Cheapest way to stop condensation?

princessamy86

Hi all
Just wondering if anyone knows any cheap ways of getting rid of condensation? I have tried opening windows, having heating on and wiping it off the walls but nothing seems to work. My mum suggested bathroom paint but would this make any difference? I'm reluctant to spend money on redecoration if it won't change anything!

Any suggestions gratefully received

olly300

More details needed i.e what room is it in, do you have double glazing, where is the condensation exactly.

[Deleted User]

hi, trying using a dehumidifier. When its running make sure you close the windows. I found this worked wonders on my flat as i cant leave my windows open during the day as im at work.

savemoney

Probably cheapest way is a dehumidifier.

I wouldn't have thought condensation the last few days though is been rather warm on a evening

The other thing is how you conduct your life for example cooking/bathing and washing etc. If you cook or bath and get steam open the window for 30 minutes. Dont hang washing on a radiator also may help.

Fire_Fox

princessamy86 wrote: »

Hi all
Just wondering if anyone knows any cheap ways of getting rid of condensation? I have tried opening windows, having heating on and wiping it off the walls but nothing seems to work. My mum suggested bathroom paint but would this make any difference? I'm reluctant to spend money on redecoration if it won't change anything!

Any suggestions gratefully received

The cheapest way is to stop the water being produced at source. Is the condensation only in your bathroom? When you say you have tried opening windows, how long for each day? Do you keep the bathroom door shut whilst you do this?

chrest

This time last year I had condensation problems, I had to bin about 5 coats that were ruined with mould, green mould grew behind the bed headboard both in our bedroom (on outside wall). Plus on all upstairs windows (double-glazed) they were really badly condensated every morning which I had to wipe off.

Since then, I did some research, decided I didnt want a dehumidifier and would try other things.

Now
1, we make sure the bathroom window is wide open when we take a shower and that the bathroom door is always shut. Going to get an extractor fan fitted soon also.
2, when cooking we make sure kitchen door is closed off to rest of house and open the windows, especially when cooking on the hob.
3, also put little pots of salt on all windowsills upstairs, as apparently the salt soaks up the moisture instead of it settling on the window.
4, pulled furniture slightly off the outside wall in our bedroom.

1, & 2, have basically removed the moisture for the air much quicker than before, stopping it from travelling through the house.

So far this year we have had no mould on our walls and the condensation on the windows has virtually gone. Only get in occassionally and only ever a small amount around the edge.

HTH.

James_N

chrest wrote: »

This time last year I had condensation problems, I had to bin about 5 coats that were ruined with mould, green mould grew behind the bed headboard both in our bedroom (on outside wall). Plus on all upstairs windows (double-glazed) they were really badly condensated every morning which I had to wipe off.

Since then, I did some research, decided I didnt want a dehumidifier and would try other things.

Now
1, we make sure the bathroom window is wide open when we take a shower and that the bathroom door is always shut. Going to get an extractor fan fitted soon also.
2, when cooking we make sure kitchen door is closed off to rest of house and open the windows, especially when cooking on the hob.
3, also put little pots of salt on all windowsills upstairs, as apparently the salt soaks up the moisture instead of it settling on the window.
4, pulled furniture slightly off the outside wall in our bedroom.

1, & 2, have basically removed the moisture for the air much quicker than before, stopping it from travelling through the house.

So far this year we have had no mould on our walls and the condensation on the windows has virtually gone. Only get in occassionally and only ever a small amount around the edge.

HTH.

This is a great example of how the way you use a house affects condensation. We rent a property, and one early and very down to earth tenant, spoke to us about it having some potential condensation problems - it's very old and constructed traditionally - he then said it wasn't a big deal and he'd always treated houses "like a ship" - ensuring good ventilation. Another tenant dried knickers on the radiators, steamed all her food, never opened a window, didn't heat the place consistently - and had mould everywhere - blaming us of course.

Having said that - a cheap dehumidifier IS helpful. If you buy very high quality you can keep it running even in the room you sleep in, they can be so quiet - look for a Peltier model (a type not a brand): with a cheap noisy one you can run it when you are not there (daytime?). It WILL reduce most problems to almost zero by itself. It also produces enough background heat for me to usually avoid using electric heating in the loft room where ours is situated.

It can pay for the running costs too: a rack of damp washing, hung on a traditional rack, will be totally dry after a few hours shut in a room with a dehumidifier. Far cheaper than a drier, and for small items like baby clothes, undies or socks more convenient than hanging on a line.

princessamy86

Thanks for all the advice, I think I will try getting a dehumidifier. It's only in the bedroom, on the outside wall, I do have DG and it's not round the window at all. I've started drying my hair downstairs instead, I don't dry washing in there at all but it's still coming through on the wall. I have the heating on for about 2 hours a day, and the window is on the latch all the time so fresh air does come through. Going to have a look at how much dehumidifiers cost!

simpywimpy

we have a terrible problem in a hair salon with condensation on the windows. No other salons seem to have this problem with steaming up completely.

We have a calor gas heater and two electric heaters running, could this be the problem?

I tried a dehumidifier but it didn't work well enough

James_N

simpywimpy wrote: »

we have a terrible problem in a hair salon with condensation on the windows. No other salons seem to have this problem with steaming up completely.

We have a calor gas heater and two electric heaters running, could this be the problem?

I tried a dehumidifier but it didn't work well enough

The gas heater produces most of the consensation you are suffering as a by-product of the combustion process.

Complete burning = Propane + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water

But you are better off with the above than the condensation produced by incomplete burning - and lethal monoxide fumes ...

Propane + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Carbon Monoxide + Carbon + Water

ariba10

Have a read of this.

http://www.harfordsonline.com/downloads/condensation%20info.pdf