Damp and mould

Damp and mould can affect any home—especially in colder months. It’s often caused by condensation, like moisture building up around windows.

If left untreated, it can damage your home and belongings, and even affect your health. That’s why it’s important to spot it early and take action. With your help, we can keep your home safe, dry, and healthy.

What is damp?

Damp is where there’s an excess of moisture in a room. Condensation is the most common cause of damp, however it’s not the only cause.

Damp can be caused by:
• Leaking pipes, waste pipes and drains
• Rain seeping through damaged roof tiles, from a blocked gutter or around window frames
• Rising damp at the bottom of a wall due to a defective damp course
• Penetrating damp around windows or external walls.

Early signs of damp might be a musty smell, but you may also see dark or discoloured patches on walls or plaster, rotting woodwork or the appearance of mould or mildew on walls, floors or ceilings.

If you have signs of damp, please contact us as soon as possible and we’ll investigate as a matter of urgency.
Call us on 0151 290 7000 or fill in our contact form here.

What is mould?

Mould is a fungus that grows on wet materials, and it needs moisture for growth. Mould can come in a variety of colours: black, green, brown, grey and white. It can be hard to know what the type of mould is by the colour.

Mould is caused by damp; it can come from condensation, but it may be something more serious.

If you think you have mould but not sure what it looks like, then here is an example.

It can be found anywhere, on furniture, walls, windows but generally in areas where air can’t freely flow like the back of wardrobes and in corners of the room.

What will we do?

If you find damp and mould in your home please let us know as soon as possible.

We’ll then ask some questions to understand more about the damp or mould you’ve found in your home and how it may affect you and your household. After you’ve answered all our questions, we’ll then arrange an appointment to visit your home.

The severity of the damp and mould and how it’s impacting you will inform our next steps. But a member of our team will visit your home in either 24 hours, 14 days or 28 days to assess and fix the damp and mould problem you’ve reported.

Our approach to repairing the damp and mould in your home will depend on the situation, but whatever happens, we’ll keep you updated throughout the process and make sure you can get in touch with us if you have any questions or need any support.

What is condensation?

Condensation can happen from everyday living, such as cooking or having a shower. The moisture will remain in the air but as the room temperature drops, the ability for air to hold moisture reduces and the air becomes saturated. This leads to water droplets forming as condensation.

How to avoid condensation in your home.

Cooking: when cooking try to reduce the amount of moisture by cooking with lids on pans.

Bathing: when running the bath, run the cold water first, then add the hot, it will reduce the amount of steam produced. Open a window or use the extractor fan if you have one.

Washing clothes: put washing outdoors to dry if you can, if this isn’t possible, place in the bathroom with the door closed and the window open or extractor fan on. Try not to dry clothes on radiators as the moisture will stay in the room and condense on other surfaces.

Keeping your home warm

If your home is warm, then there’ll be fewer cold places for wet air to settle and turn into water droplets.

The Energy Saving Trust recommends heating your home to at least 18°C. A low heat running evenly through the day will help tackle mould, even if you don’t heat every room daily.

If you’re struggling to heat your home, or concerned your heating isn’t working properly, please contact us on 0151 290 7000.

Reporting a new damp or mould repair

: Contact us as soon as possible to report damp or mould.

We’ll ask you some questions to understand more about the damp or mould you’ve found in your home and how it may be affecting you or your household’s health
: Based on the answers you give to our questions, we’ll book an appointment with you and our team will visit your home in either 24 hours, 14 days or 28 days.
: We’ll then work with you and agree next steps to make sure you and your home are safe.
: Once your home is safe, we’ll complete any other works needed to fully repair the damp or mould reported.