Prevent and treat condensation and mould

Mould is treatable, but the only permanent way to prevent it from coming back is to reduce the amount of condensation in your home.

This page contains information that will help you to prevent condensation and mould in your home.

Shelter's website also has a lot of advice about dealing with damp:

You'll get less condensation if you keep your home warm most of the time. You should also:

get your heating system checked regularly
leave some heat on during the day in cold weather. Maintaining a low heat is more effective than shorter bursts of high heat.

You may be able to get financial support to help pay for your heating. Check if you qualify for help with heating costs.

It's important to make sure you have enough air flow in your home. Some ways to do this include:

open windows for a short time each day to let air through, or if you have trickle vents (a small adjustable vent usually found in the top of the frame of double glazed windows), leave them open to allow air flow
leave space for air to get through if you fit draught excluders on your windows
do not block air vents or chimneys
do not overfill cupboards and wardrobes
leave a gap between your furniture and the walls so that air can circulate

Reducing the amount of moisture in your home will help a lot. Try to:

put an inch of cold water into your bath before running hot water, to help reduce the steam
wipe off moisture that forms on the inside of the windows
keep bathroom and kitchen doors shut, particularly when washing, bathing, cooking or drying clothes
dry your clothes outside where possible
open windows in rooms when you are cooking, or drying your clothes inside, to let the moist air escape
make sure that your tumble dryer vents to the outside unless it's a condensing dryer
put lids on pans when you're boiling water
make sure extractor fans are working

If you've already tried these things but you still have mould in your home, report it to us. We'll investigate it and try and treat it.

You can also treat it yourself by buying special paints from DIY shops designed to prevent mould and get rid of it.

If you're a private or housing association tenant, you can contact your landlord or letting agent, or our Residential Services team.

Preventing and treating condensation, damp and mould