It’s bad for your health…
Over the winter months and beyond, it’s so easy to simply throw your clothes on a clothes horse or radiator indoors rather than hanging them outside.
It’s handy to do it because you don’t have to worry about rain making your life a misery if the inevitable happens and the heavens open while you’re not at home.
But hanging them to dry inside may be turning your house into an unhealthy breeding ground for different agents which thrive in damp places.
Dr Nick Osborne, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Health at the University of NSW, Australia told Kidspot that drying your clothes indoors contributed to the potential growth of mould and dustmites, both of which can be detrimental to your health.
It’s particularly dangerous for people who suffer from asthma as it can trigger the symptoms.
Dr Christine Cowie, a senior research fellow at the University of New South Wales said:
“From a health perspective … many biological agents are found indoors and they usually thrive on dampness and inadequate ventilation. They have found that dampness itself has been a good indicator of risk of asthma and respiratory symptoms. There are other studies that show inhalation of fungal spores … are linked to allergic sensitisation and asthma,
“As far as winter time goes, we’re all coming inside with wet coats and hanging them up and people are inside a lot more.
“Especially if there are a lot of people in a small dwelling. And add to that showers and cooking steam. If a house isn’t correctly ventilated moisture builds up inside and will condensate on windows and in walls.”
But what exactly can you do to prevent this happening, especially when hanging clothes and the like outside is not an option for many people, especially in cities and urban areas?
There are many little things you can do to make sure the moisture in your house is kept to a minimum, according to Osborne.
Making sure extractor fans are working, hanging any wet jackets etc outside until they dry off, and of course, hanging your washing to dry outside will all help reduce the moisture and dampness in your house.
