Failed Double Glazing/Mould. Please Help.

Richie_C

Myself and my girlfriend bought our first house in April. Since then we have noticed that our windows are prone to getting A LOT of condensation on them. Now the windows in the main bedroom, third bedroom and the back window in the living room look like they have failed as we can see condensation between the panes and in the morning its like a river of water running down the windows.

For this problem I've looked into a company called Cloudy2Clear and they have quoted £570 to fix 7 panes of glass.

My question is am I right thinking because the double glazing has potentionally failed this is the reason for the windows getting some much condensation on them. It's becoming a real problem as we are getting mould of the back wall in the main bedroom and some mould in the living room but the mould returns much quicker in the bedroom. I keep using mould spray to get rid of it but its matte paint and it looks like I'm messing it up (which doesn't help as it was only pained 3 months ago.)

I just bought a hygrometer off ebay and it says the humidity is about 70% in the house. Now in the main bedroom if I put a dehumidifier on it takes it down to like 50% but this isnt a good long term solution.

So what I am asking is:

Am I correct is trying to fix the windows to solve the condensation/mould problem?

Could it be a damp problem? The only wall that seems to get get is the bedroom wall.

If I was to run a dehumidifier on a regular basis would it make my electricity bill sky rocket?

The other potential problem we have is that we have a condenser dryer in the kitchen which is like a generator and kicks out a lot of heat. Is it best to use this to dry clothes and keep all the doors closed and the windows open instead of drying clothes on a radiator?

I hope you guys can give me some good advice as I'd like to solve this problem but spend our money in the right places. I'm currently asking around for other quotes for people to replace failed double glazing and looking at getting British Gas to look to see if we have cavity wall/ loft insulation and if not to get it installed as this may help.

Many Thanks,

Rich

Furts

Hi Richie_C
I do not know where you live, and I do not want to breach confidentiality, unless you are willing to state an area. I am aware of Cloudy2Clear but have no experience of using them. I am critical of their sales pitch and literature. I would not recommend them simply based on these two items.

I do not know if this is a franchise, or a local company, so over to you on this.

With regards your problem I suggest shopping around for replacement sealed units, But, get decent ones with at least a ten year guarantee and not five years as offered by Cloudy2Clear - if you get my hint.

I am aware of twenty year guaranteed units being made in an area of the country where Cloudy2Clear are promoting their brilliance... yet they are only offering a five year guarantee on theirs.

Hope this helps

Richie_C

Thats OK. I live in the Amber Valley area (Derbyshire). I think they are a local franchise.

I understand, I only went to cloudy2clear as my mother mentioned them and I got them round for a quote as I had no idea on price. I'll be ringing other places for quotes tomorrow.

Do you think that my condensation issues are most likely to do with the failed windows? Ill be buying a cheap moisture metre just to make sure it isn't damp on the back exterior wall for the bedroom where the mould is appearing.

The only other thing I've noticed about the house is that some of the windows seems to have solid brick walls around them and some other ones seem to be hollow as if its wood. All the windows are UPVC but a few have the walls around them hollow. Could this be an issue and can this be solved by having these gaps filled in with insulation?

Furts

The moisture inside your seaked units means they have failed. Hence they are not performing as a modern unit would be . These hopefully would be better insulated than your originals, but this is up to you to specify.

If you have damp issues the windows are probably a red herring. New units will not stop your damp - all it means is there should be less condensation forming on them.

In general there are two roots to follow to reduce condensation - improve the ventilation and increase the heating.

cyclonebri1

Furts wrote: »

The moisture inside your seaked units means they have failed. Hence they are not performing as a modern unit would be . These hopefully would be better insulated than your originals, but this is up to you to specify.

If you have damp issues the windows are probably a red herring. New units will not stop your damp - all it means is there should be less condensation forming on them.

In general there are two roots to follow to reduce condensation - improve the ventilation and increase the heating.

Exactly, I think this is a point that needs making clear, the OP likely has two issues, both of which need addressing. Do the windows first then sort out what I think is probably lack of heating or ventilation issues

The other thing I'd say that there are now 2 of you creating condensation simply by breathing, and also given what you say it's probably the first time you have had to run and pay for a heating system so may have no idea as to the level needed along with it's cost.

OP, I too am in mid Derbys, there are plenty of window repairers locally, I used 1 for 5 panels about 3 years back. Sorry don't recall who I used but it was a 1 man outfit and he supplied and fitted them at little more than they would have cost me, which is why he got the job. Check the local rags Derbyshire Times even. Roughly measure them and get a price from your local glazing outfit, then make your decision based on that.

Ruski

Richie_C wrote: »

For this problem I've looked into a company called Cloudy2Clear and they have quoted £570 to fix 7 panes of glass.

A local firm will be able to supply you with replacement dg, argon filled A rated units for less than that.


Ask around the local window firms.


HTH


Russ

Richie_C

Thank you for all the replies guys.

I'm going to ring around a few local companies today to get some cross quotes. I'm also buying a moisture metre as this will hopefully tell me if the exterior wall has damp.

I don't think its rising damp as we don't suffer from mould of the walls downstairs in the living room which is the same wall in the bedroom which does get mould.

Now on this wall there is a chimney, we don't use it as there is an electric fire there (which we don't use due to the costs of an electric fire). So it may be that if it is damp its coming from the roof or chimney?

I really hope its not damp as it will most likely be expensive to repair.

In hindsight this might be why when we viewed the house in January/March before we bought the house they had the heating cranked up fully even though it wasn't that cold outside. At the time I didn't think anything of it as its our first house and we were ignorant to these sort of things.

societys_child

Leaving aside the failed glazing . . .

The other potential problem we have is that we have a condenser dryer in the kitchen which is like a generator and kicks out a lot of heat. Is it best to use this to dry clothes and keep all the doors closed and the windows open instead of drying clothes on a radiator?

I think this ^ is your main problem. Shouldn't the dryer be vented to outside? I think drying on radiators is your biggest problem.

WestonDave

societys_child wrote: »

Leaving aside the failed glazing . . .


I think this ^ is your main problem. Shouldn't the dryer be vented to outside? I think drying on radiators is your biggest problem.

Condenser dryers don't get vented to outside - when they were first introduced they were very inefficient but useful if you couldn't vented. Now its the reverse - why generate heat in the dryer just to blow it out of a hole in the wall? Using a dryer is always better than a radiator (albeit with some clothes you can't put them in the dryer). Radiator drying removes the water from the clothes and puts it into the air in the house, raising humidity. Humid air will deposit condensation when it contacts a cold surface like a window pane. Its also not free - it takes energy to convert water from water to water vapour so your heating has to work harder to heat the house whilst drying clothes.

WestonDave

More broadly - changing the window panes will only help the condensation mould problem slightly. The main reason for doing it is to remove the misting between them.


First up, check your insulation (both cavity and loft) and if it needs doing, get it done. Warm air is better at retaining moisture than cold air - this is why on cold surfaces the air dumps moisture as condensation. A cold un-insulated wall will attract condensation in a high humidity house - especially north facing walls which tend to be colder due to lack of sun heat.


Second look at your ventilation and moisture generation. Shower/bath in a closed bathroom with an extractor fan on - when you leave the bathroom either open a window and leave it open or ensure the fan runs on until the room is dry - keep the door closed during this process. Letting that steam etc out into the house is not helpful. Cook with lids on pans, don't dry on radiators. If possible sleep with a window slightly open to help get rid of all the wet air you breathe out at night. The repeated refrain on here is that their bedroom is getting mould - usually where they are sleeping in there with the door shut, windows closed and allowing the heating to drop off over night. You will be plenty warm enough under your duvet etc - you need to vent the moisture.


Even then if your house is fairly air tight you will still build up humidity. Since you have a dehumidifier, use it. They are generally low power, and not only help with drying the air, but often give out some heat in the process. (The science is that they extract energy from the water vapour in the reverse of what happens on your radiator - that extract energy is typically a small amount of exhaust heat). As a further bonus the drier air in the house takes less energy to heat so you may find a fractional reduction in the amount of time your heating runs if on a thermostat or you may be able to reduce the time it runs if its on a timer.

societys_child

Condenser dryers don't get vented to outside

That's why I asked the question (did you notice the question mark?)
Is the warm air "dry air" and where does the water go?

Radiator drying removes the water from the clothes and puts it into the air in the house, raising humidity

. . .and that's why I said I thought it was the OPs biggest problem . . .