Winter Has Arrived
As the weather cools, the way we live in our homes begins to change too.
Windows and doors may stay closed for longer, heating comes into use and everyday moisture from cooking, showering, breathing and drying clothes has fewer opportunities to leave the home.
Winter is a wonderful time to notice how your home responds to the cooler weather, and the little clues it gives you along the way.
Around the home this winter
We’ll explore a few areas of the home throughout winter, one small step at a time.
| Winter topic | What we’ll explore |
|---|---|
| Indoor Moisture | Where everyday moisture comes from and where it goes |
| Condensation Clues | What windows, walls and cooler surfaces can tell us |
| Winter Bedding & Warmth | Allergy covers, silk doonas and simple bedding choices as the nights grow cooler |
| Heating & Everyday Living | Heating, drying clothes and the moisture created indoors |
| Ventilation & Humidity | Fresh air, humidity and noticing when a room may need extra support |
1. Notice where moisture comes from
Indoor moisture can come from more than one place
Winter can reveal moisture around the home in ways we may not notice during drier weather.
Some moisture is created through everyday living like showering, cooking, breathing, washing and drying clothes indoors. Other moisture may be entering from the building itself: a roof leak, overflowing or blocked gutters, damaged downpipe, water collecting against the home foundations, plumbing leak or rain finding its way through a vulnerable area.
The important first step is to notice where the moisture may be coming from before deciding what to do about it.
Follow the moisture
After rain, take a walk around the home as well as through it. Look at ceilings, walls, windows and floors, and notice what is happening outside around the roof, gutters, downpipes and ground.
Inside, think about the moisture created through everyday living too. Does the bathroom clear after a shower? What happens while cooking? Boiling the kettle for that cuppa? Where are wet clothes drying?
Sometimes the clue appears in one place while the source of the moisture is somewhere else.
Winter observation: Where are you noticing moisture, and can you follow the clues back to where it may be coming from?
2. Condensation clues
Notice where moisture begins to gather
Condensation can be one of the most invisible clues, until you see it, that conditions inside the home have changed during winter.
You may first notice droplets on a bedroom window in the morning, moisture along a window frame, or dampness on another cool surface. Condensation is influenced by both moisture in the indoor air and temperature. When warm, moisture-containing air meets a surface that is cool enough, some of that water vapour can condense into liquid water.
Rather than simply wiping the water away, take a moment to notice where it appears, when it appears, how often it returns, and, what the temperature and relative humidity are doing at the time.
Look beyond the window
Look along internal walls, on and just above the skirting boards. Take a look behind bedheads and furniture, into corners and other stagnant spots where air movement may be limited. Pay particular attention to rooms with timber floors and wallpapered walls, where changes may be less obvious at first glance.
Use a torch to gently follow the wall and skirting boards, allowing the light to fall across the surface from different angles. Take your time. Look carefully and slowly, giving your eyes a chance to take in what may not be immediately obvious.
Notice changes in the surface, dampness, staining, discolouration, lifting or bubbling wallpaper, and also notice any musty smells. Sometimes the clues begin to intertwine: what you see, what you smell, how the surface feels and where the air has been still.
These observations can help build a picture of how moisture, cooler surfaces and limited air movement may be interacting within the room.
Winter observation: Look low, look behind and look into the quieter corners. What do you notice above the skirting boards, behind the bedhead or furniture, and around wallpapered walls?
3. Winter bedding & warmth
Layering your bed for winter
As the nights become cooler, we naturally begin adding warmth to the bed.
If you use allergy covers on your mattress, pillows and doona, keep these in place beneath your usual bedding. They remain part of the bed while the layers above them change with the season.
A silk doona can provide warmth without a lot of weight and bulk, while blankets can be added or removed as the temperature changes. This gives you flexibility through winter rather than simply making the bed heavier and heavier.
Find the warmth that feels right for you
Think about your winter bed in layers as in first allergy covers where they are needed, followed by your usual sheets, doona and blankets.
The sheets themselves can make a difference. Cotton flannelette can feel lovely and warm during the cooler months, while cotton or hemp sheets may feel cooler when you first get into bed. A hot water bottle or electric blanket can be used to warm the bed before you settle in, if that suits you.
Some nights may need an extra layer; others may not. The aim is a bed that feels comfortably warm without becoming unnecessarily heavy or leaving you feeling overheated.
Winter observation: Take a look at the layers on your bed. What is providing the warmth, and could you create the comfort you need with fewer, well-chosen layers?
4. Heating and everyday living
Warm the home and notice what changes
As cooler weather settles in, heating becomes part of everyday life again. Whether you warm your home with a fireplace, wood heater, gas or electric heater, reverse-cycle air conditioning or another form of heating, notice how the room responds. Different rooms may warm differently, doors may stay closed and the way air moves through the home can change.
Notice what happens when the heating is on. Does one room become very warm while another remains cool? Are some doors kept closed for long periods? What happens around windows, external walls and corners?
Heating is not only about the temperature we set, heating becomes part of the way warmth, air and moisture interact throughout the home.
Drying clothes indoors adds moisture too
Wet washing has to release its moisture somewhere as it dries. When weather, available space or circumstances mean washing needs to be dried indoors, that moisture is released into the room.
If you need to dry washing inside on an airer or clothes rack, notice where you place it, whether air and light can move around it and what happens to the humidity in that room. A hygrometer* can be useful here. You may actually see the relative humidity rise while the washing is drying.
Know how your dryer manages moisture
If you use a clothes dryer indoors, take a moment to understand what type of dryer you have and where its moisture goes.
A traditional vented dryer releases warm, moisture-laden air and should be vented to the outside rather than into the room. Condenser and heat-pump dryers work differently, collecting much of the moisture as water rather than exhausting it directly into the room. Check how your particular dryer is designed to operate and whether a water container, drain or filter needs regular attention.
Whichever way you dry your clothes, notice what happens in the room. Does it become warmer? Does the relative humidity rise? How quickly does the washing dry? Is there enough air movement, ventilation or exhaust?
Where conditions allow, fresh air and effective exhaust can help excess moisture leave the home. If humidity remains elevated, a dehumidifier may also be worth considering, particularly when clothes are being dried indoors.
Let the room give you the clues
Rather than thinking about heating, washing and ventilation as separate things, observe what happens when they come together.
Winter observation: Next time the heating is on or washing is drying indoors, check your hygrometer*. What happens to the temperature and relative humidity, and how quickly do they change afterwards?
5. Ventilation and humidity
Fresh air still matters in winter
When the weather is cold, it is natural to keep windows and doors closed for longer. This helps us stay warm, but it can also mean that moisture and everyday indoor pollutants have fewer opportunities to leave the home.
Ventilation in winter can be thoughtful rather than constant. When outdoor conditions allow, even a period of fresh air can help exchange the air inside, particularly after showering, cooking, drying clothes or when a room has been closed overnight.
Pay attention to how different rooms behave. A bedroom in the morning may tell a different story from the living room during the day or the bathroom after a shower.
Let your hygrometer help you observe
*Using your hygrometer with confidence
A hygrometer measures temperature and relative humidity, giving you another way to understand what is happening in a room rather than relying only on how the room feels. Don’t focus on a single reading. Watch how the temperature and relative humidity change together over time, like when the room is occupied, or when heating is running, after showering, while washing is drying, and before and after ventilation.
Place the hygrometer where it can give you a useful picture of the room, rather than directly beside a heater, open window or another source of heat or moisture. Compare different rooms and, when useful, compare what you are seeing indoors with the conditions outside.
If a room continues to hold higher humidity despite addressing obvious moisture sources and providing appropriate ventilation, it may be worth looking more closely at why before deciding what additional support is needed.
Winter observation: Choose one room and watch your hygrometer* through part of the day. What happens to the relative humidity when you heat, ventilate or simply spend time in the room? Even compare your observations to outside.
6. Give the quieter spaces a little support
Take a look inside the closed spaces
Wardrobes, cupboards and other closed spaces can behave quite differently from the room around them during winter. Doors may remain closed for long periods, air movement can be limited, and items stored closely together can make it harder for air to circulate.
Look closely for subtle changes too like surface shadowing or discolouration, and soft or fluffy-looking surface mould. Check belongings that may sit untouched for long periods, such as shoes, belts, luggage, handbags and jackets that are rarely worn. These quieter, stored items can sometimes reveal a moisture issue before it becomes obvious elsewhere.
Open the doors and take a little time to look, smell and feel around. Notice the back wall, the corners, the shelves, shoes, clothing and stored belongings. Is anything feeling cool or damp? Is there a musty smell? Are items packed tightly against a wall?
Where practical, create a little breathing space between stored items and avoid pushing clothing, boxes or belongings tightly against walls.
A little support where it is needed
For smaller enclosed spaces such as wardrobes and cupboards, Zeolite big bag of rocks or a Damp Defender storage dehumidifier may be useful as part of managing localised dampness and moisture.
A whole room is different. If your observations and hygrometer* show that a room is regularly holding higher humidity, a dehumidifier may be worth considering. The aim is to respond to what the space is telling you rather than adding a moisture-control product simply because it is winter.
Winter observation: Open one wardrobe or cupboard you rarely look inside. What do you notice about the air, the back wall and the belongings stored there?
One small step at a time
You do not need to manage every winter moisture clue at once. Choose one room, notice what is happening, follow the moisture and make one useful change, then observe what happens next.
A healthier home grows from awareness of the little things we see along the way.
