Condensation or damp?? Damp can be a major issue in the home. Find answers to questions or post your own here.

[tanzc69]

I kow ive got one or the other because when i take clothes out of my wardrobe (built in) they smell damp, when i take my shoes out of the bottom of a wardrobe that is up against an interior wall some of them have mould on them. There are no pacthes of damp etc of any of my walls or ceiling......what else should i look for - how do i kow what the problem is??

[Perry525]

Put simply - you have damp!
Damp is something, you and your family create.
Every 24 hours each of us breathes out and sweats some 2.5 litres of water.
This water called, water vapour is a very fine gas and it sits in the air until you turn the heating off, or down.
Air at 30 degrees C holds 30 grams of water per cubic metre.
Air at freezing is almost dry.
As the temperature of your home drops, the water vapour heads for the nearest cold place.
Usually a window, but if somewhere is colder, like the inside of your wardrobe, or behind the curtains, or your bed, it will go there.
The solution, open a window and let the water vapour out into the garden.
The air outside is usually, but not always drier than indoors.
Or buy a de-humidifier and use it twenty four hours a day until the problem goes away.
Or wait for the spring and warm weather.