Help - mould and damp despite heating

[Rainydays2]

I currently live in a flat with a large, metal window front. There’s condensation on the windows, but every morning I also find a ridiculous amount of water on the window sill - enough for it to cover the entire window sill & tripping down to the floor. Windows, silicone, everything is constantly wet, causing mould.

I have the heating on 21 degrees 24/7 to combat the damp, I open the windows 4x per day for 30 minutes, and I soak up the water with one or two big bath towels every morning, and wipe the window frame dry several times a day.

But this doesn’t seem to solve the problem, not to mention the financial hit I’m taking for the constant heating.

any ideas? A dehumidifier maybe? And which one - will a cheap one do, or do I need to invest?

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MNHQ

You need to wipe the windows down every morning to remove the condensation. Some people buy a window vac but a sponge and cloth work just as well.
Make sure you are using the expelair in bathroom and kitchen and not drying washing in the house as well.

Where do you dry those towels - and other laundry?

I'd personally use either microfibre cloths that can be wrung out and dried easily, or a window vac. This way that moisture is going down the drain, rather than back into the air to condense on the windows again.

Dehumidifier definitely. One has taken our upstairs from damp and cold and mouldy to positively cosy, best purchase we have ever made. We went for one that was £160 though so not a cheap option, been worth every penny though!

I'd recommend a dehumidifier OP, we just bought one for around £250, it was expensive but the difference it has made to our house is massive.

Had a similar problem, have bought a dehumidifier this week and this difference is incredible. Ran it for several hours to get the humidity to around 50, will now run it for a few hours every few days to keep on top of it. Also using a window vac to get any condensation off the windows. Really you need to create a tunnel so open a living room window and one at the back of the property for ventilation and I’ve been keeping mine a few cms open all day, my heatings been on only low in the evenings and we’re fine, I’ve noticed a considerable difference already

I can recommend this one, it's on the landing of our 3 bed house and has reduced the humidity of the whole house from there.

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Also my window vac is a beldray one, only cheep and dehumidifier was around £70 but does an amazing job. I use the window vac then a few sheet of kitchen roll to get the edges

I have the same issue! Do you all leave the dehumidifier on all night in the bedroom? I have a baby in with us so I don’t know if it’s ok to do this or not?

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Buy the biggest and best dehumidifier you can afford .

Thanks all, will look into a window vac and dehumidifier now…So far I’ve popped the wet towels I use to soak the water on the radiator for drying, but I now I see how this might not be helpful. Do you keep the dehumidifier running all day and night?

I have a Meaco dehumidifier which is great and also warms the air a bit. You can leave it on and it will stop when the tank is full. I generally just have it on for a couple of hours at the lowest setting. Probably a good idea to get one with several different settings.

I have dehumidifiers and open the windows every morning. I am constantly checking the humidity levels in the house. I have just brought a window vac to help dry out the bathroom.

I have large dehumidifers for the day and turn them off at night. They are too loud for me at night. I found I was waking up with a cough. My DH had brought some smaller probreezer ones I previous turned my nose up at. They are smaller and quieter than the main ones. But it sits on my bedside cabinet and seems to help. It only reduces the humidity a little bit but I don't wake up coughing now.

I don’t run mine at night but put it on for a few hours I. The day and evening when cooking. Also have quite a few disposable dehumidifier traps about the house

I couldn't recommend a dehumidifier more. I've never seen condensation in our house since we've had one, or damp, despite the fact I know full well the damp proof course is well overdue redoing.

It dries washing so quickly too - I put the clothes horse and the dehumidifier in the cloakroom with the door shut while it dries and it speeds it up, then leave the dehumidifier in there for a bit until the moisture levels level out (the LCD screen shows you) before moving it back out into the household for general use.

We have a Meaco one, which was around £250 but worth it and doesn't cost an awful lot to run.

Dehumidifier definitely. Our bedroom is perpetually damp unless we run the dehumidifier. I also bought a humidity monitor for £8 from Amazon so I can keep an eye on how damp the room is. When it’s damp I run the dehumidifier again.

If you’re putting the towels onto the radiator can’t you see this isn’t removing the water from your house. You’re just letting it evaporate into the air again ready to settle onto the cold window overnight.

If you're doing anything to create moisture you must open the windows and/or run a dehumidifier. Open the kitchen window if you are simmering or boiling. For the windows in the morning, you can use a hairdryer then open. Don't put dryer in direct contact with window. You may need to sleep with your window open a crack.