What is Causing Condensation in Your Home?

The air in our homes is loaded with moisture which, when the air comes into contact with cool surfaces such as windows and external walls, can form droplets of water called condensation.

While condensation in itself is not a significant problem, if it is not dealt with, it can soak into porous surfaces such as wood and plaster and create patches of damp where mould can develop.  Dampness can damage the fabric of your home and is expensive to repair, while moulds, including toxic black mould, can be damaging to the health of residents.

Where does household condensation come from?

Every day, each person in your household generates a significant amount of water vapour through their everyday activities.  Overall, the amount of water vapour released per person daily in a home is around 2.5 kg.

Moisture from bathing

Each time a person takes a bath or a shower, some hot water evaporates and contributes to the overall humidity levels.  On average, a bath or shower releases about 1.7 kg of water vapour.

Moisture from cooking

If you do not keep a lid on your pans, boiling food on a hob releases about 100g of water vapour every 10 minutes. 

Moisture from laundry

Each time you use your washing machine, it causes about 50g of water vapour to be released into the air.  If you open a dishwasher before it has time to cool down, the cloud of steam released contains about 20g of water vapour that will condense quickly onto surrounding surfaces.

Drying clothes indoors is one of the biggest contributors to moisture levels in the air.  A single bath towel drying on a radiator will release about 1kg of water into the air – a full laundry load in an indoor tumble drier or internal clothesline can release as much as 6 kg of water!

Moisture from breathing

Did you know that a small amount of water vapour is released every time you exhale?  Over a day, a person will individually breathe out about 400g of water!  This is particularly noticeable at night and is one of the reasons you often see condensation forming on bedroom windows in the morning.

Reducing the risk of condensation

All the water vapour released by the people and activities in your home can add to problems with condensation.

Thankfully, there are things you can do to reduce humidity levels and prevent condensation.  Simple actions such as drying clothes outdoors, using lids on pans when cooking, and closing bathroom and kitchen doors when in use can reduce the amount of moisture that can circulate in your home, but to prevent condensation, you need to improve ventilation.

Read more tips to reduce condensation here>>

Good air circulation and extraction from wet rooms reduce the air’s moisture and stop condensation from forming.  It would be best if you always turned on the extractor fan in your bathroom and kitchen when using them to remove as moist air from the room as possible.

Many homeowners choose to invest in a whole-house ventilation system such as EnviroVent ATMOS.  Positive input ventilation systems have a central unit mounted in your loft or a cupboard that draws fresh filtered air in from outdoors and disperses it through your home.  This displaces stale and humid air to prevent condensation.

Because PIV systems improve air circulation through all the rooms in your home, they also improve the overall air quality and reduce the presence of allergens such as pollen and dust, making your home a healthier environment for people with respiratory problems.

We can help you stop condensation in your home from becoming a problem

If you’ve noticed condensation in your home, it could lead to worse problems with mould.  We can help. We can help. EnviroVent specialists across the UK offer a free home survey that finds the causes of condensation in your home, and they can advise on the best way to prevent it.

To book your free home survey, enter your postcode below and find a ventilation specialist.