As the clouds gather overhead, you cannot help but glance up at the heaven in despair; the rains are coming and you and every other creature on the planet knows it. Though inherently the rains are one of the best things that can happen to us and our eco-system, they have an extremely unwanted effect that can hinder our lives.

When the rains begin to cascade down you know that your house, your lovely house, will not fare well. Black mould will begin to grow in the corners, the paint will begin to crack with the moisture in the air and fall to the ground exposing the cement or brick that make up your house. Your wooden doors will begin to rot and jam making entry or exit a feat for heroes.

And so as the monsoons set in, you begin to franticly search all the corners of the earth for a solution to keep your walls from crumbling down. And in the spirit of helping, we’ve compiled a few solutions to for you to keep in mind this monsoon

1. Choose the right paint. Over the years paint has evolved from something to make your house look shiny and new to a science that can keep unwanted elements out of your walls. The right kind of paint can keep the dryness inside your walls and the wetness out. Don’t opt for cheaper paint , make sure you use one that will help protect your walls.

2. Here is very little you can do that will effectively keep black mould from growing on your walls. However, you can clean it and that should cull its growth. Firstly, when cleaning black mould do not use water under any circumstances because the mould feeds off of the moisture. The most common place you will find this mould is the kitchen and the bathroom; to rooms where condensation is high.  You should begin by scrubbing the area affected as hard as you can with a brush and then apply a surface cleaner to do the job. After this is done, lightly washing the wall with water is not a bad idea.

3. For your doors you have two options; you can either spend some money and buy a waterproof door or spend a little less money and waterproof it yourself. For the latter the best way to keep your door waterproof is to add a “flashing”. A flashing is an overhang above the door which acts as armour; the water that would’ve hit your door otherwise will impact the flashing and roll off and onto the floor keeping your door free of most direct contact with water.

With just these three simple DIY tips, you can help your home look as fresh as possible in the rainy season. Bright lights, showpieces and colours will also help you make your rooms look as cheerful as possible!