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Double glazing and condensation

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Good evening all, 

Apologies if this is the sort of thing which has been asked many times over.

We had new double glazing windows installed during the summer replacing some ancient ones that were here when we bought the house.

We've noticed in the colder weather there's been a lot of condensation on the inside of the panes, in some cases this has led to black mould (where we weren't alert to the fact that there was excess water) 

We're surprised how much condendation there has been. We naively thought new windows would reduce it. We phoned the double glazing company and they said it was to be expected. They even sent us a nice shiny brochure on condensation 😑

As we had quite a few problems with the initial installation, we're a bit reluctant to take the companys explanation at face value. So would anyone happen to know if this is normal or could there have been installation issues? Is it worth asking an independent contractor to review the work done?

Not sure if it's relevant but it does feel like a cold house. I've made a few enquiries about cavity wall and loft insulation, as I dont think we have either.

Thanks very much for any help or advice
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Comments

  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 30 December 2020 at 10:17PM
    Condensation is to be expected even with double glazing units.
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,075 Forumite
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    edited 30 December 2020 at 10:50PM
    neilmcl said:
    Condensation is to be expected even with double glazing units.
    With new units, you want it on the outside!   

    OP, do you have trickle vents on the windows?  Did you before? 
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
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    edited 30 December 2020 at 10:51PM
    - depending on the humidity inside.
    If it's high, condensation appears on the coldest surface in the room, that is a window, even double-glazed.
    Think about the sources of moisture and reducing the humidity.
  • daveyjp
    daveyjp Posts: 13,515 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Moist warm air hitting cold glass will result in condensation.  Boil a kettle in a cold kitchen and you will see it in the extreme.

    You need to remove the moisture.  At this time of year how do you dry laundry?
  • "We naively thought new windows would reduce it." Almost certainly they have. Unless your old windows kept the condensation away by being draughty!

    As said above, if you have a lot of moisture in the warm air inside your house, and this isn't being ventilated away to any useful degree, then there will come a point where the air cannot support any more. It'll then condense out on the coldest surfaces it can find first. Your new windows won't be particularly 'cold', but they will likely be colder than other surfaces.

    Solution, as said above, is to ventilate away some of that moisture. It might seem counter-productive to crack open a window, but that will help clear away a lot of it. However, a better - warmer - way might be to take steps to reduce the amount of moisture being produced - make sure cooking steam is extracted away. Very much ditto for showers and baths. Super-ditto if you dry clothes inside the house.

    You will likely find that the windows are particularly bad in the mornings? If so, this is because the heating usually goes off or down overnight, and the warm, moisture-laden air cools and cannot hold on to this moisture - it therefore condenses out more than usual.

    It's often a problem in bedrooms where folk shut their windows and doors tight, allow the heating to go off or low (as they should...) and then perspire all night long :-)  Result, dripping window panes in t'morning. Solution? Crack open a couple of windows overnight. Yes it'll be chillier, but the windows will be dry.




  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
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    edited 31 December 2020 at 1:53AM
    neilmcl said:
    Condensation is to be expected even with double glazing units.
    With new units, you want it on the outside!   

    OP, do you have trickle vents on the windows?  Did you before? 
    Yes, but that doesn't mean you're not going to get condensation on the inside, even with correctly installed, new double glazing.
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,075 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    neilmcl said:
    neilmcl said:
    Condensation is to be expected even with double glazing units.
    With new units, you want it on the outside!   

    OP, do you have trickle vents on the windows?  Did you before? 
    Yes, but that doesn't mean you're not going to get condensation on the inside, even with correctly installed, new double glazing.
    Yes again, but no one wants it to be worse than it was with less thermally efficient windows! 
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • pollypenny
    pollypenny Posts: 29,432 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    We've just had new DG windows in two bedrooms. We had trickle vents fitted, but I can't reach them!  I just open the top very slightly.  Much better than the old ones, which were 30 years old. 
    Member #14 of SKI-ers club

    Words, words, they're all we have to go by!.

    (Pity they are mangled by this autocorrect!)
  • "We naively thought new windows would reduce it." Almost certainly they have. Unless your old windows kept the condensation away by being draughty!
    Thats a distinct possibility 😬

    Thanks to everyone for the helpful feedback so far 👍

    Unfortunately we don't have trickle vents but we'll think about how else we can remove moisture, it sounds key.

    We don't tend to dry a lot of clothes inside, mostly in the dryer, and those that we do our in our utility room, so I don't think that would cause a problem.
  • Grenage
    Grenage Posts: 3,192 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    We get it in on our bedroom windows in the morning, and on our one single-pane window on a landing.
    Our house is fairly well ventilated because it's draughty as sin - I just use a window vac on the colder days.
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