FireAngel FA3322 Digital Carbon Monoxide Alarm Instruction Manual

FireAngel FA3322 Digital Carbon Monoxide Alarm Instruction Manual

CAUSES AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR

What causes damp and mould?

Damp and mould are most often caused by excess moisture or condensation in your home.
This can be caused by:

• Rising damp – Such as water rising from the ground, this can only happen in ground floor rooms
• Penetrating damp – Water coming in from outside your home
• Plumbing that needs repairing – Such as broken seals around the bath, shower, or sink

What can prevent condensation forming?

You can follow these recommendations to help prevent condensation developing in your home:

• Opening windows or trickle vents to remove moisture from the air (ideally in the morning when you wake up and throughout the day when cooking or bathing)
• Wiping windows and sills to remove excess condensation
• Drying clothes either outside or in the bathroom with an extractor fan on or window open
• Keeping a warm home (ideally 18°C)
• Covering pans when cooking
• Avoiding using paraffin or bottled gas heaters

Concerned about damp & mould in your home?
Excess condensation is the main cause of black mould. Mould is harmful to your health.
It may or may not be clear why you have damp or mould in your home – in any case taking investigative action immediately will help prevent the problem from developing.

Scan or click here if viewing online to Watch The Energy Saving Trust’s video on managing condensation

Warning signs of damp, mould and condensation

If you spot any signs of damp in your home, it’s important to taken action as soon as possible to try and deal with it.
If you notice any of these common signs of damp, it’s time to act:

• A musty, damp smell
• Lifting or peeling wallpaper
• Increased humidity in the air
• Excessive water droplets on windows or walls
• Dark patches of mould on the walls, floors, ceilings, or around windows
• Patches of discoloured paint or wallpaper on a wall
• Walls that are cold to touch

FA3322

Digital Carbon Monoxide Alarm features environmental warnings, displaying a room’s temperature and humidity levels to encourage intervention if too high, helping to prevent damp and mould.

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Six steps to reduce condensation and black mould growth in your home

Reduce the moisture **

**

Day-to-day activities can inadvertently produce a lot of moisture:

• Dry clothes outdoors: Try and avoid drying clothes indoors or dry using a clothes airer in the bathroom with the door closed and either an extractor fan on or a window slightly open.
• Vent tumble driers to the outside (never into the home) or buy a condensing type. Cover pans when cooking and do not leave kettles boiling.
• Do not use paraffin or liquid petroleum (bottled) gas heaters. They produce large amounts of water vapour and are very expensive to run.

Remove excess moisture

• If you spot condensation around your windows and windowsills, always wipe it away every morning. This is especially important in the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen – just opening the window is not enough. Make sure windowsills are clear of clutter that could restrict opening the window.

Ventilate to remove moisture

• It is important to remove condensation and excess moisture by ventilating rooms. You can ventilate a room without making draughts or causing it to become cold.
• To do this, you may only need to open the window slightly or use the trickle vent that can often be found on new UPVC windows. This allows warm (but moist) air to escape to the outside and let in cool (but dry) air.
• Always ventilate or open a window when using the kitchen or the bathroom and close the doors to prevent moisture in the air from spreading to other parts of the house. Continue to ventilate these rooms for a short time after a shower, a bath or cooking, and keep the door closed.
• Open bedroom windows for up to one hour as soon as you wake up.
• Leave space between the back of furniture and cold walls.
• Ventilate cupboards, wardrobes and avoid overfilling them as this prevents air circulating.
• Do not completely block chimneys and flues – fit with an air vent and make sure you meet ventilation requirements for any gas appliances in a room.

If you can, heat your home more

• In cold weather, the best way to keep rooms warm and avoid condensation is to keep low background heat on all day rather than short bursts of high heat when you are in the house.
• Good heating controls on your radiators, room thermostats and a timer will help control the heating throughout your house and manage costs.

Insulate and draught-proof

• This will help keep your home warm and save money on your heating bills.
• Insulate the loft up to a depth of 10 inches (25cm).
• Consider secondary or double glazing.
• Consider cavity wall insulation.
• Draught-proof windows and external doors. When draught-proofing, do not block permanent ventilators or rooms requiring ventilation.

Dealing with black moulid

Black mould can grow on walls, ceilings, furnishings and even on clothes and toys.
To kill and remove the mould:

• Carefully remove excess mould with a damp cloth and throw away after. If possible, use a vacuum cleaner and empty after. Do not brush mould as this releases spores into the air.
• Wipe down affected areas using a fungicidal wash or diluted bleach – remember always use rubber gloves and wear safety glasses.
• Tea Tree oil is great for cleaning especially on mould or mildew. Try a dilute of three to four drops of Tea Tree oil in two litres of water (hot or cold). Soak mould-affected items in the solution or spray on to trouble spots. Wipe, then rinse off. Always ensure you carry out a test on small area of the fabric/material/ surface beforehand.
• After treatment redecorate using a fungicidal paint or wallpaper paste – do not paint using just an ordinary paint.

WHERE TO GET HELP

We understand not everyone will be able to do all the things listed in this leaflet. However, every action taken will help prevent damp, mould and condensation from occurring.
Dealing with condensation is not easy and only carrying out a couple of steps may not solve your problem straight away. If after regularly following these steps, you do not see an improvement, it is recommended to enlist the help of a professional.

Damp in rented accommodation

f you live in rented accommodation, it’s not always easy to work out if your landlord is responsible for resolving problems with damp. This is because it can be difficult to find the exact cause of damp without the help of a surveyor.
If you’ve reported problems with damp to your landlord and they haven’t done anything about it, there is action you can take. Tenants in private rented accommodation and tenants of housing associations could contact the local authority’s Environmental Health department.
If the damp in your home is harmful to your health or is a nuisance, then it may be a statutory nuisance. Where there is a statutory nuisance, the local authority may be able to force your landlord to deal with the problem.

Damp, mould and condensation at home

If you are worried about the potential signs of damp, mould and condensation your home, we have plenty of resources, advice and guidance on our website.

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