Airtech helps landlords tackle mould and condensation

Airtech has developed a comprehensive service over the last 25 years to offer landlords solutions to overcome the problem of mould and help create healthy homes for residents.

With social housing becoming increasingly airtight to improve energy efficiency, more homes are being blighted by condensation, mould and the associated problems they bring.

As the weather gets cooler, residents are more likely to keep windows closed eliminating natural ventilation and allowing condensation to thrive. 

Condensation and mould can wreak havoc. Not only does it create the need for redecoration, it can cause costly damage to the fabric of the building.

It also leads to poor indoor air quality (IAQ), which can have health consequences for households, and landlords can have a serious problem on their hands.

In the English Housing Survey 2016: stock condition by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, the report found that the most common type of damp was serious condensation and mould.

Jeremy Cleeter, of Airtech, commented: “A staggering 65% of homes in the UK suffer from poor IAQ as a result of inadequate ventilation and a growing body of evidence has identified the dangerous impact this is having on our health.

“For social housing landlords condensation and mould can be a persistent and costly problem but it’s possible to break the cycle. With expert advice social housing landlords can avoid the blight of condensation and mould.”

Social housing landlords have a duty of care to their tenants to control condensation and mould and provide good IAQ – therefore, it is crucial for landlords to guarantee they are aware of all the solutions available to tackle the problem.

Airtech offers three simple steps that can solve the problem; comprehensive property surveys to identify condensation, damp and mould problems and recommendations to solve the issues; mould removal treatment and redecoration; and a full installation service for both responsive and planned maintenance. The treatment and mould removal is backed by a unique three-year guarantee that the mould will not return.

Boasting patented market-leading ventilation technology that improves tenant comfort and efficiency, Airtech can offer landlords the correct solution for individual properties.

This can range from the Air+ Positive Input Ventilation (PIV) to the environment sensing bathroom and kitchen fans, such as the SA25 SELV, the SA60 Mains and SELV, and the SA64, and data gathering fans, such as the DA25, DA60 and DA64.

Featuring Airtech’s unique control and data logging, the company’s ventilation products will record details of the home environment, such as humidity and temperature levels, so the landlord or contractor can track and analyse the correlation of these variables together on one graph.

This will allow a landlord to clearly observe the effects changing lifestyle habits have on a home environment, demonstrating how reducing relative humidity through adequate heating and ventilation can maintain a healthy home. Airtech’s sophisticated data logging allows landlords to interrogate saved IAQ data thus giving peace of mind.

Hand-in-hand with the data logging, Airtech’s specialist control platform monitors the data as it is collected and modulates the fan accordingly to react automatically and proportionally to rising humidity levels, offering quick and effective humidity control, ensuring the resident keeps the optimum environment in the home to avoid condensation forming, thus helping maintain good IAQ.

Airtech also runs free CPD training courses to help landlords understand the difference between damp and mould, health implications, causes and consequences, as well as solutions and data logging.

This training helps ensure landlords know how to break the cycle of condensation and mould, thus protecting both residents and their housing stock.

Airtech also provides free mould information leaflets when working with a social housing provider, so tenants understand why they should not dry washing indoors or pile clothes or other items against an external wall.

Airtech also provides a Freephone customer care helpline for tenants to seek advice on its ventilation products.