Airing out condensatory damp

Slumbershade

Right, have a empty house that ended up with this problem, it's got heating back though now and I have a dehumidifier that i'm rotating.
Was planning going there evenings on odd days to open a window in each room, and then mornings on even days to close the windows.
Is leaving the windows open over every other night too much though? It's inconvenient for me to travel twice a day or stay there for a couple of hours.
Thanks.

Phil4432

Vent it (open windows) for an hour per day, keep it heated  at around 14C, keep running the dehumidifier.

I

Ebe_Scrooge

^^^This sounds sensible advice to me.

OP, You might want to be careful about any insurance implications if the house is left empty at night with windows open.  I'm not trying to be a scare-monger, and it might not be an issue for you, but worth just thinking about.

But yes, overall I think the previous poster has about got it.  A combination of a bit of central heating + dehumidifier + open windows when you can - and when you're there - sounds eminently sensible.  If it is just condensation from having been left empty for a while, rather than anything more sinister, then it'll not take too long to shift it.

Bendy_House

Slumb, what's the medium and long-term aim with this house? When do you anticipate it being occupied again?

If 'not for a few months' or similar, then all you actually need to do is to keep one or two windows per room on 'vent' setting and locked in this position so it's secure from break-ins. Leave all the internal doors ajar.

The inside of the house will be cold, but it will also be dry.

The only issue then is the risk of damage due to burst pipes over Winter, but the answer to that is to shut off the water stopcock and - if possible - drain down the system, certainly any stored water tank. Better, tho', would be to leave the CH on 'frost' setting so's it doesn't fall to below 5oC. Most of the time - during the day at least - the heating won't come on as solar gain will tend to keep the house above this. 

Slumbershade

Bendy_House said:

Slumb, what's the medium and long-term aim with this house? When do you anticipate it being occupied again?

If 'not for a few months' or similar, then all you actually need to do is to keep one or two windows per room on 'vent' setting and locked in this position so it's secure from break-ins. Leave all the internal doors ajar.

The inside of the house will be cold, but it will also be dry.

The only issue then is the risk of damage due to burst pipes over Winter, but the answer to that is to shut off the water stopcock and - if possible - drain down the system, certainly any stored water tank. Better, tho', would be to leave the CH on 'frost' setting so's it doesn't fall to below 5oC. Most of the time - during the day at least - the heating won't come on as solar gain will tend to keep the house above this. 

I think I have the radiators on about 1.5 and the thermometer (which isn't bloody numbered turned lowish) Just so the damp will go a bit faster. Yeah the plasterers seem busy in my city, so it will be unoccupied for at least another 3 damn months.
I considered trickle vents, but seems many people dislike them, and I want to rent it. Saying that If I can get 5 windows done for under £200 I'll do it, will try a couple quotes tomorrow thanks.

Jeepers_Creepers

The existing windows don't have a vent setting?

Doozergirl

Slumbershade said:

Bendy_House said:

Slumb, what's the medium and long-term aim with this house? When do you anticipate it being occupied again?

If 'not for a few months' or similar, then all you actually need to do is to keep one or two windows per room on 'vent' setting and locked in this position so it's secure from break-ins. Leave all the internal doors ajar.

The inside of the house will be cold, but it will also be dry.

The only issue then is the risk of damage due to burst pipes over Winter, but the answer to that is to shut off the water stopcock and - if possible - drain down the system, certainly any stored water tank. Better, tho', would be to leave the CH on 'frost' setting so's it doesn't fall to below 5oC. Most of the time - during the day at least - the heating won't come on as solar gain will tend to keep the house above this. 

I think I have the radiators on about 1.5 and the thermometer (which isn't bloody numbered turned lowish) Just so the damp will go a bit faster. Yeah the plasterers seem busy in my city, so it will be unoccupied for at least another 3 damn months.
I considered trickle vents, but seems many people dislike them, and I want to rent it. Saying that If I can get 5 windows done for under £200 I'll do it, will try a couple quotes tomorrow thanks.

Woah!! 

It doesn't matter what people like, it's what houses need.  Ventilation is essential.

You want to rent out a house that is showing signs of condensation with no one in it, but the same house runs a risk when there are people living and breathing in it.  You then have no control over whether mould starts to appear and you're not giving your tenants any control themselves, which is unfair.  If it's your house and you decided to keep on top of it, or not, it's your own decision. 

Trickle vents are cheap, they are effective and ventilation is essential in a house.  The more we block draughts up with double glazing, insulation and closing up fireplaces, the more we need to ensure ventilation and look at building regs as the minimum standard.    That minimum standard is trickle vents, a kitchen extractor that extracts to outside, and ditto in the bathrooms.

There's a bit of a trend on this board against trickle vents, but they aren't an interior design feature.  No one is looking at them and judging your taste for having trickle vents.  Background ventilation should be constant, it isn't about opening windows for a while - that causes the temperature of the walls to drop in winter.  The night latch option is there, but that is going to let more heat escape than a trickle
vent will.  

For now, the night latch feature and starting to run the heating to a temperature where the dew point isn't an issue, but let's
not look at trickle vents as an optional extra.