There are many different reasons why your bathroom may be stuffy and humid, with one of the most common culprits being damp and mould, which thrives in moist environments.
Damp in bathrooms can cause potential damage to your home’s structure, as well as creating a breeding ground for nasty smells. Most damp and mould patches that form on bathroom walls and ceilings are caused by high humidity levels, resulting in condensation forming.
Not to worry though! We have some simple solutions to help to restore your bathroom into a fresh, safe environment for you and your family.
If you’ve found a damp or mould patch in your bathroom, you need to firstly figure out where it’s coming from and why. Most of the time, damp and mould is caused by condensation, but it can be caused by leaking pipes too.
The best way to tell the difference between the two is how it looks. Look for any stains on the walls or ceiling, as this could be a sign of leaking water. If the damp patch is brown or beige in colour, it is likely to be a result of a leaking pipe or hole which should be repaired by a plumber as soon as possible.
However, if your damp patch is without a stain and has mould growing, it’s much more likely that it’s caused by condensation. If this is the case, improving ventilation is the most effective way to stop condensation in its tracks.
Condensation in your bathroom is caused by steam, which is produced when you have a shower or bath. If your bathroom is poorly ventilated, the water droplets in the steam will quickly condense onto colder surfaces such as walls, ceilings and mirrors.
You should always make sure that your bathroom extractor fan is on throughout your bath or shower, as this will help to reduce humidity by removing moisture-rich air and transporting it outside of the home.
Whilst extractor fans are effective, you will often still find that you’re battling condensation even with the fan in use - which is where ventilation systems come in….but more about that later!
Ventilation is the most effective way to reduce condensation and damp, however, there are some additional steps you can take to help too:
Wipe down your surfaces
Ventilation is fantastic at removing moisture within the air, however, it cannot expel any condensation that has already formed on walls, ceilings and mirrors.
You can help with this by wiping down all surfaces with condensation after your bath or shower using an absorbent cloth, a towel or a squeegee.
Keep your door closed while in the bath or shower
By keeping your bathroom door shut whenever you’re in the bath or shower, this will prevent the moisture-laden air from escaping into other parts of your home, as this could cause mould in other areas too - which is the last thing we want!
Open those windows
If you can cope with it (not easy in colder months we know), then try to have a window open whilst you’re bathing and for a while afterwards. This will work hand-in-hand with your extractor fan to prevent the chance of mould spores from landing and growing.
Wash your towels and bath mats regularly
Shower curtains, bath mats and towels can quickly become a breeding ground for mildew and mould. Make sure to wash them regularly - at least once a week - to help prevent this from happening.
Don’t leave your towels on the floor after your bath or shower, as mould can start to multiply in as little as 24 hours.
Ultimately, the best way to battle nasty smells in your bathroom is to invest in an efficient, effective ventilation system.
A mechanical heat recovery ventilation (MVHR) system will extract stale, moist air from the interior spaces of a building, such as bathrooms, and replace it with clean, fresh air from the outside.
The system will pull in fresh air from outside and pass it through a heat exchanger, whilst using the extracted stale air to heat the fresh air. This process warms the incoming air, meaning that you’ll save money on heating bills in the long run too.
Get in touch with our friendly experts today for more information.
