Mould is treatable, but the only permanent way to prevent it from coming back is to reduce the amount of condensation in your home.

This page contains information that will help you to prevent condensation and mould in your home. 

Shelter's website also has a lot of advice that might help you.

Increase heat 

You'll get less condensation if you keep your home warm most of the time. You should also: 

• get your heating system checked regularly 
• leave some heat on during the day in cold weather. Maintaining a low heat is more effective than than shorter bursts of high heat.

You may be able to get financial support to help pay for your heating. Check if you qualify for help with heating costs including our Stay Warm Stay Safe scheme. 

Improve ventilation or air flow in your home

It's important to make sure you have enough air flow in your home. Some ways to do this include: 

• open windows for a short time each day to let air through, or if you have trickle vents (a small adjustable vent usually found in the top of the frame of double glazed windows), leave them open to allow air flow
• leave space for air to get through if you fit draught excluders on your windows 
• don’t block up air vents or chimneys 
• don’t overfill cupboards and wardrobes 
• leave a gap between your furniture and the walls so that air can circulate

Reduce moisture 

Reducing the amount of moisture in your home will help a lot. Try to: 

• put an inch of cold water into your bath before running hot water, to help reduce the steam 
• wipe off moisture that forms on the inside of the windows 
• keep bathroom and kitchen doors shut, particularly when washing, bathing, cooking or drying clothes 
• dry your clothes outside where possible
• open windows in rooms when you are cooking, or drying your clothes inside, to let the moist air escape
• make sure that your tumble dryer vents to the outside unless it’s a condensing dryer 
• put lids on pans when you are boiling water
• make sure extractor fans are working – you should hear your fan when you cook and when you're using the shower or bath

Treating mould

If you have already tried these things but you still have mould in your home, report it to us. We will investigate it and try and treat it.

You can also treat it yourself by buying special paints from DIY shops which are designed to prevent mould and get rid of it.

If you are a private or housing association tenant, you can contact Residential Services, your landlord or letting agent for more help.