Condensation Bedroom Windows

Browntoa wrote: »

I'm thinking the tumble dryer

You can get bathroom extractor with humidity sensors which trickle airflow out when humidity hits a certain level

The tumble dryer is on just 2 days a week (we are only a couple), and was last on 3 days prior to the photo shown. It's also very new with filters cleaned after each day of use. It may be a contributing factor, but we have to dry clothes and found it worse if we use a clothes horse or hang on radiators, or course more expensive but prefer the cost to the condensation.

A good point on the humidistat

Thank you

tacpot12 wrote: »

The extractor fan is the problem. Running on for five minutes is not long enough to solve the issue. In my experience, no fan with an adjustable timer has a long enough run on.

I have two properties that had similar problems. The problems in both have been solved by wiring the extractor fan to a humidistat so that the fan runs when the air is wet and keeps running until the air is dry. The fan is effectively only controlled by the humidistat, although I do have it wired in one property to also come on with the light switch, so it is always on when the light is on, but if the light is off, it is then controlled by the humidistat.

When the fan is fixed, I would also suggest you turn down the heating at night, not up. You will get a better nights sleep and save energy. 17 degrees c is the recommended temperature for bedrooms at night.

Thank you, this has made me think, back in November last year the fan in the bathroom stopped working, and it was run off a humidistat. It wasn't till December that the fan was replaced, but what they did was remove the humidistat, fit and inline outlet in the ceiling, then install a pump in the loft running off a timer with ducting from the ceiling outlet to the pump, then from the pump to the outlet in the roof.
So perhaps if the housing were willing to run the pump off a humidistat that could ease the problem.
Though to note, we reported condensation on the windows a month before the old fan failed (these were on the old timber frame windows which were double glazed, albeit 4mm glass, 4mm cavity)
We had only moved in to the property in July, a few months before, there is a row of 4 houses, and all have the same condensation issue, although the end 2 houses have added ventilation of a window to their bathrooms

Interesting on the turning temp down at night, and yes since turning it up to 22c i haven't slept well at all, so will at least maintain it at 21c and see what housing say.

Unfortunately we are on benefits and funds are limited on what we can do ourselves to cure this condensation problem, the hygrometers are about as far as we can go, although not looked at the price of a humidistat, but the installation cost would probably be more.

Thanks for your advice.

We did run a dehumidifier earlier this year, purchased 2nd hand, but it didn't really collect a lot of moisture, was intrusive with the noise, and used a lot of electricity... perhaps we had the wrong type, insufficient to our needs, or it was faulty, i don't know. But we would like to actually uncover and address the issue at the source so to speak before we look at that route again.
We did start with those moisture devices that hold a tablet and sit on the window sill, but for what was meant to last 4.8 or 12 weeks whatever it was, they were full in a couple of days and were proving the most costly of devices when you think we needed one for each room.

We would be happy to open the windows slightly ajar on the latch to aid air circulation, but were advised by the housing to keep the windows closed and let the trickle vents do their job. It was also on their advice to maintain a constant temperature, which i have misinterpreted it and put the heating up a degree at night, which i will stop doing and maintain it at 21c from where the thermostat is located in the hall below.
Again, since i raised the temp by a degree i haven't slept well at all and find it much too hot, i would like to lower the temperature at night, but need to go with the advice from housing... we have a 1tog duvet on the bed with just 1 sheet... that's how hot we are, and i can't see lowering it just 1c is going to change it that much, taking it down to 17c sounds ideal, but then we would be too cold during the day.
As you say, the heat is probably keeping the damp problems to the windows and stopping it spread to the walls.

Just a thought, when the extractor fan stopped working in the bathroom last year, it took the housing a month to replace it, so that couldn't have helped matters, being that there is no window in the bathroom, but also the ducting from the fan to the roof outlet was torn. So even when the fan was working, the moisture could have been escaping in to the loft area. There is no signs of damp in the loft, and insulation doesn't seem damp, so guess not a factor, apart from spare insulation in the loft above the bathroom.

The housing have asked me to take humidity, indoor, outdoor temp and take photo's for a week and then provide them with this.

My only hope is a fix can be achieved before winter really kicks in and the temperature outside plummets as imagine the condensation will only get worse.

Thanks for posting the youtube video, i have watched it twice now, and to be honest still don't fully understand. I get the point of the dew point being more relative, but have trouble translating that to the situation i am in, and how to apply it, so it can identify where the route causes are.

Furthermore my wife is a copd suffer and i use a cpap machine every night due to severe obstructive sleep apnea, i'm also asthmatic, thus added need to nip this in the bud before the plummeting outdoor temperatures arrive. We really suffered last winter and don't think we could cope through that again.