WINTER is coming which can bring with it mould and damp – and drying your clothes inside could be making the problem worse.
With house budgets stretched you may be boycotting your tumble dryer to avoid spending on the gas-guzzling device.
GettyDrying clothes indoors could be causing dam and mould in your home[/caption]
But you need to take extra care when drying your laundry indoors during the winter months, or you could end up with a costly mould problem
Greg Wilson, Founder and CEO of Quotezone.co.uk, said: “Many people are completely unaware of the consequences of air drying clothes inside their homes.
“Using air dryers, radiators and heated drying racks indoors may seem like a good idea during the winter months, but it can pose a serious health risk.
“Wet clothes release moisture into the home as they start to dry which can develop into mould and damp, causing mild allergies, aggravating asthma or worse.”
Spores can grow on ceilings and walls, and you may start to notice fuzzy black, white or green patches.
Not only can this toxic fuzz be unsightly, but it can also impact your health.
Black mould can be especially harmful.
What’s more, if you end up with a particularly bad case of mould across your entire property, you could face costs of £3,000 to remove it, according to Greg.
The good news is, Greg says there are some simple steps you can take when drying your clothes inside to avoid causing dampness – and reduce the risk of finding yourself with a major mould problem.
1. Do keep an eye on the weather
Drying clothes in the winter can feel like an impossible task, especially with the weather in the UK.
But Greg said drying clothes outside is always the best option when it comes to avoiding mould and damp in the home.
And you shouldn’t dismiss the idea just because it’s cold outside.
He said: “Ideally, homeowners should download a weather app and keep an eye out for dry days, even if it’s cloudy, to help at least start drying the clothes outside.”
This means you could still hang clothes outdoors on dry days, so long as the floor outside is also dry.
If the forecast is dry and it’s not too cold, then you should be fine to hang your clothes outdoors.
2. Don’t dismiss your tumble dryer
Tumble dryers are among the most high power items you can have in the home.
The price of running a tumble dryer depends on what type of machine you buy and specifically the wattage, plus how long you have it on.
To save cash, and prevent mould, Greg said it could be worth drying your clothes in the tumble dryer to begin with, and then finishing them on a drying rack.
The average cost of running a tumble dryer is around 83p her hour, according to Uswitch, or £89.44 a year.
So if you ran your machine for just half this time before placing the clothes on a drying rack, you could save around £44.72 a year.
When using a drying rack indoors, Greg said there a few things to remember.
He said: “Make the room is well ventilated, a dehumidifier can help to reduce moisture levels and promote airflow.”
Dehumidifiers can be snapped up from just £1 and will help remove any excess moisture from the air, and mean you don’t have to rely on the heating as much.
3. Don’t rely on your insurance
Sometimes mould damage can lead to needing to make an insurance claim on your house.
Most building and contents insurance policies won’t cover you for damaged caused by damp and condensation, Gregg said.
“Mould and damp are not just expensive issues to fix, they are also very dangerous and, in many cases, possible to avoid,” he added.
“If people need to make a claim on their home insurance due to mould or damp then the insurer is unlikely to cover them if the property is not well maintained or is damaged due to a lack of care.”
When you take out insurance you’ll need to agree to a series of assumptions and one of them is that your home is in a “good condition”.
If your building has rising damp, then it’s not in a good condition.
Some insurers offer specific, separate policies for rising damp but they can be expensive.
Often, it works out cheaper to carry our regular maintenance work than to pay for a policy.
How else to tackle mould in your home
Giving your trickle vents a thorough clean every once in a while is one way to keep mould from spreading through your home.
Another is by trying to put your heating on from time to time to ensure condensation doesn’t build up in your walls, Winston said.
Make sure your thermostat is set to 15 degrees or higher though, as anything below this means you’re at risk of damp or mould.
Next, try to limit the amount of clothes you leave drying on any radiators.
Warm air rising from them can take any moisture from the clothes with it, making preexisting mould issues worse.
Lastly, even if you have trickle vents, you’ll want to make sure you don’t rely on them alone to keep your bathroom ventilated.
You should still occasionally open windows to make sure a good amount of cold air is allowed inside, keeping condensation at bay.
Meanwhile, The Sun tested best-selling mould sprays and a great value solution worked better than Dettol on stubborn stains.