excessive condensation - any advice?

[HeatherT]

We've been suffering from excessive condensation for several winters now and are not sure what to do about it. It?s a 1st and 2nd flat in a Victorian terrace with single glazed windows and an extractor fan in the bathroom. The internet suggests it could be from lack of ventilation, and we try leaving windows open a bit, but with a 9 month old baby this tends to be tricky and it doesn?t really seem to help much. We are looking into getting a dehumidifier, but they are kind of pricey and I understand they use loads of energy and can be quite loud. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions please?

[KatDew]

We've resorted to a dehumidifier. It's not that noisey, although I turn ours off at night. Ours has an optional mode where it only cuts in when the humidity reaches a certain level.

In our case running the dehumidifier a couple of evenings a week seems to keep the problem under control. We only got ours this autumn so I haven't seen what it's done the the energy bills yet

[Lowlander]

Find the causes of moisture. Drying washing, which produces vast amounts; bathrooms (see you've got an extractor), poor ventilation especially when cooking - what's the kitchen like?. That will help a bit.

You have three other choices if you're still not happy

1 replacing the panes of glass with double glazed ones,

2 replacing the windows entirely,

3 Buying and running a dehumidifier

Where is the most condensation? You could just have a dehumidifier for a few hours in the living room on a timer - early morning say - if the problem is only there?

[Penguin68]

Double glazing is more likely to seal moisture in - unless you have such ill fitting windows that rain is getting in - although mositure will condense more readily on a cold single glazed pane, it's actually already in the room - in fact, condensing on the windows allows you to more easily mop it up and dry it off.

Is there any sign of interior mould on outside walls? - sometimes broken guttering/ down pipes can allow mositure through the brickwork. Problems with chimneys (including flashing around chimney stacks) can also allow damp into chimney breasts and hence into rooms.

I had a problem with one room which was significantly mitigated by putting in an air-brick for ventilation - just 'opening a window' is neither effective nor efficient.

If your walls are very damp, then either a really hot summer with no rain, or, better, use of a dehumidifier may be the only way of addressing the problem short-term, with other actions taken (e.g. air-bricks) to mitigate in the future.

[Lu]

I had really bad condensation too until I had double glazing put in. I used not to be able to see out of my windows at all on bad days, now at most there will be a very thin line of condensation along the window frame and only a handful of times a year.

I've heard that drying clothes in the house is one of the worst things you can do as the moisture has to go somewhere so I now also run a dehumidifier when I've done a wash, just for a few hours to get the clothes started to dry. I haven't noticed any huge increase in my electricity bill and it's incredible to see how much water collects in the dehumidifier, which would otherwise go into your walls.

[Lowlander]

Drying clothes indoors is a health risk http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-20176376

[HeatherT]

Thanks everyone for your posts. We would love to put double glazing in, but it just isn't in the budget at the moment. The condensation is on every window, but thankfully none of the walls seem damp and with the exception of the bathroom, where we've just had the flat roof overhead done, there is no evidence of condensation/mould either. From your posts, it seems like laundry is the cause, as we seem to have it on the go all the time, so getting a dehumidifier seems like our best option - any recommendations?

[pablogrande]

We had real problems in our last flat a few things we did to reduce it were

opening kitchen window even slightly when cooking helped a lot as the steam was drawn through to the cold outside. same with bathroom window when showering.

bought a condenser tumble dryer.

a dehumidifier helped a lot, it's worth reading article below about how they can actually save on your heating bills

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=638349

[Voyageur]

Coincidentally someone was raving about a product that gets rid of condensation on Virtual Norwood a couple of days ago:

http://www.virtualnorwood.com/forum/topic/12529-condensation-on-windows-a-thing-of-the-past/

[Stevelock]

Lack of ventilation for sure? wall vents should do the trick. Had the same issue years ago in our basement flat

[Chillaxed]

Sorry to hijack thread, but anyone with a simple idea to block an external vent (brick) please shout.

[*Bob*]

For those difficult days..

http://www.scoopy.co.nz/images/scoop22.jpg

[red devil]

Chillaxed Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Sorry to hijack thread, but anyone with a simple

> idea to block an external vent (brick) please

> shout.

Cheapest solution would probably be an internal adjustable air vent grille.

With one of these you can open them to let air in, otherwise you'll be back here in a year's time asking how to get rid of all the condensation...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marley-white-interior-adjustable-screen/dp/B008H2U95E

[malumbu]

OK so it is condensation rather than damp.

The house would have been originally designed to 'breathe' through sub floor ventilation and literally through the walls (lime mortar). Over the years modern internal and external 'renovations' may have stopped some of this. Similarly sub floor ventilation may have been impeded.

The classic is of course to open a window. But then that lets the cold in.

Simply a cold glass surface meets warm humid air, and you get condensation.

You can fit slimfit double glazed units if you have the time and inclination, to the existing 'sash's' as the rebate should hopefully be big enough to take the wider 10mm units. DIYable but not that easy. www.slimliteglass.co.uk/slimlite-double-glazing.html

Alternatively forced or natural circulation by cutting a circular hole in the window/s. You can use an electric fan that will activate on high humidity.