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A new hack is going viral as households increasingly place a metal spoon on their window sills. Although the trick seems bizarre, the physics behind it underpins the method.

The claim is that placing a metal spoon on a window frame will pull moisture from the air before it ruins windows or walls. The steps are easy: households can take a metal spoon, ideally a stainless steel one, and rest it on their windowsill. The handle should point towards the room and the concave bowl part of the utensil should extend past the glass toward the outside.

The hack is simple and easy - a low-effort trick for any household.

The physics behind this is that when the warmth and moisture in the air strike a cold window pane. The water vapour then condenses, forming liquid water. This supposedly then slides down the glass to make a puddle on the windowsill.

After this, the liquid seeps into wood, feeds mould spores and even lifts paint.

By placing a metal spoon on a windowsill, households can change where this liquid lands. As metal conducts heat considerably faster than glass, the spoon cools more quickly, too, remaining colder than the window pane. Water vapour condenses on the metal first.

As gravity carries the droplets along the larger part of the spoon and drops them outside the window, rather than down the interior part of the glass, the liquid is removed and less likely to cause dampness.

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While the spoon may intercept moisture, households should be aware that it does not lower the room's humidity. The same amount of water leaves the air either way; the spoon only changes where the liquid lands.

Issues that may cause damp also include leaking pipes inside walls, poor foundation drainage, unvented clothes dryers, and everyday cooking and showering. While a spoon on a windowsill will help a little, this should not be used as a solution to extreme humidity issues in a home.