5 Tips for Stopping Damp Problems in Your Home

It’s a sinking feeling when you spot a damp patch on your wall or ceiling. Is there a broken pipe? Will repairs be expensive? It’s a stressful feeling not knowing the extent of the problem. Not to mention living in a damp home poses a serious health risk to your loved ones. Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take to help stop damp becoming an issue in your Worthing home. Follow these steps to help keep your home dry and damp-free.

Clean your gutters

Blocked and broken gutters are a common cause of damp problems. Water flows over the edge and down the walls of the house, slowly penetrating the brick until you spot a big damp patch in your room.
Ensuring your gutters are clear and well-maintained year round will stop this happening. While you’re at it, check your roof and walls for holes and cracks that rainwater could be getting into.

Keep the temperature constant

Condensation in the home is another major cause of damp issues. When the home is warm, moisture forms that then clings to surfaces when the temperature drops.
If you turn your heating up high for short spells and then let the house get cold again, you’re more likely to get damp. Instead, try keeping your temperature on a constant all day, preferably at a low temperature to avoid the house becoming too warm in the first place.

Ventilate well

In the warmer months, open up your windows to allow fresh air to circulate the house. This will help prevent condensation building up.

If you have a washing machine and tumble dryer, make sure these are plumbed in and vented correctly to avoid a build up of steam. And if weather allows, dry your clothes outside to avoid that unnecessary moisture being released into the air of your home.

Avoid producing lots of moisture

If you can’t avoid washing and drying clothes indoors, consider a dehumidifier to help minimise the moisture in the air.

But it’s not just laundry that can cause a lot of moisture. Home improvement and cleaning when the weather is cold will also increase the risk of damp. Painting, decorating, mopping floors, etc. all cause moisture to build up in the room so should be saved for days when you can open up your windows.

Take care when cooking

Cooking meals and boiling the kettle produce considerable amounts of steam which you’ve probably seen cling to the windows and walls. Try to make your kitchen as well ventilated as possible with a quality cooker fan and open windows when cooking.

Always turn your cooker hood on when cooking and leave it on for five minutes after to extract as much steam as possible.

Need a damp expert?

No matter how careful we are, damp walls or ceilings are sometimes unavoidable. You might have a leaking pipe hidden in the wall or a crack that’s letting rainwater in. If you’re concerned about a damp problem in your home, call our team in Worthing today. We’ll come out to do a property survey and find the source of your damp problem.