What causes condensation on windows?

Blackpool_Saver

Well i know what i would do, i would not live in a place with storage heaters. Simple.

GDB2222

willing2learn wrote: »

I don't prefer moaning about my landlady....I am just fed up of her insinuating that every thing is my fault.....but then a few people have mentioned recently that she makes them feel the same way and they are not her tenants.

Some people just have a negative view of life. I sympathise with you.

BTW, I've always felt the cold at night, and not long ago we moved over to a 15 tog duvet. It makes all the difference! We bought a Nimbus goose feather and down duvet. It's quite heavy, but it does the biz. It cost £60 for a double. It's not got much down in it, though, mostly feathers!

skylight

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 have had to block the vent in my (council) bathroom re-fit. They put in an extractor fan which is great in the summer, but they installed it on a north facing wall with an open grille vent rather than a flap vent on the outside. It blows a gale through and makes the bathroom freezing; this cold air spreads to the rest of the upper floor which makes the cavity wall and loft insulation a bit of a waste of money! I didn't have a damp/mould issue in the bathroom before the cavity wall and extractor fan were installed!


I simply have had to adapt to the improvements to the home; I now wipe the windows each morning, open them all (regardless of the weather), wipe the bathroom ceiling down and spray every so often with mould killer. Despite the houses ownership, its still my home so in my best interest to look after it.

stevehead

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.

If Housing Associations fitted Heat Recovery Vents then tenants wouldn't block or disconnect them. These completely clear condensation and stop mould growth dead. HRV's do not let in cold air... if you put your hand up to one it feels like room temperature air coming in.
Tenants don't have to freeze and the property will remain in far better condition internally, a win-win situation.

You do need good insulation to stop the property cooling too much overnight. If it's cold in the property at 5am, then the moisture in the air will drop out onto carpets, walls, clothes..everywhere.

Finally, the inner window pane temperature needs to be kept high to stop condensation forming on it's surface. This is possible with modern DG Units from companies such as Pilkington or Planitherm, but not the older ones.

All this worked for me. Went from a soaking black spot ridden mess every winter to bone dry.

skintchick

funkymonkey849 wrote: »

Landlords always say ventilation! The only houses I've had problems with condensation have been poorly heated, poorly insulated, leaky damp sh!tholes

I don't like to have the heating on overnight or in the day while I'm at work so I make sure the house is wam in the evening, and then when I go to bed I open the bedroom window so no condensation forms overnight. Unless I am there all day I keep the windows shut

If I'm cooking or after a shower I open the window. If drying clothes I keep most of the clothes in the bathroom with the window open

You can ventilate until the cows come home but if the house is cold and damp then you're fighting a losing battle

Interesting. THe house we moved into in August (well, we bought it) is dreadful for condensation. All the windows need replacing, it IS a bit damp (full survey flagged this but said not a problem as only a little damp in places), is probably poorly insulated as dates from 1928, although is very well heated lol. We are in most days as I'm a full time mum, so lots of breath, lots of washing all dried indoors in winter, so prob not a lot we can do about it.

I can;t help the Op really but I think the LL is being unreasonable.

GDB2222

Can't you at least dry the washing in a tumble dryer that is vented outside? Or a condenser dryer?

bristol_pilot

If you have single glazed windows you will get a certain amout of condensation no matter what (unless you keep the flat the same temperature as the outside, which would be unacceptable). If you get a great deal of condensation, pools of water etc, which seems to be the case then the usual suspect is drying laundry indoors. Never mind once a week, once a week is once too often. This activity puts pints and pints of water into the air, far more than other normal activities such as breathing and cooking. Dry in a tumple drier that vents to the exterior. After that, occasional ventilation should reduce condensation to manageable levels. If you still have a problem, you can get a cheap dehumidifier from Argos they do not cost a lot and are cheap-ish to run. However the benefit is only marginal - you will still get some condensation on single glazed windows when it is cold weather.

golfchick

We have a serious problem with this in our bedroom over night and im sure its down to moisture in the air mainly from the OH, the bedroom has no ventilation whatsoever and its too cold to open the windows but sounds like we may have to. The condensation had actually frozen to the inside of the window this morning! If i sleep in there alone i dont make condensation but as soon as my OH sleeps in there or goes in there alone then there is condensation! I recently decorated the bedroom and the paint on the window sides has actually cracked and will flake off soon and when its damp in the morning he dges of the window sill the aint ripples too as i recently decorated that as well! I will try and leave the door and window a crack open tonight and if not will have to find a cheapish to run dehumidifier soon or look at doing something to provide ventilation in the room!

Geenie

My mother and brother both live in 1930's properties. No cavity walls, doubled glazed and gas central heating. They both have dehumidifiers going in the winter. Nothing else stops the condensation unfortunately. Growing up in my mothers house in the 1960's and 70's, seeing her wiping down the streaming windows and sills every morning was normal. Then, they were single glazed metal casements, but the doubling glazing she now has had made little difference unfortunately.

Running_Horse

Subscribes to thread.