Households across the country can struggle with mould growing in their homes, but there are ways to stop it.
Damp expert Richard Brown s ays the recent coroner’s ruling that two-year-old Awaab Ishak was killed by breathing in mould – in his family’s one-bedroom flat in Rochdale – shows how serious the problem can be, reports the Manchester Evening News..
“Up until the coroner made that judgement, it had always been assumed,” he said. “No coroner had ever actually took that step and categorically stated this item has killed – and unfortunately it’s a two-year-old that’s been affected this time.”
Richard, who is a damp expert with RBBA Ltd Building Surveyors said there are ways to deal with mould in your house. He stressed that “mould is a result of condensation, mould is not the cause”.
“What is meant by that is something is occurring that is allowing the germination of the mould and it is that something that must be rectified, not the mould itself.”
He added: “If you just treat the mould, it will continue to return, as you have not got to the bottom of the root cause.
“Mould spores are present on all surfaces, and largely, these spores lie there, dormant, waiting for the elixir of life, water, to spring into life. So it is dealing with the water that offers the success in treating mould. Stop the water, stop the mould.”
Just day-to-day living adds moisture into the air. Whether it be cooking, showering or just breathing, water will spread.
Richard says the secret to minimising mould is to “minimise how much moisture we, ourselves add to the atmosphere.” The primary cause is condensation which occurs when this warm air strikes a surface and cools rapidly, leaving a wet surface and allows mould spores to spread.
“You are always going to have a certain amount of condensation on your windows in the morning, about an inch around the bottom is normal. The entire window being covered is not normal,” said Richard.
“I would suggest, if there’s that much water on the window, there is a problem not with ventilation but extraction.”
Making sure your extractor fans are properly maintained is vital, he stresses, as they can often clog up. Also, being aware of the movement of moisture, from your bathroom to your bedroom for example, is important.
“The damp will always move to the coldest room in the property,” he said. “So if you have a room that’s constantly cold and you’re showering at the far end of the property, that damp will migrate towards that colder end of the property.”
Nine times out of ten the damp is causing issues in a place the moisture was not generated.
Richard has provided a number of tips to keep moisture levels down:
This content was originally published here.