Help combat condensation in and avoid its effects

Have you noticed your windows steaming up? Or your walls feeling wet to the touch? It is condensation that might be affecting valuable parts of your home.

The result of condensation appears in cold weather when there is too much moisture inside your home or when warm air collides with cold surfaces. When the warm air comes in contact with a cold surface, it quickly cools and releases the water, turning it into liquid droplets. 

Condensation is annoying: it mostly appears on windows and can block out the view or freeze on glass. These surfaces make the high moisture easier to condense. Window condensation, for example, is the result of excess moisture in your home or a high temperature difference between inside and outside. Fog on windows and sliding glass doors are also symptoms that moisture could be damaging your home. The most common effects are black mould growing on ceilings, walls, window frames, curtains, cupboards and corners with little or no air ventilation. And finally, other effects might include peeling paint or wallpaper and moisture on basement walls and your floor.

How to help prevent condensation?
Through a daily routine of bathing, cooking, drying clothes and breathing at home, an individual will contribute to approximately 4 litres of water per day. When all this moisture stays trapped inside, it soaks through the walls or it will usually drip down to the floor where it is trapped and begins to build up. It can also trap itself into surrounding surfaces such as the ceilings or underneath windows and furniture.