Crazy amount of condensation in my best cold house

CatGuy

I was very confused when I woke up today. My hallway and bathroom were absolutely soaked. Dripping wet. Condensation everywhere. Photos, paintings, mirrors, even the wallpaper. Damp to the touch. I wiped everything down with paper towels but it came straight back

Turns out, we'd had a >10°C rise in temperature overnight, which is great, but the warmer air had condensed all over my home's freezing cold surfaces

How should I go about fixing this? Windows open or closed? Heaters or dehumidifiers?

I usually leave the hallway/bathroom windows open a crack to avoid damp and mould problems, but I guess that kinda backfired here 

CatGuy

Title meant to say "very" cold house. Not sure how to delete/amend it

Lumiona

Dehumidifier. Fantastic at removing condensation 

markin

If you don't have one just heat and open windows after an hr when the water is in the air

Doozergirl

I think it's this weather.  I've seen very similar posts in all sorts of places over the last 24 hours.  

We went from something like -6 to +12 in a matter of a day and humidity is really high.

It wouldn't hurt to both heat and dehumidify.  I'd say windows closed as it's 93% humidity outside right now, so you'll
just be sucking in moist air and reducing the house temperature.  

grumbler

Doozergirl said:

 you'll just be sucking in moist air and reducing the house temperature.  

Makes no sense to me. There is no a single drop of condensation on my car outside*. A house has to be colder than a car to attract that much condensation.

The only reason I see is that the air is much more humid inside than outside.

*ETA: because it rained at night? But again, I don't remember ever seeing condensation outside on windows and can imagine this only if a house is abandoned and not heated at all.

Doozergirl

grumbler said:

Doozergirl said:

 you'll just be sucking in moist air and reducing the house temperature.  

Makes no sense to me. There is no a single drop of condensation on my car outside*. A house has to be colder than a car to attract that much condensation.

The only reason I see is that the air is much more humid inside than outside.

*ETA: because it rained at night? But again, I don't remember ever seeing condensation outside on windows and can imagine this only if a house is abandoned and not heated at all.

I was talking about using a dehumidifier, my logic being that it reduces the humidity levels inside and the house pulls the outside air in more slowly and dehumidifies that more evenly. 

I think it's the sudden air pressure change in the weather that's done it, but I don't really understand why because I'm rubbish at science.  Humidity in the house must have hit 100% to dump on everything.  

Just looking at out Tado graph.  We have managed ventilation via MHVR and humidity in our house rose to about 60% at midnight without a peak that looks like someone showering.  It's back around 45% this morning which is where is usually sits.     

badatDIY

As others have said, it was a very quick and strange change in weather (we went from very dry and very cold to very moist and a little warmer - it's the first time ever I've ever seen temperatures go steadily up as the night wears on) - so hopefully a one off! The floor in my porch was absolutely drenched yesterday and this morning, which I can only assume is a result of still being quite cold (concrete under the laminate) and then suddenly a load of rain.

As always with condensation you need to heat and ventilate. It doesn't matter how humid it is outside, put your heating on and then open the windows for 10-15 minutes (not necessarily in that order, but getting the heating going first will help albeit a little more expensive because of wasted energy). Cold moist air will then rush into your home but as you heat it the humidity level will drop inside (warm air can hold more moisture - therefore 80% humidity air at 12 degrees  warmed to 18 degrees will end up being much, much lower humidity).

Other than that you just need to wipe down the walls to remove some of the excess moisture already there. I'd suggest wiping down with paper towels then putting those straight into the outside bin (otherwise the moisture will just find its way back into your house if you put them in the inside bin!).

In future a dehumidifier will help avoid situations like this - and indeed could be a good investment to dry everything out now - but I wouldn't say you need one if this is the first time this has ever happened. Having said that I have a dehumidifier I run all winter and it does help keep things in check, so definitely a worthwhile purchase generally.

Eldi_Dos

That amount of humidity indoors would be a concern for electrical equipment.
I would go for opening as many windows as possible and try and create a through draught, if you have any fans run them.
Sponge down surfaces with towels or paper towels.
It might go against the grain but put the heating on (at least a hour before sunset) and keep windows open till around sunset

FreeBear

Doozergirl said: I think it's this weather.  I've seen very similar posts in all sorts of places over the last 24 hours.  

We went from something like -6 to +12 in a matter of a day and humidity is really high.

Yup, plenty of people reporting major condensation - In the majority of cases, it appears to be poorly heated properties that are being affected.

Gone from -4°C to +12°C here with relative humidity climbing to 87% (from 70%) outside, yet no sign of condensation indoors. Having the heating set for a minimum of 16°C has (probably) been a major factor.

_Sam_

grumbler said:

Makes no sense to me. There is no a single drop of condensation on my car outside*. A house has to be colder than a car to attract that much condensation.

Our house was indeed colder than the car outside, the first day it warmed up. I had windows and the door open, and yet throughout the whole day every time I walked into the house it was like walking into the freezer, outside was definitely warmer than inside. It felt as if the walls were still really cold and were chilling the air in the house. 

(Didn't have condensation inside, but we regularly run dehumidifier - my favourite house appliance now after the woodburner! I think in our UK weather dehumidifier is a must.)