Ventilate correctly: How to avoid mould growth

Why is it important to ventilate?

Ventilating is one of the key things you can do to improve the air quality in your home and prevent long-term issues like mold. Fresh air boosts your mood and reduces exposure to pollutants like CO2, dust, and fumes from furniture and paint. Ventilating is crucial for managing humidity levels, as high humidity can lead to mold and health risks. Pro tip: Focus on ventilating high-traffic areas like the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom to keep moisture, odors, and stale air at bay. Here's how to make ventilation a part of your daily routine:

• After showering or bathing: Let the water vapour escape immediately through a wide-open window - ideally by cross-ventilation to enhance the effect.

• After getting up: Ventilate the bedroom thoroughly to transport stale air and night-time moisture outside.

• After cooking or if there are many people in the room: Ventilate the living area regularly - especially after cooking or if there are many people in the room.

By the way: As already mentioned under ‘After showering or bathing’, cross ventilation works wonders here too: even intense cooking odours such as from fish or meat dissipate particularly quickly and the air remains pleasantly fresh.

How does proper ventilation work?

Proper ventilation is a combination of targeted air exchange and humidity monitoring. The optimum relative humidity is between 40 and 60 per cent. Higher values increase the risk of mould growth, especially on cold walls.

Use one of the three ventilation strategies:

1. Shock ventilation: open all windows wide to replace stale air with fresh air within a few minutes. This is particularly effective when the outside air is dry.

2. Cross-ventilation or cross-ventilation: Create a draught by opening opposite windows. This ensures a rapid exchange of air and a rapid drop in temperature in the room.

3. Use a hygrometer: Check the humidity in your rooms regularly. This will help you to adapt your ventilation habits to the current conditions.

How long should you ventilate for a complete air exchange?

The duration of ventilation depends on the time of year: In winter, five to ten minutes of shock ventilation is sufficient, as the cold outside air is very dry and can quickly absorb moisture. In summer, it usually takes longer (10-20 minutes), especially if the air inside and outside is similarly warm.

What can you do wrong when ventilating?

Mistakes when ventilating are counterproductive and increase the risk of mould growth. Typical pitfalls include:

1. (Permanently) tilted windows: a tilted window only ensures minimal air exchange, while the surrounding walls cool down. This can favour the formation of condensation. It is better to move plants and decorations on the windowsill to one side and open the window completely.

2. Heating while ventilating: Switch off the heating while you are ventilating. Otherwise energy will be consumed unnecessarily and the air exchange will be less effective.

3. Outside air with high humidity: If the outside air is humid, for example in summer when it rains, you should avoid ventilating so as not to bring additional moisture into the house.

Correct ventilation in winter: Combination of heating and ventilation

In winter, it is important to find a balance between air exchange and heat retention in order to enjoy fresh air, but also to avoid wasting heating energy:

1. Switch off the heating when ventilating: switch off the radiators before airing the room to avoid energy loss.

2. Ventilate several times a day: Especially in rooms with high humidity, such as the bathroom or kitchen, frequent ventilation is essential despite the cold.

3. Pay attention to window quality: Modern windows with good insulation, such as those from Salamander, prevent heat loss after ventilation and support efficient heating. Thanks to innovative sealing technology and a thermally optimised design, our triple-glazed bluEvolution window systems ensure that you can effectively save on energy and heating costs.

Basement ventilation: how to

A well-ventilated basement is essential to prevent damp and mould growth. Caution is advised, especially in summer: Basement ventilation should be avoided when the outside air is warmer and more humid than the cool basement air, as this can lead to condensation. Basement rooms are best ventilated on cooler days or in the early hours of the morning. This keeps the indoor climate stable and minimises the risk of moisture damage.

Drying laundry in your home - without mould

If you dry your laundry in your home, it is important to reduce the humidity in a targeted manner to prevent mould growth. With these measures, you can ensure that the moisture is safely removed and the room climate remains pleasant:

• Open windows wide: Use shock ventilation or (if possible) cross ventilation to quickly remove moist air from the room. This is much more effective than a permanently tilted window.

• Close the room: Keep the door to the room where the laundry is drying closed so that the moisture does not spread throughout the home.

• Maintain ventilation intervals: Ventilate regularly, ideally every two to three hours for five to ten minutes, especially during the main drying time of the laundry.

• Use a dehumidifier: If the humidity still remains high, an electric dehumidifier can be helpful.

• Place laundry on a rack: Position the clothes horse so that the air can circulate well around the laundry, for example near a window.

The most important ventilation rules

The 5x5 rule summarises the basic principles of correct ventilation in an easy-to-understand way: Ventilate for at least five minutes to exchange the air completely. Repeat the air exchange regularly throughout the day, at least five times a day, especially in heavily used rooms.

Make your home a place where you can breathe deeply with Salamander

Proper ventilation creates a pleasant atmosphere and protects your property from long-term damage. High-quality window systems from Salamander myWindow can play a decisive role in this by minimising heat loss.

Salamander window profiles can also be combined with climAktivPlus accessories: the flexible rotary shutter ensures constant, energy-saving, continuous ventilation of your rooms, creating a pleasant air quality. If you would like to find out more about windows, take a look at our guides .

Take a look at our innovative window and door systems and discover the Salamander technologies greenEvolution , bluEvolution and proEvolution .