With the cold weather continuing, we often have to deal with mould and condensation around the house.

As gas and electric bills rise, it can be difficult to find a solution to the problem without breaking the bank. Baby Bottle Mold

Not only does it affect your home but it also has negative effects on health.

Cut Plastic Sheeting has compiled five ways homeowners can prevent mould and condensation in their homes for under £5.

Open all curtains and blinds

Opening all curtains and blinds when you wake up in the morning is a simple way to help prevent condensation and mould.

Condensation is more likely when there is moisture trapped between blinds or curtains and windows, especially in kitchens and bathrooms.

Moving your furniture around can help with ventilation.

If you haven’t moved your furniture that’s near a cold surface for a long time, ventilation may have been prevented and it could cause a build-up of condensation.

Put rock salt by the window

Rock salt has absorbent properties and will draw damp to it so placing some in a bowl by the window can prevent condensation and mould.

Baking soda is similar in that it absorbs moisture and will gradually become harder. When this happens, you’ll need to empty the bowl and add fresh baking soda.

Make a DIY silica gel dehumidifier

To make your own dehumidifier, you’ll need to fill a jar with silica gel and cover it with a perforated lid (it could be pierced with a screwdriver) and leave it by your window.

For best results, you should remove the gel after two weeks.

An alternative would be to use charcoal instead as it can absorb moisture from the air.

Fill socks with cat litter

Place socks filled with cat litter by your window to help prevent the build-up of moisture.

Cat litter is designed to soak up cat urine and so can be a good absorbent substance.

For best results, you’ll need to change the socks monthly.

Your Money Matters is a campaign launched by us and our sister titles across Newsquest to help you overcome the surge in the cost of living. This year has seen a whole host of household price increases — from the energy price cap rise to surging inflation and food prices — costing your family hundreds or even thousands of pounds extra per year.

We’re making it our mission to look out for your cash, offering money-saving deals, competitions, giveaways and insightful stories from your community on the impact this cost-of-living crisis is having on our readers.

The worldwide energy crisis exacerbated by the Ukraine invasion, the financial impact of the Covid pandemic, record inflation figures and a surge in the cost of goods, fuel and travel means we will all feel the pinch.

Through our newspaper, we want to do what we can to help make your cash go further because we know your money matters.

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We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories. 

We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.

In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com

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Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services.

These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community.

Plastic Mineral Water Cap Mould It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times.