Working with Zap Carbon to tackle mould

25/11/2024

We’ve been working with Zap Carbon since September 2023 to protect your homes from mould and damp and save on your energy costs.

What do Zap Carbon do?

Mould is a problem that affects millions of people across the country. That’s why we send Zap Carbon Healthy Homes experts to visit and assess our homes to check on the risk of mould and damp.

Humidity, temperature and ventilation levels are all checked to get an estimate of how likely mould is to appear. Each home gets a rating of its health. Where needed, steps are taken to make improvements that will keep residents safe and healthy.

The Healthy Homes experts also remove existing mould with a non-toxic, child and pet safe mould remover. They then apply a patented Mould Shield to affected surfaces. This makes it much harder for mould to grow back.

Image of the two Zap Carbon experts: Casey and Godswill

Meet the Healthy Homes experts

Many of you may recognise Casey and Godswill. They’ve been going around our properties and speaking with residents about mould.

They said: “Visiting and speaking with residents each day means that we get to see the positive impact of our work in action. These are people’s homes we’re visiting, and our shared goal is to help them make their living space as healthy as possible. We get to know each individual and understand their situation. We show them that it just takes a few simple adjustments in the home to start seeing some big improvements.”

The impact that Zap Carbon is having on properties

Since we first began working with Zap Carbon we’ve assessed 835 homes and given our residents advice on how to keep their homes mould free. We’ve also removed mould in 556 properties.

One resident said: “They came out to carry out a treatment and the service from ZapCarbon was good.”

Dale Holroyd, Commercial Director of Zap Carbon, said: “We have been delighted to work alongside the Poplar HARCA team this past year, building and implementing a practical action plan to tackle their damp and mould challenges. Our skilled Healthy Homes operatives have already helped hundreds of residents towards a healthier, safer living environment, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Poplar HARCA and building even closer relationships with them and their residents.”

Barry Waller, Head of Repairs, said: “We love working with Zap Carbon and we regularly get really positive feedback from our residents about their work. It’s great to see that this partnership is making a real impact on both residents’ homes but also on their health and wellbeing.”

Some general advice on preventing condensation and mould

The Healthy Homes experts can give you advice specific to your home. But we’ve also laid out some general advice that may come in handy when it comes to preventing mould and condensation.

Having a well-ventilated home (for example by opening your windows) and keeping the heating on are two of the best ways to prevent issues with mould.

During winter, we know you might want to shut the cold out by keeping your windows closed and not rely too much on central heating, but it’s important to get the balance right.

The good news is that there’s lots of practical things you can do to prevent both condensation and mould:

keep your home ventilated. Change the air by opening a window for a small amount of time each day. Keep window vents open, and air vents uncovered
turn on the extractor fan in your bathroom to reduce moisture. They use less energy than a lightbulb
keep doors inside your home closed and windows open when washing and cooking
when filling a bath, run the cold water before the hot water to reduce steam
when cooking, keep lids on pots and pans to prevent moisture escaping
wipe off any water droplets on windows when they appear
dry clothes outdoors, or in a room with the doors closed, windows open and the extractor fan on. If you’re using a tumble dryer, make sure the ventilation pipe runs to the outside of your home
where possible, leave a gap between walls and furniture to allow air to circulate
when using your heating, keep it at a constant temperature
use a fungicidal spray on areas already affected by mould

Report mould

If you are experiencing mould or condensation in your home, you simply fill out our online form and or let us know via your MyHARCA account.

If you need extra support, you can call us to report an emergency repair at any time on 0800 035 1991.

Mould and condensation