Window condensation and mould help!

Bendy_House

mrsmsebastian said:

Bendy_House said:

MrsB, WHAT room is it? What's it used for?

It is a bedroom next to the kitchen.

Ok. Please try:

1) Mop up the cond every morning. Use an absorbent cloth, wring it out, and keep going. Finish with a paper towel. Spray a light layer of mould killer on any mould-affected surfaces, leave for a goodly while, and wipe off (the stuff can bleach - take care).
2) Turn off (or down to 'frost') the rad in that room. Only turn it on when needed - say just before bed, and first thing in t'morn - for as little time as needed; everything else is a waste.

3) During the day, open the windows (as many openers as it has) a good half-wide or so (as long as rain doesn't come in), and shut the door. Leave it. When you go back in, it'll be cold - but DRY. (Remember - keep the door shut at all times).

4) In the evening, close them to 'vent' setting. A half or one hour before bed, turn up the rad (unless you are brave enough to just dive under the covers in a cold room...) 
5) Turn off the rad before bed, but leave the windows on vent overnight. Bedroom door shut at all times.
A half hour before you wake up, you can have the heating come on. Jump out of bed and, if it's breezy, you can temporarily shut the windows whilst you get ready, but crack them to vent (or more) again as soon as you are out of the room, and rad down to frost again. 
6) Look at cooking and whether the extractor is doing its job - ie venting nicely outside.

FreeBear

Bendy_House said: 3) During the day, open the windows (as many openers as it has) a good half-wide or so (as long as rain doesn't come in), and shut the door. Leave it. When you go back in, it'll be cold - but DRY. (Remember - keep the door shut at all times).

But if it is wet/misty/foggy outside, all you are doing is letting damp air in to the room.

Outdoor humidity over the last week has been 75-85% whilst indoors, around 60%. I'd rather keep that cold damp air out, so windows are firmly shut.

horsewithnoname

White vinegar is the best thing I’ve found for removing mould. 

The only caveat being you do tend to crave chips 😁

elsien

Another vote here for a window vac to remove condensation. It won't remove the general humidity issues but it does stop the water running down and causing mould round the window frame. 

housebuyer143

I would buy a dehumidifier. I had a similar problem, bought meaco Dehumidifier and it stopped it.. Have to have it on about an hour or two a day though. 

Bendy_House

FreeBear said:

Bendy_House said: 3) During the day, open the windows (as many openers as it has) a good half-wide or so (as long as rain doesn't come in), and shut the door. Leave it. When you go back in, it'll be cold - but DRY. (Remember - keep the door shut at all times).

But if it is wet/misty/foggy outside, all you are doing is letting damp air in to the room.

Outdoor humidity over the last week has been 75-85% whilst indoors, around 60%. I'd rather keep that cold damp air out, so windows are firmly shut.

A lot of this is counter-intuitive, to be sure. All I can say, is, it doesn't matter how wet and miserable it is outside, my son's bedroom (whilst he's away) is kept unheated, and with windows on vent - it is bone dry. Cold, but dry.

It might be because the room will always be slightly warmer than the outside temps (solar heating, heat from rest of building, etc), I don't know.

But so is my garage - bone dry in all weather, and no heating in there other than what it gets from the sun. The air inside the garage might feel a bit damp when the outside air is absolutely saturated, but nothing condenses on surfaces inside the garage, and there's now't forming on the insides of the windows. It is dry. 'Cos it's draughty.

There is obviously a scientific explanation, but forget that - do it because it works. If you have 'running' windows, ventilate the room.

Coffeekup

mrsmsebastian said:

Is that the kitchen? It looks like it's facing north so it's the coldest room/part of the house. If so I would open the window whilst cooking and leave open till 10 minutes after cooking on the hob. If you have a gas hob I'd open the window as soon as you have the gas on as gas once burning expels moisture. If you have another window or door in that room whilst cooking, if you see it starting to condense heavy open the above to have 2 points of airflow, much of the moisture will shoot out.

I used to have a similar issue till I realised the hood did very little, now I always have the window open whilst using the hob. I also have 3 old jam jars half filled with salt from October till march on the window sill to soak up any new moisture forming, I no longer have issues with images like you currently have.

You could also get in the habit of squeegeeing the window if you see it starting to get heavy. You could also leave the window open/ajar during the day to get rid of the excess moisture, (if you do this turn you heating thermostat to off or very low to stop the boiler kicking in all the time whilst you're out.)

In my experience of living in cold and draughty house's, I doubt a new window will make any difference.

You are right it is north facing. 
My cooker is an extracting hood.
I left the radiator exactly as it is which comes on when the house drops below 19 but what I did is left the window ajar as shown in the pic constantly. The room feels drier but a little cold, but at least the heavy condensation has gone

So it is the kitchen then?
So open the window soon as you put the hob on especially if you have gas.
Put the lids on saucepans and adjust down the heat on the hob as all the heat won't be leaving the pan as vapour.
Serve food leave open whilst eating with door closed to stop house getting cold. 
Close when finished dinner, squeegee if excess condensation.
Do the same as above if you wash up in the sink.
Do as you have done by leaving ajar during the day and close around 3pm or when you get home.
Leave a couple of old jam jars half filled with table salt in sills, and you'll have damp free windows till march when most people leave the windows open for longer

Bendy_House

Coffeekup said:

mrsmsebastian said:

Is that the kitchen? It looks like it's facing north so it's the coldest room/part of the house. If so I would open the window whilst cooking and leave open till 10 minutes after cooking on the hob. If you have a gas hob I'd open the window as soon as you have the gas on as gas once burning expels moisture. If you have another window or door in that room whilst cooking, if you see it starting to condense heavy open the above to have 2 points of airflow, much of the moisture will shoot out.

I used to have a similar issue till I realised the hood did very little, now I always have the window open whilst using the hob. I also have 3 old jam jars half filled with salt from October till march on the window sill to soak up any new moisture forming, I no longer have issues with images like you currently have.

You could also get in the habit of squeegeeing the window if you see it starting to get heavy. You could also leave the window open/ajar during the day to get rid of the excess moisture, (if you do this turn you heating thermostat to off or very low to stop the boiler kicking in all the time whilst you're out.)

In my experience of living in cold and draughty house's, I doubt a new window will make any difference.

You are right it is north facing. 
My cooker is an extracting hood.
I left the radiator exactly as it is which comes on when the house drops below 19 but what I did is left the window ajar as shown in the pic constantly. The room feels drier but a little cold, but at least the heavy condensation has gone

So it is the kitchen then?
So open the window soon as you put the hob on especially if you have gas.
Put the lids on saucepans and adjust down the heat on the hob as all the heat won't be leaving the pan as vapour.
Serve food leave open whilst eating with door closed to stop house getting cold. 
Close when finished dinner, squeegee if excess condensation.
Do the same as above if you wash up in the sink.
Do as you have done by leaving ajar during the day and close around 3pm or when you get home.
Leave a couple of old jam jars half filled with table salt in sills, and you'll have damp free windows till march when most people leave the windows open for longer

I think it's a bedroom next to the kitchen.

Bendy_House

mrsmsebastian said:

"I left the radiator exactly as it is which comes on when the house drops below 19 but what I did is left the window ajar as shown in the pic constantly. The room feels drier but a little cold, but at least the heavy condensation has gone."

Absolutely no point heating that room to 19oC (that's quite warm) especially if the window is cracked open - that's a complete waste.

Ok, you have discovered that cracking open that window (above) to vent, helps reduce that heavy condensation. Good - the air has evaporated it away. Now try this - open that window a good 6". I'd hazard that virtually all of that cond will have disappeared after, ooh, an hour.

youth_leader

I understand the principle of condensation and the need for ventilation, but it doesn't seem to follow the rules here.  I understand that when water vapour held in warm air through cooking/bathing/breathing hits a cool surface it turns back into water.  I always cook with the extractor fan on, bathe with the bathroom window cracked and the extractor fan running, and breathing of course. So hopefully most of the 'water' is extracted from the atmosphere. 

I think I am going to have to invest in a loft ventilation unit.

I've got trickle vents in the front bedrooms of my bungalow in the top tiny windows,  and leave them open all the time, I also leave them open a crack.  I have hoovered the vents and they seem clear.

I've only just started having heating on at 20 for a few hours at night, it goes off at 10 pm.  My son and his girlfriend were staying last night and went to bed about midnight, the bedroom was cool.  They closed the tiny window, but it still had the vents open. 

This morning all of the bay windows and windowsills in there were sopping wet.  I dried and took the cloth outside to dry.  I've had the dehumidifier in there all day today, showing 50 now.   I've opened the tiny window quite wide at the top and hope it's not as bad in the morning.