Pete recently did an interview on BBC Radio 4 - You and Yours - which investigated a case history of failed cavity wall insulation.
Forget Rising Damp. Humans are the worst enemy of houses. It is what we do inside them that causes damp problems. Breathing, Cooking, Showering, Gas Fires - all these produce moisture which has to go somewhere - and it does - into the air in the house. It finds cold spots and condenses - producing the symptoms of 'rising damp and penetrating damp'. In most cases, this could be prevented with the use of humidity controlled extraction, or air exchange units.
You first need to investigate the humidity levels in your home - for that you need a thermo hygrometer which tells you not only what the humidity is, but what the dew point is - this unit is the only one that is on the market for a sensible price. See the Amazon link in the left margin of this page - it will be the best £25 you ever spent on your home.
This page shows you how to control the atmosphere in your home and prevent dampness. You can buy some superb units that will help solve your problems. There are two ways of doing this - dehumidifiers, and mechanical ventilation. Dehumidifiers can be rejected out of hand - they do not cure the problem, they treat symptoms. Dehumidifiers are very expensive to run and need constant attention - you have to empty them and clean filters.
Mechanical ventilation systems are many and varied. Every situation is slightly different and depends on how the house is built, the number of rooms, source of the problem and ambient temperatures.
We have joined forces with RHL-Direct, who design and manufacture a range of ventilation systems to cover most situations. We have confidence in Ray Hudson, who owns and runs the company. Ray has many years experience in his chosen field, and will only offer solutions which solve problems properly. The solutions shown below are NOT the sort of things you would buy in B&Q - these are properly designed commercial extractors and will repay your investment many times over.
The Warm Fresh Air Dehumidifier for Bathrooms is a fully automated bathroom fan. It has dual actions for both intake and extraction of air. Not only does it remove steamy air after your shower, but warms fresh external air as it draws it into the building. This unique feature is available using a single vent to the outside, that will fit on to your existing 4 inch fan vent.
The unit is completely automatic and conditions the air in your bathroom with internal humidity control, external temperature sensor, light switch timed overrun, movement detector and options including air quality control of both intake and ambient room air.
Buy the RHL warm air bathroom dehumidifier...
If the warm air unit is a wee bit too expensive for you, try the extractor only option - this is a similar unit, but without the warm air input. It runs in trickle mode all the time, making sure that your home always has a constant air change. When humidity levels rise, it detects this and goes into turbo mode to remove the excess moisture.
Humidity controlled 'Dryvent' bathroom extraction
Budget option:
There is a second option, a little less expensive, which is a unit that only comes on when the humidity reaches a certain level. Personally, I prefer the Dryvent unit, but if money is tight, you might like to use the Wolf unit instead:
Humidity controlled bathroom extraction
Kitchens are the worst source of humidity I ever come across - moisture from fridges, cooking, gas hobs, dishwashers, washing machines - all of these things cause huge amounts of moisture that finds its way into your home. Very few kitchens have extractors that vent to an outside wall - charcoal filters in cooker hoods do nothing. The RHL kitchen vent extracts humid air and replaces it with warm dry air - these are a MUST HAVE in your kitchen.
If a warm air unit is too expensive, you can opt to fit the RHL kitchen extractor. These have two major benefits over anything else on the market:
If the warm air unit is a wee bit too expensive for you, try the extractor only option - this is a similar unit, but without the warm air input. It runs in trickle mode all the time, making sure that your home always has a constant air change. When humidity levels rise, it detects this and goes into turbo mode to remove the excess moisture.
The RHL Dryvent kitchen humidity controlled extractor
Budget Option:
As with the bathroom units, there is a slightly less expensive model that only runs when humidity levels are high. I prefer the Dryvent option, but this is a budget unit that will certainly help:
Buy the RHL humidity controlled extractor