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Prevent bathroom condensation in 10 steps

Damp walls in the bathroom are perfect breeding grounds for bacterial mould.

Mould (also called mildew) is an unsightly fungus that develops on top of walls, as well as burrowing beneath a wall’s surface, often causing a structure to crumble, or paint and wallpaper to peel.

Health issues, such as respiratory infections, allergies and asthma, can also arise as a result of mould, with babies, children and elderly people being most susceptible.

How does condensation occur?

Bathroom condensation is the result of hot air colliding with cold walls.

It’s common to notice dripping walls after taking a hot shower or bath, but most cases occur in the wintertime when we ramp up the central heating to counteract the chill our homes suffer from the cold winds and temperatures outside.

How to prevent bathroom condensation

There are a number of preventative measures that you can take to reduce condensation forming in your bathroom, including:

  1. Repaint walls with specialist, low-moisture paint.
  2. When running a bath, run the cold tap first. This will dilute the hot water so it won’t sit around heating up your bathroom for too long.
  3. Keep your bathroom window open for as long as possible before, during and after your bath or shower.
  4. Install an extractor fan to get rid of steam.
  5. Try to maintain a constant temperature inside your home to avoid the erratic mixture of cold and warm air.
  6. When it gets misty, wipe down your radiators and towel heaters to bring more drying heat in to your bathroom.
  7. Use an old towel to dry your walls whenever condensation occurs.
  8. Don’t dry wet clothes on your radiators or towel warmers because this will circulate moist air around the room.
  9. Leave a small gap between any furniture and your walls so as not to trap warm air in the spaces.
  10. Check that your guttering and down pipes are not damaged or blocked, thus prevented from carrying water away.

If these tips do not reduce condensation, a bathroom repair may be necessary. Under such circumstances, always enlist the assistance of a plumbing professional to prevent putting your safety at risk, or causing further damage.

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