People are just realising a common household item can stop mould and condensation – and you’ve been throwing it away

PEOPLE are only just realising a certain item can get rid of mould – and they’ve been throwing it away this whole time.

Mould and condensation can spread around the house particularly when temperatures drop in the winter.

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If left untreated, mould can pose a risk to vulnerable Brits with existing health problems like eczema or asthma.

But it turns out there’s a simple way to reduce dampness around the house.

Silica packets – the little sachets that come in shoes and clothes – could end up protecting your walls and window sills.

That’s because they’re designed to prevent moisture from damaging a product – so they’re ideal for keeping dampness at bay around your home.

You can buy a 1g pack of silica pouches for £4.95 from Amazon – and shoppers are excited about them in the review section.

One person said: “These are perfect for what I wanted them for.

“My cupboard, where I store all our shoes, is very cold and was starting to feel damp in places. I bought these to pop in the shoes.”

Another wrote: “I have found the microwaveable ones – they work great in the car. And I’ve used the disposable condensation collectors.”

If you do decide to use them though, keep in mind they normally come with new shoes and clothing items, so you should save them instead of having to buy new ones.

But if you don’t have any and you’re not planning on buying new clothes soon, then make sure to shop around for the cheapest price.

But keep in mind other ways to prevent mould – especially if you’re noticing it’s becoming a problem.

Silica packets are only small, so they might not do the trick if there’s mould in a larger area.

More tips

We tested out some top hacks for tackling mould to see how effective they are.

Dehumidifiers are a good idea to keep by windows to prevent condensation from collecting – shoppers have even spotted one that costs £50 from Argos.

And they don’t cost much to run either – according to experts at Uswitch, dehumidifiers normally use 185W – so they usually cost about 6p an hour to run.

There’s also the trick of placing salt in a bowl and hoping it catches mould – our reporter Harriet Cooke said it worked quite well.

And, costing at £1.70 for 500g from Tesco, salt isn’t too expensive to buy either.

You can read a full list of mould prevention hacks and our verdict in our test here.

We also spoke to a property pro who said it’s important to take mould seriously.

You can read all the tips he has to give here.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk