Top tips for winter: preventing condensation & keeping warm

Preventing mould & condensation

In the winter months, moisture in the warm air hits cold surfaces which causes condensation to form. A buildup of condensation can cause mould.

Follow our top tips to help prevent condensation in your home.

• Keep your home ventilated. Change the air once a day by opening a window for a small time each day. Keep window trickle vents open, and air vents uncovered.
• Keep your extractor fan on to extract moisture. They cost less than £1 per month to run and use less energy than a lightbulb.
• Keep doors closed and windows open when bathing and cooking.
• When filling a bath, run the cold water before the hot water. This will reduce steam which leads to condensation.
• Keep lids on pots and pans when cooking to prevent moisture escaping.
• Wipe off any water droplets on windows.
• Dry clothes outdoors, or in a room with doors closed, windows open and the extractor fan on. If using a tumble dryer, make sure the ventilation pipe runs to the outside of your home.
• Leave a gap between walls and furniture to allow air to circulate.
• Keep the heating at one constant temperature.
• Use a fungicidal spray on affected areas.

Keeping warm

Follow our top tips to help keep you warm in winter.

• Patch up any draughts in your home by filling in the gaps around windows and doors with a draught excluder.
• Close curtains before it gets dark and whilst you’re out of the house to stop warmth escaping from the windows. Consider investing in some thermal curtains.
• Cover wooden floors with rugs to stop warmth escaping.
• A good temperate for heating is 18-21°C. Set it to come on just before you get up/or in and switch off after you’ve gone to bed.

Winter is the busiest time of the year for our heating contractors. If you have heating or hot water issues, report a repair as soon as possible to avoid a delay in getting the problem fixed.