Matilda and the crew!) have sorted out the condensation issue with humidity-sensitive fans and a french drain. Grateful to them for their expertise and hard work. Can highly recommend.
Toby Herst and Amber Ashley2024-03-08Very prompt and efficient service. I met Max today who is professional and informative. We have had an ongoing issue in our flat in Brighton for sometime now, SHDR has identified the issue and offered solutions in record time! Thank you MAX!!
Madeleine Spencer2024-02-25After ages of battling mould and damp in our flat, Aaron came round and did a thorough inspection of the property. He was so knowledgeable and took the time to properly explain to us what the issue was, why it was happening and advise on how to fix it. He was so friendly and enthusiastic about how it could be solved, we were left feeling so positive, optimistic and aware about what was a very concerning issue for us. Aaron even gave us quick tips on little things we could do straight away to avoid making it worse until a proper solution could be sorted out. Thanks to Aaron we actually understand some of the problems and causes and things to look out for - to the point where I’m regurgitating it to friends to seem like an expert myself! We were so impressed with his service and would highly recommend him to anyone.
Michael Nussbaum2024-02-25I've been consulting with Aaron from SHDR on a first home with damp and mould issues and the experience has been over and above the standard. Not only personable - clearly caring about our livelihood - it has been very reassuring. Plenty of people (including some specialists) have given the impression that there is basically not much that can be done as old buildings have problems. Aaron has been able to give clear explanation of causes of issues along with quick-win suggestions and proper long-term solution recommendations which actually make a difference. The knowledge displayed is incredible - nobody has the same level of passion and expertise on the subject - and matched with a pragmatic approach to give us real options that will help us. On top of this Aaron is unbelievably nice! I have been raving about the service already because it's beyond what anyone would expect
Michael Edmonds2024-02-11Over the last year, Aaron has been exceptionally helpful and friendly in helping us understand our Victorian terrace house in Brighton. He explained the issues we were experiencing in a reassuring and accessible way, and has enabled us to address them in a way that is appropriate to the property. This has improved ventilation, brought relative humidity down to ideal levels and created better air quality. Aaron has given us a much better understanding of our home and continues to check in to make sure all is well. He and his team have been great to work with and we’d definitely recommend them.
Marti Reading2024-02-05Aaron took time to sort out our condensation problem and recommended we install a Nuaire Drimaster PIV System which is working exactly as it should. Our condensation has cleared up completely and no more damp patches or smells in the house. We cannot recommend this company highly enough. They go above and beyond for their customers.
Sophie Benton2024-01-31Aaron has been absolutely brilliant from start to finish. He found the cause of a damp issue I’ve had with my flat for years and has provided some really straightforward solutions.
Brian Fudge2024-01-31Aaron saved us from buying an overpriced money pit. But more importantly, he enabled our house sale to complete at the offer price when his report convinced the buyers’ bank to remove all concerns and lend on the full amount. For both properties (our home and the target purchase) Aaron quickly and comprehensively outlined all the issues. He reported the real state of the structures and straightforward uncomplicated solutions that were sympathetic to the listed heritage requirements and unbelievably affordable.
Christopher Swallow2024-01-20Aaron is the first person to give me real actionable, professional and unbiased advice on how to maintain and upgrade our period property. I now have the confidence to work with contractors in a more informed way. Aaron is always there to give advice and help. I will be using him again!!