Why You Need to Keep Moisture Low this Winter

How you can reduce moisture in your home this winter, make your house easier to heat and save electricity.

Reducing moisture content in the air (or relative humidity) is more important than ever in the current cost of living crisis and so today's video focusses on the simple steps you can take to reduce moisture in your home thereby making it easier to heat - and the best thing - it's more about making minor changes to your lifestyle than spending money to do this!

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0:00 Start
0:01 Intro
0:39 Importance of Moisture Control
2:29 How Humidity Affects Heating
3:24 How to Control Moisture
4:11 Cooking
4:37 Showers and Baths
6:52 Drying Clothes
8:38 Ventilation
13:14 Other Options
15:07 Subscribing

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LET'S CONNECT!
Charlie DIYte
#moisture #heating #winter

[NFawc]

My memory as a kid was every morning my dad religiously going around the upstairs rooms of the house wiping the moisture off the windows with a shammy. Now... I do the same :)

[jn]

This is a man who has dedicated his life to reducing the moisture content in his house. Thank you for sharing your knowledge

[johnriggs]

Good to see someone who understands this problem. I worked in the damp proofing industry for around 10 years in in the 80's, and about a third of the calls I got to supposed 'rising damp' were actually condensation. One point I would make is this: the (NET) cost of running a dehumidifier really needs to take into account the heat released by the machine itself. This is the latent heat contained in the moisture. The heat (energy) that was used to evaporate the water in the first place is still there - contained in the moist air. The dehumidifier releases it. Therefore your central heating thermostat will stop calling for heat a little sooner than it would otherwise. Obviously no machine is 100% efficient, so it can't cancel out the electricity cost altogether. Ebac are a British made machine and that was my first choice, about five years ago. Sadly, the extraction rate plummeted after a year or so, despite buying new (expensive) filters. So we replaced it with a 10 litre Meaco model - and that has been great: still extracts a good 5 lires a night from late October onwards. It's rated at 150w but when I checked it out, actually uses only 122 w. It works out at just over a Kwh per night, which at the present cost, is just over 33p + vat.

[davidmarshall]

This guy knows his stuff..couldn't believe when I bought a dehumidifier how much it extraction from the house..it was very enlightening.

[martinrothwell]

The internet needs more people like you Charlie! - Once again my mind has just been blown. Thanks for taking the time to make this, and sharing your knowledge, especially as saving £££ is more important than ever!

[huwtindall]

Massive fan of the squigee after a shower. Also helps reduce limescale build up for those of us in hard water areas!

[roody]

Good tips, Charlie. We have a victorian terrace in Bristol. The place was riddled with damp before we moved in. Everything the previous owner had done did exactly the opposite and increased damp. So we unplugged the air bricks. Removed plastic paint from Bath stone and brickwork. Sorted and fixed new guttering. Installed ventilation tiles. Stripped any areas they tanked on inside walls. Lowered the ground levels to the front of property. Stripped carpets and underlays throughout (we use rugs now so it allows some air flow through the gaps in the floors). After a hot sunny summer the house is bone dry now and seems to be staying dry. I just open the windows for a couple of hours a day as I work from home. I put on a fleece and its a bit cold but it's a small price to pay to ensure the house stays dry.

[Laurahl]

Thank you for the information you have provided! This is the most helpful information I’ve ever heard from anyone to stop my damp house problems I had for over fifteen years. My windows had no condensation this morning when using the dehumidifier for the first time during the night!❤ My whole family was so happy!

[davidleonard]

Just bought a dehumidifier yesterday and it's a total game changer. The clothes dry a lot quicker and it's amazing how much water the thing collects.

[rosieHolliday]

This is what happened to me last winter. This apartment is maybe less than 8 years old. Decided to keep the heating bills lower so I kept the windows shut & wrapped up. About 2/3 months later I had condensation mould about 3 feet up the walls behind the wardrobes & beds. Literally had to throw half of the contents of my wardrobe in the bin & had to redecorate every room with anti damp paint. Won't be doing that again this winter. Thank you for this video

[geoffh]

One thing I do that I don't think anyone else has mentioned in the comments, is to use a flannel in the shower to wash down & then at the end of the shower before getting out, squeeze out the flannel & use it to wipe off the majority of water left in your hair & on your skin wringing out the flannel as it becomes laden with water, it usually takes 3-4 wrings & takes 20-30 seconds to complete & you will be amazed at how much water this removes so that when you finish drying with a towel, the towel will be very much drier as it has probably had to remove only 20-25% off the moisture it would have had to do. Result, towel dry quicker & much less water vapor is released into the bathroom as towel dries. Yes, it's a little more time & effort, but worth it, buy a flannel from £1- £5 give it a try & it has cleaning benefits compared to just soaping down your body using your hands with a bar of soap or shower gel.

[jojouk]

Living in a freezing Victorian flat I have both bays open wide for as long as possible every day no matter what the temperature outside. Just ordered a Karcher to do the windows and shower after struggling for years with a squeegee and soggy cloths following your informed advice. Understanding the science is all, thanks to your video I now know why condensation forms and the mould that follows which formed everywhere until I religiously opened all the windows every day. Love all the other valuable little snippets from other commenters too. I will be doing these too. Thanks everyone!

[VeeSeven]

I have a compressor dehumidifier and it's amazing. The difference before and after getting it is immediately noticeable. The amount of water it takes out of the air is honestly amazing. I also keep a humidity meter in a prominent place so I can check when I need to run it. As others have mentioned it also gives off some heat too. So it's not wasting energy in winter. It comes in useful.

[markperry]

Been doing all this for years, had to as my house is an end house built in the 1920"s and is exposed. Learnt all this quickly and been running a dehumidifier for years, it saves a lot on the heating bills.

[mcplutt]

If you need heat at all during winter, a dehumidifier doesn't cost anything to run. It all converts into heat.

[Phil_fandbethere]

Thank you so much Charlie for this brilliant video. I've recently purchased a dehumidifier to reduce levels of moisture in the house and have been shocked at just how many litres of water it's collected in a couple of days!. House feels much warmer and drier already. Subscribed!

[Cspr]

2 other very simple tips that cost nothing and actually save a little money, put a lid on any pans when cooking, this makes a big difference to the amount of vapour released but also means you don't require as much energy to heat the pan. Secondly, keep the lid of the loo down. This avoids the evaporation of the water from the toilet.

A couple of final bonus tips, dry up any washing up rather than leaving it on the draining board to air dry, as all that happens in that case is the moisture goes up into the air. Then put the damp cloth in the bathroom/toilet room to air dry where the moist air can be extracted by the extractor fan. Then finally, hang up any wet towels in the bathroom rather than leaving them in bedrooms etc in a heap on the floor. Again the moisture can then escape via the air vent.

It is amazing how much these things plus all the tips in the video, especially the Karcher after a shower makes. So much of damp and mould issues is down to lifestyle issues rather than anything else. Taking these simple measures can save you a lot of time and money in the long run as it avoids damage to your property.

[ManxFella]

Just the content I was looking for as a fellow Brit suffering with high humidity and a hard to heat house. A massive thanks to you Charlie!

[MoonlitPurpleRose]

… Dry your laundry in your bathroom with the door almost closed (due to the cable from dehumidifier) with dehumidifier on. It will dry quickly the clothes and the bathroom (around 2h depending on type of clothes, thicker might need longer time to dry up to 4h depending on the bathroom size). Very good video about condensation and dump …

[rampanttwattery]

PIV fan is the answer. Fitted one years ago - brilliant.