Mould is not something you want to see in your home, but sometimes due to a myriad of reasons, it's almost impossible to avoid it. With the current cost of living crisis too, many of us are trying to stop using our tumble dryers, and instead are banking on things such as heated dryers to dry our clothes - which can wreak havoc on the air humidity of your home.
There are things you can do, however, to prevent mould in the home, despite the fact you're drying things indoors, and cleaning guru the Duchess of Thrift Heidi Ondrak has shared her hacks to avoid it.
She explained that people had been messaging her asking the best way to stop damp in your home over the winter months.
Heidi explained that common advice she sees is to insulate your home to keep it warm over the winter, but if all gaps are sealed throughout your property with draft excluders for example, it becomes impossible for air flow to get through the property and ventilate it appropriately.
She said: "When your house is that well insulated you haven't got that nice airflow through the house that you would have normally.
"Then you're drying your laundry indoors and not using the tumble dryer. You're not putting your heating on as much because you're worried about the heating bills, and actually what that means is that all of that damp is trapped in the house."
She explained that if it's not raining or really bad weather, you should open the windows a little bit in the day because 'it's absolute common sense'.
Heidi also recommends dehumidifiers to absorb any excess water in the property, explaining: "They are £1 in Poundstretcher, you can also get them in B&M and places like that.
"I'll put these on the window sill. So you know when you wake up in the morning and the windows are dripping wet, put them on the window sill.
"Equally you can get hanging versions. They're the same kind of thing, they have the silica gel crystals and that just fills up with water."
The hanging versions can be put in wardrobes to ensure the enclosed area doesn't get too damp.
She also suggested wiping condensation off with kitchen towel to ensure the wetness is removed.
Heidi finished the video by saying: "But the best remedy is to keep some of the airflow if you can."
Others flooded to the comments to share their own advice about reducing damp.
One wrote: "I keep one of those in my washing machine (when it’s not in use) and it collects so much and got rid of the musty smell!"
"You can also put salt into a container, I use this method in my car", another suggested.
Someone shared how shocked they were at the amount of water collected by the dehumidifiers, writing: "It's amazing how much water those things do collect!"
"Damp is going to be an issue for many unless we ventilate our homes enough, even if we just open windows for half an hour daily", one TikToker added.
Someone else suggested a dehumidifier, commenting: "Invest in a dehumidifier for drying clothes inside. You’ll be amazed how much water they collect."
Will you be ventilating your home this winter? Let us know in the comments.
