People contact us all the time and ask us, “Why do I get mould and condensation inside my house?”.
Well, unless you’ve got a structural fault like a leak or leaves blocking up your gutter where water could be coming down the side of your house. Or, you have cracks around your windows, so water’s getting in there. Or, you’ve got a leaky pipe… anything else mould and condensation wise is probably going to be down to your lifestyle.
Sources of moisture in the home:
So to understand what causes condensation and mould problems, we have to think about your daily routine.
First of all, you have to get up. What’s the first thing you do?
Well, you might go and switch on the shower and have a shower. You might put the kettle on; the first cup of tea or coffee of the day. What’s the kettle doing? Producing steam – another source of moisture.
Then, maybe you hang up some washing to dry while you’re at work during the day. Where’s the moisture from these clothes going? It’s going into the air and that’s another source of moisture.
Another source of moisture is just from breathing. You give off moisture from breathing out. The more of you that are in the house, the more moisture there is going to be added into the air – just from being there.
Pets, cats, dogs – they all add to it as well and if you get into doing exercise, you’re going to give off even more moisture all the time that you’re doing it.
Then, at the end of the day, you probably prepared dinner. Another source of moisture, here on the hob. Again, if your extractor fan isn’t working properly in the kitchen, that’s another moisture problem.
And of course, the more of you that are in the house, the more clothes that need to be dried, the more cups of tea you’re having, and the more showers you’re taking. More people means more moisture.
And in the winter months when it gets colder outside, we keep our windows closed, sealing the house up. With the house sealed, the moisture’s got nowhere to go.
We could solve this problem by opening the windows to let the moisture escape. But no one likes a cold draft or a cold house, especially in winter. Opening the windows is also not cost effective because, if your heating is on, all of that heated air (that costs you money), is escaping through the window. So, you’ll be constantly reheating the air.
A better, cheaper solution
A better, cheaper solution is to use a dehumidifier:
It will deal with excess moisture that’s coming from the shower.
It will deal with excess moisture that’s coming from the kitchen.
And, at the same time, it’s going to make your house cheaper to heat and will save you money long term. And not just against your tumble dryer, but against your heating as well.
Some of our customers can’t believe how much water it collects!
And if you are drying laundry indoors, a dehumidifier will help with that too. Clothes naturally dry to match their surroundings; so, if the air around it is nice and dry (thanks to the dehumidifier), then the clothes will also become nice and dry. This can be compared to wet clothes taking days to dry because they are in a damp environment.
Read more: How to save £300 drying your laundry with an Arete® dehumidifier
Using a dehumidifier to dry clothes is far cheaper method than running a tumble dryer. For example, our MeacoDry Arete® One 12L Dehumidifier/ Air Purifier costs 4p / hour (based on 27.35p / kWh), compared to the average tumble dryer using 4.8 kWh, costing you £1.30 per hour of use.*
Owning a dehumidifier can save you money on your heating bills
What’s more, owning a dehumidifier can also make your home quicker, and therefore cheaper, to heat. By removing excess moisture from the air, the dehumidifier turns damp air into dry air, which is far easier, and therefore cheaper to heat.
Add your comments below and let’s get the conversation started.
*Visit In the Wash for tumble dryer costs
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2 responses
We have just brought a Meaco 12 L the dehumidifier is excellent looks good and does the job no more window condensation it is drying out wall condensation so excellent and takes the cold out of the air and I dry clothes in doors when I it raining another plus never realised how good it would be.
Fantastic, thank you for the feedback.
Omar@Meaco.