8 Steps To Fixing Damp, Mould, Condensation & Humidity In Our Home

We had massive damp, condensation and high humidity problems which caused mould and mildew to grow on cold surfaces in a few rooms in our 1930s bungalow. In this video I cover 8 different things we did to resolve the issues.

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[MikeWerndeg]

The ideal humidity range is NOT 30-60% RH - If you have 30% RH ( desert levels ) and you spend the majority of time in that environment you will have dehydration in a very short time, this level of dehydration will dry up your sinus membranes and leave you wide open to all sorts of infections in the nose throat and lungs. The ideal range is more like 45 - 60% RH. Short periods between 60- 70% are OK especially with moving air ventilation. You have done a great job of your house and showing people sensible ways too reduce excessive RH. Humidity sensors can be checked for accuracy, cheap ones can be wildly out. Do a search for calibrate hygrometer. It can be a difficult balancing act in the UK. Winter is NOT the cause of the higher humidity you experienced as cold air is much drier than warm air. It was the heating being on in a DAMP environment, warm air carries and allows a far higher moisture content than cold air. The extraction fans in kitchen and bathroom are by far the most important element of the work you are doing and MUST be used all the time in older less well insulated properties. The PIV is also useful in many situations in the cold winter the air coming in will have lowish RH and when that air is heated it will become even drier. Air MOVEMENT is key to many problems with even just a simple fan moving the air around can help a great deal and at far less cost than a dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are EXCELLENT at dealing with high RH but as you say they are now becoming expensive to run because of our governments INSANE energy policies and the sheer greed of the corporations and their shareholders. You often see mould on the top of walls where they meet the ceiling as warm moist air can sit there where there is a cold bridge, this then condensates creating the mould. again this is where the simple movement of air with a fan can prevent this from happening. Also ALWAYS allow a descent gap between furniture and the walls including BEDS etc a descent gap is around 6 inches. Your cats are lovely too :-)

[frederickwood]

The dehumidifier for the laundry is a game changer. It’s incredible how every house in the UK and Ireland hasn’t got one for general use and laundry.
Humidity management is something that requires a little self education for most of us. There is a mind change needed to understand that heating clothes just puts the moisture into the air. It’s not actually removed.
I’m very intrigued by your attic air recirculating system.
Thanks for the video.

[cg]

If anyone has an old 'period' property, bear in mind that these house often become damp because owners/builders with little understanding about how older, and often natural/more eco building materials function, or rather cease to function when things like Gypsum and petro/plastic based finishes are introduced.

I live in a solid granite cottage built in 1870 in Cornwall where outside humidity is incredibly high all year around (it rains alot here and is by the sea). I've been correctly restoring it using lime mortar (and linseed based paints for external joinery) and the levels of humidity inside never go beyond 60% - much to the amazement of every tradesperson who has set foot in the building and comment about how dry it feels/is compared to many other properties they've entered down here. Essentially spaces, old or new, need to be able to 'breathe'.

Most general builders sadly have no understanding of older properties/materials, often writing-off the latter as simply outdated. Every building is different, but one thing is simple: Maintaining constant background heat, and extracting excessive moisture close to the source is key for a healthy building.

Good work Keith on sensibly tackling your problems given the specific fabric of your property :)

[loftyboy]

First of all, I carry out home renovations in my Compamy PJ Renovatins Ltd and understand the problem of humidity in the home. I live in a 1960s 5 bed bungalow in the St Andrews area of Scotland and was suffering the same humidity problems as yourself. A reduction in our heating programme has made our condensation problem worse. Like you, I monitored humidity levels throughout the house, which was around the 70 -80% level. Did some research on ways to combat the problem. I have done almost the same as yourself and now have humidity levels around 55 - 60%. By far, the biggest game changer was installing the Positive Inlet Ventilation. Although it has a heater, I'm a wee bit loath to use it as we are still trying to find a daily base level of energy usage. Once I have achieved that, I'll start adding on various electrical appliances, including the PIV heater. The other appliance that has had a huge influence has been the dehumidifier, which was on the scene before the PIV and is now being used to dry our washing in conjunction with a reduced usage of our fairly new tumble dryer. Finally, to conclude, the one action that I would recommend that has had the biggest effect has been the insallation of the PIV. Hope this feedback helps.

[davebethell]

Great tips and advice.
Our home is a solid brick wall construction (with no cavity), and we constantly have issues with high humidity, which is never below 60% with the windows closed, and up to 95% in bathrooms. The best method to tackle this is to have good ventilation. We can drop this figure down to 40% if the windows are opened, letting in fresh air.
It may seem a waste of energy to open windows, losing all the heat in our homes, but it does work and is the easiest 'fix'.
The massive issue of high humidity, mould, damp and associated health issues are our own doing. As homes have become less draughty, with efficient heating and insulation we have created a massive problem.

[PaddyDoc]

Given the recent death of the poor young wee lad, due to mould contamination, these hints and tips are a timely reminder of the importance of clean fresh air within family homes.

Let’s home hope now legislation can be passed into law to make landlords implement measures like into homes everywhere as, invariably, it’s usually the poor and needy who are most at risk from these dangers.

[Paul]

Great tips, I have a problem cupboard and really need to look at putting an air brick in. A big thing for reducing the humidity in our house was addressing the small things that add up. Keeping lids on pans, squeegee the shower after use, keeping the bathroom door shut for a while after a shower. Also educating myself on how relative humidity works and airing the house out at the right times.

[Mantras-and-Mystics]

I'm from Queensland 🌴 🌞💦and with the humidity this place just breeds mould. Thank you for your help!

[NastyRhythm]

Just had the Nuaire Eco Heat fitted yesterday and already I have noticed the difference. Our little digital sensors were showing humidity levels of up to 90% on some days especially in the bedroom. It has managed to get it down to low 60s now..really happy with the results so far

[neilheslop]

Great video. We also have a similar 1920’s bungalow with several extension. We had awful condensation & mould problems for years until we got a PIV fitted much like the one in the video, we have the newer model that has a heater. The difference was noticeable almost over night. The house felt much fresher and dryer. I would definitely recommend to anyone with similar issues.

[bryonysays]

I'm also in Norfolk, live in a 2 story, about 40 year old home and it's at about 42% at the moment (evening) but I do get some condensation and mould, if not frequently cleaned, at the windows in the mornings. I do like it warm (about 22C) during the day though, so that dries it out. The problem you may have is you are inviting outside air to come in, and outside air at this time of the year is quite moist, and cold. I'm glad your mould problem is sorted though.

[grobifarnsworth]

Our rooms average around 40-50 percent humidity pretty much regardless of outside weather. We live in a three-storey 1950s semi-detached house in one of the rainiest parts of Germany (other than the coastal areas). Outer walls are single-shell brick about 300mm thick, windows and doors are on low early 90s standard (my parents cheaped out when they renovated the house). No problems with mold at all which I am eternally grateful for.

[louissherwood]

I'm in a 60s bungalow just a slightly smaller footprint to your place and also have a constant battle against humidity. We average around 70% and I have a bit of a mould problem in the kitchen, I tend to keep a window open a crack all the time in there, when it gets bad I have 2 open and that tends to clear it. Extractor in the kitchen but none in the bathroom, just a top opener for the bathroom. I found a window vac really helps after showers, found that out from Charlie DIYte's channel. I also use the window vac for window condensation in the kitchen and living room. In winter it's a constant struggle, we're just about to get the loft converted which has a huge 3m ceiling height at the roof ridge and around 50m^2 floor space, so hopefully that'll help with air circulation... very interested in something like your PIV system, but without a loft space what options are there?

[ShieTar_]

I was astonished to hear about this. Living in the sourth of Germany, in a second story flat, i am constantly fighting the opposite problem in the winter: If I just heat normally, humidity will very quickly drop below 40%, and then I spend all winter just coughing all day long since my lung will dry out. So I have evaporators on all the radiators, I do dry my clothes inside, I keep the doors of the bathroom open so the humid air can get to the rest of the flat and so on. I even have an electric humidifier for the especially cold & dry days.

[kh]

Great content - we moved in to our 60s bungalow in January so will be following to see how you've got on!

[-rob]

I installed a MVHR in my 60s bungalow, complete game changer, bungalow sits around 40% humidity in the winter. I can keep the whole bungalow at 18 to 19° with only the wood burner, the system moves fresh, warm air into bedrooms that used to have condensation on the walls!

[beirtipol]

We've an 1890's house that's draughty as hell. While we don't have a humidity issue, we do have a big issue with heating it. I invested in wireless radiator valves (Netatmo) and it's drastically improved how quickly we can heat the rooms we want to keep warm. They can be a pricey outlay but I think they've paid for themselves over the years. I've also set up a geofence so the heating automatically switches off if we leave home, cutting bills even more.

[paulwilson]

One thing I did read about a PIV unit, is that for it to be affective, you need around a 10mm gap under each door for the air to be pushed into the rooms, where as our current house is a modern three story build with building regulations firedoors, which are fitted with no gaps to stop smoke entering rooms in the event of a fire...

[thelovett]

I fitted a PIV unit into my 2 story house just before Christmas, we were getting condensation and mold growth everywhere! even bought one of those window vacs. Fair to say that the PIV unit has been a literal godsend and dropped our humidity from average 80% to 55%. for about £350 the PIV unit is well worth the investment and really easy to install.

[ryanm]

I live in a very humid area in Wicklow, Ireland, often 90% humidity outside or more. Had lots of mould issues and what solved it was installing a MVHR system. Took a few weeks but the humidity now hovers around 50% - from what it used to be at 75% on average. Its a ventaxia system, bought all the pieces myself and not to bad to install if your handy