Household chore could cause worrying mould - but extra step can help prevent it

24 January 2024 , 12:14

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Mould can build up in the winter months (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Your household chores could be causing mould in your home.

At this time of year, damp conditions make the perfect breeding ground for mould, but did you know that you could be making problems worse in your home simply by doing your regular chores? Mould thrives in areas where warm air meets water, which is an issue in the winter months when your house is warm but the outside is cold - as this causes condensation, which can then breed mould.

But there's another common cause of dampness in the home that mostly occurs in winter - drying your washing. When you can't put clothes outside to dry, you tend to stack them up on clothes airers indoors, but this can lead to mould as the air in your home becomes humid as the wet clothes dry.

Anthony Threlfall, a home energy expert from Everest, explained that simply "going about our daily life in our homes" can produce over 15 litres of water vapour every day, and this is only exacerbated by any laundry you're trying to dry. But there are steps you can take to stop your laundry from causing such a problem.

"It is essential to ventilate a room when drying laundry given the incredible volume of water vapour that is released into the home (around five litres)," Anthony said. "This will have the added benefit of not only helping your clothes dry faster because of increased air circulation, it will help stop your clothes smelling damp.

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"If possible, I would also recommend running your laundry through an additional spin cycle to ensure as much water as possible is spun out, especially for heavier items such as jeans, towels or hoodies."

Putting your washing through an extra spin cycle will also help dry your clothes quicker if you plan on using a tumble dryer. Since your clothes will already be drier before going into the energy-guzzling appliance, you won't need to run it for as long - drying your clothes quickly and saving you some cash on running the machine.

You can also make your tumble dryer more energy-efficient by using dryer balls, which work by physically separating clothes as they move through your dryer, allowing more hot air to circulate the garments and helping to dry them faster. They also have the added benefit of making your clothes softer, and shoppers and experts alike are raving about them.

One expert previously revealed he used tumble dryer balls to reduce running costs. He said: "These are dryer balls, and you put them in with your laundry. Instead of the clothes getting stuck together, this helps to separate the clothes and distribute them around the tumble dryer better. This means the clothes can dry faster. They can reduce drying time by up to 20 per cent."

Zahna Eklund