What causes condensation on windows?

GDB2222

bazzaboo wrote: »

Why is condensation such a problem in this country though? Is it this climate or the way the houses are build?
In my last house I never had any problems with condensation or mould, then I moved into a flat. I didn't change my lifestyle whatsoever but still ended up with mould in the bathroom and around window seals.
Now I'm back in a house and no problems with condensation or mould. So surely it's not always the lifestyle of people that causes it but shoddy building works.

Without seeing the flat and the houses, it's speculative, but my guess is that the houses are draughtier than the flat. There's more dry air coming into the houses than the flat, hence less condensation in the houses.

There's an obsession with heat retention, and people insulate like crazy and stop up all the draughts. So, all the moisture gets trapped in the house and condenses on cooler surfaces. It's a moot point which property has the shoddy building works.

beefturnmail

Yes, I've had the same problem in a rented flat. It was clearly a problem with the flat design, but you try telling the landlord that - it's like talking to a brick wall and nothing you say will convince them it's not caused by lack of ventilation (and therefore the tenants fault).

We ventilated, opened shutters by windows, left them open a crack, yet still the windows were streaming with condensation when we woke up in winter, simply from our breath throughout the night. Only way I could see this being avoided was to not breathe...

Landlords want you to pay rent and still maintain properties in mint condition as if they have not been lived in.

sonastin

Is ventilation the answer? I've always dried washing indoors (too tight to pay for the electric for the tumble dryer), never use the extractor fan when I'm in the shower, don't always use the extractor when I'm cooking, never open windows in winter but I haven't ever had a problem with damp or mould. I've been reading the "YOU MUST NOT DO THAT" warnings with a bit of confusion because its never been a big issue in my life. Is it because the houses I've lived in have all had sufficient natural ventilation so that I haven't had to resort to forced extraction or opening windows?

In which case it is a balance. If the house doesn't have adequate ventilation then you need to adapt your lifestyle to suit. But if you need to change your lifestyle to an unreasonable extent, then something needs doing to improve the ventilation. IMHO, having to open windows when it is below freezing outside is an unreasonable expectation if all you are doing is breathing!

dizziblonde

I've lived in places with it as a problem, I've lived in places where it isn't - haven't changed my lifestyle between them. I think sometimes there IS a genuine problem with the design of some places - I know the flat I had particular problems with had had the landlord out fitting window vents to windows in other properties in the block, so I'm inclined to think that there WAS an issue going on there in general and not just me. Think he's probably fitted vents to the windows in my old place in the gap between rentals as well by now (place needed them - couldn't leave bedroom windows open with the layout of the building - ground floor flat, fully opening windows with a path next to my bedroom, when I tried sleeping with the window open I didn't sleep for fear of being murdered in the bed!).

princeofpounds

Yeah flats can be susceptible because they are often really poorly ventilated. New build flats are usually very well insulated but can have a kind of 'stuffy' atmosphere as a result. Plus people are often forced to dry clothes indoors.

It can be bad in draughty old houses too however. Condensation needs warm moist air hitting cold surfaces. The draughts might help in driving out warm moist air, but single glazing can be much colder than double, where the insulation gap allow the inner pane to be heated with the interior whilst the air in the insulation gap is dry against the outer pane.

In the 'good old days' you would even get ice forming on your windows!

Plus you might have more damp issues in a poor old construction, which can transmit moisture to the interior after soaking up rain or groundwater like a sponge. And the frames and sills can be more absorbent and show up damage more easily.

Although condensation generally is caused by insufficient ventilation, sometimes in a poor house it's impossible to have sufficient ventilation without being injurious to health. Sleeping with an open window in winter is not a good idea as cold air raises your susceptibility to respiratory diseases quite markedly. So I get a bit annoyed when I hear answers like 'ventialite more' as it's not always just that simple.

GDB2222

I bought a flat by the sea, and in the end I let it out to the local council. They put relatively poor tenants in the place, who had no end of trouble with condensation. There was nothing wrong, except (I suspected) the tenants weren't able to afford to heat the place properly. Eventually, I got fed up with the complaints and sold the flat. A bit later I bumped into the new owner and asked if he had any damp problems, to which the answer was no, none at all.

So, I think condensation is at least as much down to how you live in the place as anything else.

olly300

bazzaboo wrote: »

Why is condensation such a problem in this country though? Is it this climate or the way the houses are build?

It's the way properties are built.

While you could say it was the age of the property, having lived in a variety of different aged flats and houses I would say it's more to do with how the property is constructed then the age and what type of housing they are.

Some properties escape having condensation problems simply because they have air bricks, air vents, chimneys that are not completely blocked up, cavity walls etc.

There as other properties are a nightmare because they have things like metal single glazed windows, take ages to heat up so if you are in the kitchen or bathroom whether you leave the window open or not you get a water condensing everywhere plus no air bricks or ones that have been blocked up.

Accountant_Kerry

the freeholders put cavity wall insulation into my flat, it made the condensation worse, but the flat warmer. i have tenents in there now complainign of condensation, i have provided a dehumidifier and put an extractor fan in the bathroom, i felt that was all i could pretty much do as a landlord. and my flat was double glazed but north facing i don't think that helps at all.

eamon

I work for a Housing Association. All our recently refurbished properties have trickle vents fitted to the windows. Our repair centre gets dozens of calls every week complaining about condensation & mould. Without fail (excluding properties that have known construction & design issues) the tenants have blocked up the vents. Lifestyle and trying to keep the bills under control are the reason. For the OP it is likely that you live in a rubbish building.

GDB2222

eamon wrote: »

I work for a Housing Association. All our recently refurbished properties have trickle vents fitted to the windows. Our repair centre gets dozens of calls every week complaining about condensation & mould. Without fail (excluding properties that have known construction & design issues) the tenants have blocked up the vents. Lifestyle and trying to keep the bills under control are the reason. For the OP it is likely that you live in a rubbish building.

I don't follow the logic of that last sentence?