When Winter closes in and the temperature drops, the vast majority of us want to hibernate – draw the curtains, exclude the draught and have the heating on or better yet the fire. However, this very act of insulating and sealing our homes up can actually be damaging to our health.

According to the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), health studies have linked exposure to Radon to the increased risk of lung cancer.

Condensation around windows is caused by excessive moisture in the house, and it often occurs in the winter when the warm air inside the house condenses on the cold windows. Knowing which type of damp problem you have, and the solutions available to tackle it, can stamp it out for good. Fortunately, there are lots of things you can do to banish condensation and damp from your home this winter.

In building terms, ventilation simply refers to the process of changing or replacing air with external air in a given space over a period of time.

If you believe your home is suffering from damp or condensation problems (but you’re unsure of whether it’s condensation, rising damp or penetrating damp) it’s incredibly important that the problem in your home is diagnosed correctly in order to ensure a precise treatment.

Without a continuous flow of fresh air into and out of your home the relative humidity rises, and the internal atmosphere quickly becomes full of moisture. Eventually leading to condensation, especially with fluctuations in temperature which occur during winter.

There’s never a good time for your boiler to spontaneously combust but winter is especially bad – the weather has turned and we spend a lot more time indoors. That is why it’s best to perform a repair audit on your home in the autumn.

Ahead of this year’s event on 21 June, Global Action Plan, the organisation behind Clean Air Day, has launched a campaign highlighting the dangers of indoor air pollution. When thinking of air pollution, most of us probably think about traffic and industry belching out thick black fumes but indoor air pollution is an invisible danger.

Many homeowners may be completely unaware that their area is affected by Radon gas. In fact, most homeowners have never even heard of it before.