Dampness in the home - how to deal with it effectively?
Moisture in the Home – How to Effectively Deal with It?
Moisture in the home is a problem for many people. A lack of proper ventilation, or ventilation that is not suited to provide optimal conditions, affects air quality negatively. As a result, we feel suffocated, our homes deteriorate, and we breathe unhealthy air.
Discover the most common causes of moisture in the home and effective ways to deal with it.
What Does Excess Moisture in the Home Lead To?
Moisture can enter a home from the outside or be generated inside. The rooms most prone to moisture are the kitchen and bathroom. Moisture is produced during cooking, washing, bathing, or laundry. If a home lacks proper ventilation, moisture will quickly facilitate the growth of mould and mildew.
Mould fungi typically appear on plaster surfaces, wallpaper, and paint – some of which contain highly dangerous pathogens for human health.
So-called house fungi are especially hazardous to structural elements (particularly those made of wood). Moreover, excessive moisture in the home can lead to salt efflorescence and blisters, which are the last warning signs before the growth of mould and mildew.
Mould in the home produces mycotoxins. Numerous studies have shown that these compounds are responsible for causing allergies, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and general weakness. Additionally, long-term exposure to mouldy environments can promote the development of cancer. Children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk.
However, even healthy adults can develop serious respiratory infections from mould exposure.
The first visible signs of mould and mildew are dark spots appearing in the corners of rooms, around windows and sills, on walls and ceilings, and blackening grout in the bathroom.
Excess moisture in the home also manifests as fogged-up windows and other flat surfaces (mirrors, furniture fronts). This often occurs during the winter heating season, when outside temperatures are low, and inside temperatures are high.
But why does moisture accumulate on windows and other parts of the home?
This phenomenon is explained by the so-called dew point. If you take a cold bottle of beer out of the fridge, for example, at 5°C, condensation will form on its surface as water vapour in the air turns into liquid – the bottle becomes wet. The dew point is the moment when water droplets appear on the surface. In a home with around 60% humidity, the dew point temperature would be approximately 14°C. When the beer reaches this temperature, condensation will begin to form on the bottle.
The same process occurs on window panes.
How to Prevent Excess Moisture in the Home?
In a home where normal family life takes place, a certain amount of moisture will always be generated. Household members regularly cook meals, do laundry, and clean floors.
All would be fine if not for the fact that many homes lack adequate ventilation.
If you're building a house from scratch, make sure the materials used are of good quality and have air permeability, and plan proper ventilation. In addition to natural gravitational ventilation, commonly found in buildings, modern homes also use heat recovery ventilation (also known as recovery systems).
A new solution that is increasingly being implemented in buildings is the so-called wall-mounted recovery systems. These are short tubes that pass through the wall near the ceiling. The used air warms the incoming fresh air as it enters the room.
In older buildings , some air might still enter through leaky windows, roofs, floors, doors, or poor insulation.
After renovating or replacing these elements, when the structure becomes better insulated and lacks proper ventilation, moisture will inevitably cause mould growth, endangering the health of the occupants. Simply opening windows and airing the home won't be enough because ventilation should be continuous.
If you're doing renovations, be sure thecarpenter leaves a gap between the cabinets and the wall. Moisture tends to accumulate in areas with poor air circulation, such as corners behind kitchen units.
Removing Moisture from the Kitchen
The most moisture builds up in the kitchen and bathroom.
The bathroom should have a clear ventilation duct and openings in the lower part of the door to ensure proper air circulation.
In the kitchen,the most important ventilation element is the cooker hood.
The hood – in addition to absorbing unpleasant cooking odours – also removes moisture. When it's connected to a ventilation chimney , all the moisture is drawn out and expelled from the room. In the form of a recirculation hood (with a carbon filter), the air circulates in a closed system, but if you can,opt for an open connection as an extractor.
Moreover, the cooker hood can be turned on even when you are not cooking.
24h Function in some appliances (a 24-hour cycle) allows the hood to run continuously at low power, consuming little electricity. It then serves the function of mechanical ventilation. The same function can be temporarily performed by running the hood on its lowest setting. However, remember that most modern hoods are equipped with an automatic shutdown feature for the fan after 2 hours of inactivity.
The key to being satisfied with a cooker hood is its quiet operation, so always choose devices that operate below 50 dB on the lowest setting.
Moisture Absorption in the Home – Summary
Excess moisture in the home leads to mould and mildew, damages the property, and can negatively affect human health. To enjoy good air quality in your home:
- use a cooker hood to absorb moisture: in addition to removing odours, it also eliminates humid air produced during cooking, as well as from washing, bathing, or cleaning
- ensure proper gravitational ventilation
- check that your window vents are functioning correctly
- design a heat recovery system for your home
- use wall-mounted recovery systems
- regularly air your home when the air quality is favourable
GLOBALO is more than just a producer of quiet and efficient cooker hoods. We also ensure that your home is supplied with fresh and healthy air. We approach ventilation comprehensively.