Ventilating your home
It is important to keep your home adequately ventilated - to maintain air quality and remove moisture for a healthy indoor environment.
As we improve air tightness, our homes are becoming easier to heat. However this improved air tightness means it's even more important to make sure you have good ventilation.
How to ventilate your home
Make ventilation part of your daily routine
The simplest and cheapest way to ventilate your home is to open doors and windows regularly to allow fresh air from outside into your home.
In summer, open windows and doors in different parts of your home to create a cross-draught, which will circulate air and help keep your house cool.
In winter, air your house at least once a day for a few minutes with wide open doors and windows to create a cross-draught. This will quickly replace stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air.
Because warm air can absorb more moisture than cold air ventilation will remove moisture from everyday activities most effectively when the home is also heated properly. Learn more about heating your home.
Warm inside air can hold a lot a lot of mositure, which will form condensation as it cools unless it is removed from the house.
To avoid condensation problems, ventilate when you turn off the heating, e.g. before you leave the house in the morning and just before you go to bed at night.
Depending on how you use the house, your home's air tightness and the wind and temperature conditions outside you may need to repeat this several times a day.
Ventilate overnight
Ventilating your bedroom overnight is also important for maintaining air quality and reducing the risk of excessive moisture and mould growth. You can keep a window slightly ajar on a hinge. Fit security latches if the window can be used to enter the house.
Sort your bathroom, kitchen and laundry ventilation
Ensure that there is effective ventilation from wet areas in the home (such as the bathroom, laundry and kitchen) to minimize the moisture that causes the problems. Install an externally vented range hood or extractor fan over your cooker, an externally vented extract fan in your shower/bathroom and exhaust laundry dryers to the outside.
Extractor fans need to be sized and located properly for the size and type of room - ask your supplier for advice on this. Leaving the bathroom window open allows air flow into the bathroom and will improve the extract fan's effectiveness. After a shower, let the fan run for a few more minutes. Clean your extractor fans regularly to maintain their performance.
Home ventilation systems
Home ventilation systems use fans to move air into the house and can provide an alternative to opening doors and windows, provided the model you choose is well designed and installed. The performance of ventilation systems can vary widely depending on a range of factors - the type of system and how well it is installed, your type of house and the climate.
Home ventilation systems are not a good solution for fixing cold and dampness problems in homes. If dampness is your main concern, then address the source of the moisture problem first, before looking at ventilation systems.
A ventilation system is not a heating system. Despite claims from some suppliers that ventilation systems can deliver "free heat" from the roof cavity, there is a lack of independent evidence to prove that there are significant home heating benefits from using these systems, especially in the coldest months of the year when you most need the heat. If you want to make your home warmer, sort out your insulation and install an efficient heating system.
Learn more about Home ventilation systems.
Dampness, insulation and heating
A cold and damp house won't be improved by ventilation alone. You need to think about insulation and heating as well as fixing sources of excessive moisture.
Have a look at the sections on this website about insulation, heating and tackling dampness for more details.
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