How do I stop condensation?

Mado

heatherw_01 wrote:

You could buy a dehumidifier which absorbs condensation

They are indeed excellent, as long as you don't go cheap!(basically, forget the dessicant type that you regenerate in theoven... they just move the problem around).
Buy a unit properly sized for your house (about £200) and it should make a huge difference to how your house feels.

robowen

dehumidifier....worth every penny !!

[Deleted User]

Hi Youngmum,

Condensation is caused by the water which we breathe out hitting a cold surface and condensing. Don't know if you can remember you school biology lessons :rolleyes: , but you will breathe out approximately 1litre of water a night per adult.

So opening the windows of bedrooms and airing beds everyday is a must to reduce the water content of the air. Obviously drying washing in the house will add to the water vapour in the air and give you more condensation.

So the greater the temperature difference between the window and the room the more condensation will form.

So if it's really bad go for the air dehumidifier. Otherwise it's back to good old elbow grease and wiping it off.

Good luck

moggins

BTW, I found a Dehumidifier at Screwfix direct for less than 90 quid. It's says it's suitable for a house with up to 3 bedrooms.

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?cId=101660&ts=86580&id=10204

squiggles

I have huge condensation problems,soaking wet every morning and night.The bathroom winow is always open unless its windy and i leave the bedroom ones on the night latch,(open about 1cm) and it makes no difference to the soggy wet windows.I also feel im the only one in the street with the condensation so bad,everyone elses is just steamed up a little whereas mine are dripping wet.People must think im a right nosey thing as every time i go out and about im always looking at their windows to see how bad their condensation is,i hope they dont think im a robber eyeing up their house.

I baught a dehumididfier but i still had to dry all the windows,think the machine needs to be left on overnight but its too noisy and im frightened of a huge electric bill.

ariba10

The more moisture in the air the more condensation you will get. The kitchen is one of the worst culprits. Kettles, saucepans and the like. It helps if you have an extrator fan and try to keep the door to the kitchen closed when you are cooking.

Linda32

Okay, its started, we get this problem every year. It will go away of its own accord around next June :eek:

Any idea's on how to cure it please we have tried one of those windowsill absorber affairs which perhaps do work, but not in our case.:rolleyes:

The windows are open all day, apart from in the depths of winter, about a month during December - January in our case.

There are rads under each window which is affected and they are on during the evening and weekends as necessary. One of the windows is double glazed and the other isn't. The one that is double glazed is worse affected and is the room we sleep in.

We are talking alot of condensation, more than can be wiped off, unless you want a pool of water on the windowsill that is.

Any help would be appreciated.

Mrs_pbradley936

I think the only cure is to ventilate the room. I asked about this once (on another site) I forget the scientific reasoning behind it all because I only paid attention to the "bottom line" which was to make the place warmer and/or improve ventilation. Try this link for more info:

http://housing.cce.cornell.edu/f-sht-pdf%20libraries/EE-F-SHTS/Moisture%20Condensation%20at%20the%20Windows.pdf

[Deleted User]

The condensation is caused by moisture-laden air forming water droplets on a cool surface. We all breathe out a lot of moisture at night and it is natural for it to condense on the window.

I live in a brand new house with double glazing but I noticed a little on the inside of the windows this morning. The option for me would be to have the ch on but I won`t be doing that yet

OP try keeping your bedroom door open a little rather than the window at night, as the air outside is now becoming quite cool. I would also get some of the clingfilm that you can blow dry, onto your unglazed window and maybe also over the double glazed window

Peem

I seem to remember someone mentioning bicarb of soda on the windowsill (in a container!) would absorb the extra moisture.

I also think Lakeland had something which would do this sort of thing. I'll have a look later and let you know if I find anything

(sorry this is a bit vague)