Any tips to stop condensation on windows?

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  • I had it bad in my last house a few years ago
    ...i ended up double glazing film off ebay ...it was like clingfilm and you taped it on to the window with double sided tape then tightened it up using a hairdryer

    it was similar to this
    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mr-Cosy-Seasonal-Double-Glazing-Film-1-8SQ-Metres-No-73_W0QQitemZ290272938175QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item290272938175&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1686|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318
  • mallymal
    mallymal Posts: 215
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    IMHO a lot of the problem is caused by people's lifestyle. If you boil a pan on the hob, with no extraction, the steam goes into the air, and when it hits the cold glass, causes condensation.

    If you do the washing, and hang clothes all round the house drying, then again, the only place that moisture can go is up into the air inside the room.

    If kids come in with wet coats and hang them by a radiator.... you get the picture! :rolleyes:
  • I have double glazing but still have to use moisture crystals from Betterware or smear windows with bubble bath
  • casey972
    casey972 Posts: 30 Forumite
    Curious about this as we also have a lot of condensation on our single galzed windows. I was buying some outdoor clothes last year and came across a product for demisting ski goggles and it also said that it could be used to stop condensation on the windows.

    Well, sounded good so I bought it (about £8) but have been afraid to use it as I am not sure where the mositure would go!

    Condensation on the windows is not nice but it would be much worse if the walls became damp, but this could be warped logic.

    Anyone got a view, should I try it? Could this be the answer?

    Product is Storm Clear anti fogging link here http://www.airsoftworld.net/storm-clear-anti-fog-sticks.html
  • dawnsong
    dawnsong Posts: 93 Forumite
    edited 17 October 2009 at 11:49AM
    using washing up liquid has worked for me - I've gone from having streaming windows, to clear panes in the mornings and a much drier room overall..

    When the windows are dry - put a thick blob of neat washing up liquid on a dry cloth and gently rub over the window, and repeat until the pane is covered. I don't rub it in - the window will smear, which is helpful as you can see where it is applied, but that clears naturally in a few minutes. In the mornings open the window a touch for a short while to dry any residual moisture on the surface. re-apply every few days.

    I don't know if it makes a difference as to what washing up liquid you use, I've only tried it with co-op concentrated wash liquid.
  • We have a cellar in our house. It has 3 rooms, the main one and the side ones are quite dry but cold; the last one is quite cold and damp. It has earth on 2 sides and a open ventilation grill at one end. Our bedroom is directly above it and I am sure we are getting cold and damp from downstairs. We regularly have condensation of the (single glazed) windows and a smell of mustiness.

    I was thinking of getting a dehumidifier, but does it go in the bedroom or downstairs in the cellar?

    Any other cellar management tips (or a thread for them?) please?
  • shandypants5
    shandypants5 Posts: 2,124
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    We get puddles on our windowsills in the winter too.

    I understand that ventilation helps,
    but surely all these trickle vents and allowing the loft to breath and air bricks, are all letting heat out too ?

    I mean why do we insulate the loft and then let all the warm air escape thru it?
    “Careful. We don't want to learn from this.”
  • Thanks for the great suggestions here guys, I shall be smearing washing up liquid everywhere tomorrow!!
    I guess it's that time of year I've been dreading, we don't have any heating in our house atm, the bathroom extractor is broken (no window) and we have to dry clothes indoors, so as you can imagine the mould is growing thick and fast ..it's maddening.. :mad:
    I'll be asking for a dehumidifier for Xmas then. That and a decent house to live in..:rotfl:
  • Swipe
    Swipe Posts: 5,064
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    I have a small dehumidifier, it is an Amcor one and cost me just under £200 I think. It uses around 200w when it is on but they all have humidistats built in so they switch on and off as required. I'd say mine costs me less than 1p/hr to run as it is generally on on for around 15min/hr and it gets switched off overnight as it is in my bedroom.
  • ailuro2
    ailuro2 Posts: 7,535
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    No one has meantioned breathing and sweating - there's moisture in the air we breathe out, and in the perspiration from our skin, so we're all still adding moisture even if we haven't had a shower or hung a coat up to dry.
    gas fires seem to add moisture to the air too.

    Condensation happens when warm air hits something cold (like on a cold can of coke)
    The window is normally coldest because it's got cold air from outside cooling it down.

    Keep a squegee handy and wipe down the condensate and mop it up with a towel before you go to bed, and do the same again in the morning if the washing up liquid tip doesn't help (I'd not thought to do that on the windows, but use that trick on bathroom mirrors)
    Member of the first Mortgage Free in 3 challenge, no.19
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