Window Condensation in cold weather - window vacuum any use?

pinklady21

Hello everyone
Now the cold weather is upon us, we wake up to heavy condensation on our double glazed windows and patio door.
We have a couple of dehumidifers that we switch on but these are a bit noisy, use electricity and take a while to clear the condensation.
We can (and do) also wipe each window down each day.

Wondering if anyone has used a window vacuum cleaner type machine to clear condensation from windows. Before I spend about £40 on one, can anyone offer any comments on whether they are any good or not?
Thanks!

pollypenny

Yes I have one. It’s not bad, but I find the blade leaves streaks.

We’ve more or else cured our condensation problem by opening the window very slightly and using a couple of the cheap absorbing pots on the sill.

Grenage

We have a couple of single-glazed windows and I wouldn't be without the vac.

Aylesbury_Duck

I've just got one from Karcher. Reconditioned so down from £45 to £26 including postage. Really good product, although of course it's best to make sure you adjust your lifestyle to avoid moist air as best you can. Treat the cause, not the symptom.

Zither

I’ve got a karcher window vac too. Bought in a sale for £25 (from £45). Not sure I’d pay £45 for it but easy to use bit of kit for cleaning windows. Imagine would be the same for clearing lots of condensation. Not sure I could be bothered to get it out every day tho...

getmore4less

got a vw5 for £20(tesco) does the job and will help reduce the excessive moisture in your rooms and can be used for cleaning once you solve the condensation properly reducing the sources.

pinklady21

Thanks all. The condensation is due to a number of factors - 1930's house, ventilation not great in winter as we keep windows shut, house not designed for double glazing, cavity walls have been filled and not very well, our general frugality with switching on the central heating, thick insulating curtains that seem to trap the cold air behind which condenses on the windows.
It is a pain to deal with. We do run dehumidifers, and have tried the small boxes of absorbent crystals - there is too much moisture for them to cope with, so they overflow......
Not a problem in the summer as the windows are always open, and of course the temperature difference is lower. But cold weather brings on the condensation.
Would be interested in any other possible low cost solutions we could try, short of moving house - which we are intending to do anyway!

firefox1956

Fit one of these............
http://www.nuaire.co.uk/our-products/Residential/products?pt=1685

getmore4less

The 3 main suppliers of moisture,

people, kitchens, bathrooms

got good extractors in the later two?

NeverInDebt

They are good but doesn't actually solve the problem of excessive moisture

Op you can get quieter dehumidifiers there are some on the market

Zither wrote: »

I’ve got a karcher window vac too. Bought in a sale for £25 (from £45). Not sure I’d pay £45 for it but easy to use bit of kit for cleaning windows. Imagine would be the same for clearing lots of condensation. Not sure I could be bothered to get it out every day tho...

TheCyclingProgrammer

Excess moisture isn’t always the problem. If your windows get cold enough, you can get condensation even at normal levels of relative humidity.

We get condensation on our bedroom window if we complete close the louvres on our shutters even after using a dehumidifier, with relative humidity of around 50% at 20C. This is because the shutters insulate the windows from the heat of the room and whilst this is good for preventing heat loss it does mean the window surface temperature gets colder. As OP says if they have heavy curtains then this will result in the same problem. It doesn’t help that our glazing is about 15 years old and not up to modern standards.

We keep condensation to a minimum but keeping the louvres slightly open to allow warm air from the radiator below to warm the air up behind the shutters. We also use a dehumidifier if humidity is a bit high and keep the bedroom door open for airflow.