As the weather grows colder, the risk of mould in your home grows greater. Besides being unsightly, mould can cause real issues within your property. Moulds are known to elicit allergic reactions in certain people, whilst their spores can also cause asthma attacks in others.
Away from health risks, mould can also cause property damage, including rotting timber and damaged insulation. With proper ventilation, however, you can significantly reduce the risk of mould. Firstly, though, what causes it?
What Causes Mould? And Why is it Worse in the Winter?
Mould is caused by excessive moisture levels; typically this comes in the form of condensation and humidity. When these two factors are high, they provide the perfect conditions for mould spores to thrive and flourish. That’s also why you tend to find mould the most in bathrooms and kitchens, as these are usually the rooms in a house most exposed to condensation and humidity (steam from a shower or cooking, for instance).
So, why is mould worse in winter? Well, for a start, winter tends to bring it with it more damp conditions; meltwater from ice and heavy rainfall, for instance. The colder temperatures associated with winter also lead us to heat our homes more which, in turn, means greater humidity (because warmer air can hold more moisture) and therefore an elevated risk of mould.
How Does Proper Ventilation Help Prevent the Onset of Mould?
Ventilation is key to stopping mould from spreading in your home. That’s because the more you can encourage airflow throughout your home, the less chance that humid, moisture-filled air has time to cool and condense, and the less prolonged those moist, damp conditions are that prove so beneficial for mould spores to grow. In other words, by ventilating your property properly, you disrupt the conditions needed for mould spores to properly develop.
Rooflights Not Only Offer Ventilation, But Great Thermal Performance
Rooflights offer the perfect solution for your home’s ventilation needs; they can be easily opened either manually or with electric actuation to introduce airflow within a room, and closed just as easily to prevent too much heat from escaping once you’ve got rid of most of the moist air in the room.
What’s more, rooflights offer great thermal performance, too. In the colder winter months, the last thing you want is inefficient glazing that lets heat escape. Here at Stella Rooflight, though, we utilise state-of-the-art Planitherm low-E glazing to lock in heat on even the coldest of days. A well-ventilated home that genuinely retains heat when you want it to? What’s not to like
Final Thoughts
When it’s cold outside, the last thing you may want to do is open your windows, but it’s important to ventilate your home (even if it’s just by opening your rooflight a crack) to stop mould from developing. If you want to find out more about our rooflights, click here.
