Serious condensation questions

worriednoob

iamlucky18 wrote: »

Insulating your house is not a fool proof way to solve the problem. What you need to do is reduce moisture production and move the moisture and get rid of it. Have you considered PIV ventilation?

PIV ventilation? Never heard of it and sounds very expensive.

Doozergirl

worriednoob wrote: »

PIV ventilation? Never heard of it and sounds very expensive.

It certainly has cost attached.

Everyone is an expert on here, apparently, yet most people seem to forget that in order to condense, water needs a cold surface to condense on to.

Heating and insulation are essential to preventing condensation. Ventilation is absolutely not the only problem and having areas too well ventilated keeps the walls/windows cold and encourages condensation. The exterior of my car couldn't be better ventilated - sitting outside - and it has condensation on it every morning! If you have gas fires you will have a good degree of natural ventilation even if you don't have trickle vents on the windows. PIV is probably better than keeping windows open in a house that is well sealed, but you may well have enough ventilation, just not the warmth.

Rooms need to be warm. North facing walls, in particular never gain thermal property from outside and so you have to heat from inside. Insulation will keep your walls warmer for longer, otherwise you have to keep them heated.

I'm also wary of cavity insulation in very narrow cavities. I would choose to insulate internally if there's some renovation warranted, otherwise well sized radiators and a good level of heat ongoing. Our bathrooms suffer - no trickle vents in the windows (I didn't install them!), no insulation and full walls of cold tiles. We have put in a proper radiator to replace towel rail and a humidity sensing extractor which helps an awful lot, but it runs a lot too! When the time comes, we'll have trickle vents and internal insulation.

worriednoob

Doozergirl wrote: »

It certainly has cost attached.

Everyone is an expert on here, apparently, yet most people seem to forget that in order to condense, water needs a cold surface to condense on to.

Heating and insulation are essential to preventing condensation. Ventilation is absolutely not the only problem and having areas too well ventilated keeps the walls/windows cold and encourages condensation. The exterior of my car couldn't be better ventilated - sitting outside - and it has condensation on it every morning! If you have gas fires you will have a good degree of natural ventilation even if you don't have trickle vents on the windows. PIV is probably better than keeping windows open in a house that is well sealed, but you may well have enough ventilation, just not the warmth.

Rooms need to be warm. North facing walls, in particular never gain thermal property from outside and so you have to heat from inside. Insulation will keep your walls warmer for longer, otherwise you have to keep them heated.

I'm also wary of cavity insulation in very narrow cavities. I would choose to insulate internally if there's some renovation warranted, otherwise well sized radiators and a good level of heat ongoing. Our bathrooms suffer - no trickle vents in the windows (I didn't install them!), no insulation and full walls of cold tiles. We have put in a proper radiator to replace towel rail and a humidity sensing extractor which helps an awful lot, but it runs a lot too! When the time comes, we'll have trickle vents and internal insulation.

I totally agree with you Doozergirl. Some of the ideas to deal with this condensation are way too expensive and I feel we should try cheaper ideas before going down this route.

Regarding insulation.... I had the eps bead insulation at my previous stpne built property.. And although it made the house warmer, it also causes a lot of condensation and this is one thing I'm really worried about, incase it makes the existing condensation even more worse.

thebaldwindowfitter

worriednoob basically every day you are heating the house up for a few hours morning and night then as explained by Any and martin we all give off moisture while sleeping wether you are may not be sleeping in the living room you surely are still in the room after ther heating goes off then there is also cooking showering /bathing ,also drying clothes indoors .Your cheapest option would be to alter your heating pattern so that it is on constant this would keep the fabric of the building warmer and the heating system is something you already have

worriednoob

thebaldwindowfitter wrote: »

worriednoob basically every day you are heating the house up for a few hours morning and night then as explained by Any and martin we all give off moisture while sleeping wether you are may not be sleeping in the living room you surely are still in the room after ther heating goes off then there is also cooking showering /bathing ,also drying clothes indoors .Your cheapest option would be to alter your heating pattern so that it is on constant this would keep the fabric of the building warmer and the heating system is something you already have

That does make sense. But could you please clarify a few things:-

1. Would running this constantly not cause the boiler to breakdown more quickly?

2. Wouldn't it cost more?

3. Daytime thermostat temp in hallway is 18.5C, which is more than enough as most of the rooms are a lot more warmer (22-23C in most rooms) & better insulated than the hallway, so do i have a different temp at night? ...The reason I ask, is because if it was set at 18.5C day & night, it would be way too hot to sleep.

firefox1956

Fit one of these........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nuaire-Drimaster-2000-Loft-Mounted-Low-Energy-Positive-Input-Ventilation-Unit-/112240794290?hash=item1a22129ab2:g:BLwAAOSw2GlXHhhP
HTH

martinthebandit

firefox1956 wrote: »

Fit one of these........
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nuaire-Drimaster-2000-Loft-Mounted-Low-Energy-Positive-Input-Ventilation-Unit-/112240794290?hash=item1a22129ab2:g:BLwAAOSw2GlXHhhP
HTH

Try putting one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/ANSIO-94610-Interior-Dehumidifier-Pack/dp/B01C6V5IVG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482160940&sr=8-2&keywords=condensation+absorbers
in each room first, see how long they take to fill with water.

worriednoob

@ firefox - Currently I can't afford that, but I may get that for the long-term.

@ martin - I tried these and have one of them right now, but to be honest, I've found them to be rubbish and not even a single drop of water has been collected over a week.

martinthebandit

worriednoob wrote: »

@ firefox - Currently I can't afford that, but I may get that for the long-term.

@ martin - I tried these and have one of them right now, but to be honest, I've found them to be rubbish and not even a single drop of water has been collected over a week.

Really? How strange, have you put them on your windowsills or tucked them away out of sight (and out of the air circulation)?

worriednoob

martinthebandit wrote: »

Really? How strange, have you put them on your windowsills or tucked them away out of sight (and out of the air circulation)?

I've bought several of these and put them on the window sill. The white balls are supposed to collect the moisture, yet not even a single drop has been collected so far.