Wet windows (merged threads)

likabu_2

I am regularly waking up to sopping wet windows now. It's in every room with a being in, the bedrooms and the small back room downstairs with the guinea pigs in but it's great big patio windows in there. Also the tiny window at the top of the landing.

Is there anything I can be doing to prevent this, any ideas folks? A friend mentioned buying a dehumidifier but looking at the prices of them I can't afford one. Any oldstyle ideas folks please?

Lisa

Magentasue

I had this in my last house, a modern well insulated house with big picture windows. It happens because the hot air in the house hits the cold windows and the water in the air condenses = condensation.

If you open your windows the air around the windows cools so it doesn't happen. You're also giving that damp air somewhere to go. Extractor fans anywhere where there is steam (kitchen and bathroom) will help. A dehumidifier will solve the problem.

Things that make it worse are any heaters that produce a lot of water vapour (calor gas for example), anything wet hanging around (wet coats, towels, washing) and tumble driers not vented.

So, old style is opening windows, reducing water in the air and wiping the windows regularly. We did all that and still had mould growing. We also tried those boxes with stuff in that is supposed to absorb water vapour. Well, maybe they do but not on the scale we needed. A second hand dehumidifer solved our problems overnight. Now we have a Victorian house with draughty chimneys, sash windows and no condensation!

carol_a_3

If you can leave a window open, even just a tiny bit it will help. If not, an old towel rolled up into a "sausage" and laid along the window sill will catch the worst of it but you will still need to wipe the windows down in the morning.You can get condensation traps which are plastic boxes filled with a water absorbing substance but not sure how much these are. I get the same problem since my windows were "draughtproofed" courtesy of the Staywarm scheme. I have just spent the last half hour going round washing all the black off the insides of the frames funnily enough.

Chipps

Hi Lisa
Condensation is my DHs absolute pet hate! We do have a dehumidifier, which helps, but does not completely prevent it. Hanging washing indoors is one source of it. I am only allowed to hang it in the airing cupboard! Breathing is also a source of condensation - happily I am allowed to do that anywhere in the house!!!! But seriously, the more people living & breathing in the house, the more condensation! Lack of airflow also exacerbates the problem. This is where DHs problem with it comes in. He is a double glazing service engineer & people have a go at him because the sales rep told them they would have no condensation, then they are breathing & hanging washing up in a sealed house & wondering why all that moisture collects on the windows!
Opening the windows each day, when feasible, will allow the moisture to escape. And good old fashioned terry nappies are my other weapon in the war against condensation, although towels will do just as well (I just happen to have all these small white square towels left over from a previous existence!)
Each morning I go round & wipe down the windows - very slowly to absorb as much water as possible. After everyone has finished with showers etc in the bathroom, wipe down the shower cubicle, tiled walls, windows & any other wet surfaces with one of the used towels. That way, the water is not there to find its way into the atmosphere & so to the windows!
Sorry that's such a long answer, but hope it helps. As you can see, I have been brainwashed & trained in this subject!!!

beachbeth

We have this problem even though we are double glazed. However, before we had the double glazing put in it was far, far worse with water dripping down onto the carpet in the mornings and waking us up. We bought something handy from a diy shop (couldn't afford a dehumidifier) which was long strips, half an inch wide of something that felt a bit like polystyrene (sorry cant remember what it was called). These strips were laid across the window sill and were very absorbant and collected water and swelled up (in a similar way to a tampon). Every morning I squeezed them out, dried them on the radiators, wiped the windows and opened them and then placed the strips back in place at night.

Now we have double glazing it isn't so bad and I just wipe over the windows in the morning as they are a bit steamed up and then open the windows for a while.

MATH

This has started happening at Chez MATH too. Nothing has changed tho since last year, same double glazed windows, same heating, same inmates. This is the first year this has happened in the 8 yeras we have lived in this house. I've told the kidz and Mrs MATH not to breath while they are asleep but I bet they ignore me as per:rolleyes:

Mr_Skint_2

Get some trickle vents fitted.... make sure clothes arent dried on radiators.

Alison_B

We suffer terribly from this. We invested in a couple of dehumidifiers and have one upstairs and one in the conservatory. We switch the dehumidifier on in September and they run until May and it is amazing how much water they pull. Some mornings in Winter we get some condensation but on the whole, it is a lot better now. It was so bad that we ended up having mould growing on the walls.

calleyw

We use to suffer in our last place. A one bedroom flat. So we used that plastic stuff you get to stick over the windows but we did it in such away that you could open the smallest window.

We don't have a problem at the moment now as we live in a house with double glazing but I tend to air the house nearly everyday with all windows upstairs and downstairs open for about half an hour or so. Not sure how much longer I can do that.

And yes breathing, drying clothes washing up, showers and baths all create extra moisture. That is why in the bathroom the window all year round is open a little bit. And when in the flat the little kitchen window was left open a little all year around.

That is one reason why I say you should not dry clothes on radiators as there are not that many house now adays that need extra moisture put back in.

And dehumidifiers are great. I bought to help when I had the washing indoors during the winter and had to get it dry. I bought mine from homebase cost about £70ish but I waited until a 10% day so that saved me about £8.

Yours

Calley

Magentasue

Speaking from experience - make changes as soon as you see signs of damp/mould. Apart from it being a health hazard, it probabaly means that something is going to rot. We moved a piece of furniture out when we noticed black on the wall. The carpet underneath was sodden and the chipboard flooring was starting to rot.

That's another thing - try to avoid having too much wall and carpet covered so that air can circulate.

ikr2

Some of the more modern double-glazed windows have a "night vent" setting: you open the window about 1 cm and turn the handle to the lock position. This means you can lock the windows but still have them open as a vent.

We've just had our back windows double glazed with this feature and discovered after 5 years that the existing front ones have the same thing too!

To see if you have this you need to look at the window frame when the window is open. You should see two groves for the locking bolts that are activated when you turn the window handle to the "closed" position.

A picture can be found here:http://www.europlas.co.uk/i/casementFeature_06.jpg

By the way - does anyone know if the white vinegar solutions for cleaning windows and uPVC will work adhesive remanents? A previous owner stuck a couple of plastic hooks and a doorbell on the windows and frame of our front door and I need to get rid of the gluey bits they have left behind on the glass and upvc.

Ian