2024 marks a milestone in the way that property developers, architects, landlords, and individual homeowners are recognising and tackling the issue of poor air quality and mould in British homes. For several years, local authorities, the NHS, and individual organisations have become increasingly alarmed by the ‘scourge’ of damp and mould in millions of UK homes – estimated to affect more than 7 million households.
According to the Institute of Health Equity, poor indoor air quality and mould increases the risk to health from a wide range of illnesses, and could cost the NHS more than £2.5 billion every year.
In response, the UK’s first Damp & Mould Action & Awareness Week was held between October 28th and November 3rd, 2024, organised by home safety specialist Aico, with the support of several housing, planning, and tenant advocacy organisations.
Although we were unable to attend the event in person this year, it’s something that we strongly support at Advanced Showers, and hope that the event is successful in generating more publicity for this pressing issue.
The Big Issue: The Shower Room
Unfortunately, in our line of work, we frequently come across the pressing issue of mould and damp head on. In most buildings, the nexus or hub from which mould spreads throughout an entire home is the shower room or bathroom. Most British homes are simply not set up for adequate ventilation, and the recent drive towards greater and greater energy efficiency has, sadly, only exacerbated this problem. It’s not just older homes that suffer from endemic mould and damp, but often newbuilds, too. Designed to minimise heat loss and energy use, these designs also make it problematic to regulate indoor air quality and ensure a steady flow of fresh air, leading to a buildup of mould in confined areas.
And once mould takes hold, it can be very stubborn to remove. The reason for this is that while the visible signs of mould can be removed, microscopic spores invariably remain behind shower tiles, within grout and plasterwork, and in floorboards saturated by moisture and damp.
Designed To Eliminate Leaks
Over the years, we have refined our shower pod design to be effectively leakfree, and there’s a reason for this. Once you notice a leak in your shower room or elsewhere, the damage has already been done. Without extensive structural repairs, a damp home will continue to harbour and breed black mould, with all the health problems that come with it. The best way to resolve this is to solve the problem at the root, by preventing leaks.
It’s also no coincidence that many of the worst-affected households are rental homes or student accommodation. This isn’t through any particular negligence on the part of landlords – the bad press that a few individuals have received doesn’t suggest general negligence by landlords as a whole – but because issues in rental accommodation can only be resolved when they are flagged up by tenants. In the case of damp or leaks, tenants may not notice the problem until mould appears, and then there is often a delay while the issue is reported and resolved, in which time the mould problem grows worse and more intractable. The issue is even worse in houses of multiple occupancy, where problems frequently go unreported because it is unclear who should report them, and in high-turnover rental properties.
Most British landlords are, moreover, not big companies but private individuals, with only a limited budget to spend on maintenance, and even more limited time. Installing leakfree shower pods in rental accommodation not only represents an aesthetic upgrade and a potential increase in income value, but also a cost-effective way of reducing maintenance expenses and improving air quality in the properties.
Next Steps
Whether you are a private home owner, an architect, property developer, or landlord, and are concerned about the issue of mould in your property, please get in touch with Advanced Showers today to discuss the benefits of our shower pod range.
Image source: Canva
