To ask how to remove window condensation

[crochetmonkey74]

Morning
I have condensation inside my windows on cold mornings. Currently I'm opening windows to get rid but a friend mentioned a vacuum thing you can get. They are fairly expensive so what do you guys do? I was thinking of a chamois block?

I've got a karcher window vac thing. It's amazing some days it can be completely full after doing my 2 bedroom windows!

Because it's quick, efficient, leaves your windows gleaming and you don't end up every morning with heaps of soggy kitchen roll (a cloth doesn't do much to remove water). I live in a Georgian house with tall, single glazed sash windows (listed property - I can't change them). I don't have all day to mop windows.

Jeesh - don't open my thread if it's annoying. I couldn't have been clearer with the title that it was very banal 🤣🤣🤣

Karcher window vac. I tried to use towels for a short while- actually shit compared to the vac! Unless you’re drying the towels outside it’s pointless.

My local lidl still had window vacs in yesterday so worth a look. They are the best.

Ultimately though it is ventilation to keep moisture as low as possible. If I have to dry washing inside I use a dehumidifier, I sit it under the airer and chuck a sheet on top. Open all windows for a few minutes to blow through. I do it in the morning after the heating has gone off. Keep door shut when cooking/bathing and close after with the fan running/window open.

I think it depends on how bad it is. If it's quite bad you just endup moving the water around so it goes on the window sil, then you have a wet towel you try to hang up and dry and the water evaporates and ends up on the window again. With a vac you can tip the excess away and not have a wet towel to dry (or waste a shit ton of kitchen roll). I just find it easier. I was like this before and thought they were a gimmick, but they are really good if you get a good one and saves the hassle. Great for window cleaning as well obviously.

Have you opened the vents at the top of the window OP? They should sit slightly out to allow moisture to escape. Makes a huge difference from experience.

Am I the only one who doesn't love the karcher vac? Find it awkward to use and it leaves lines on all the windows

Dehumidifier or window vacuum

A cloth holds the water and has to be dried - that moisture is going to go straight back into your environment to re-condense. Kitchen roll is expensive and environmentally wasteful if you use it in the long run.

My Karcher cost less than £30 and is definitely worth the money, it saves time and does a better job than anything else.

I use a window squeege and a micro fibre cloth for the edges. Old victorian house with lots if condensation on the windows when it's cold. A towel would be soaking wet and then just add the moisture back into the air when drying, if inside. I had a Karcher, but it didn't last 5 minutes.

Yeah I have my vents open at the top of the window , never get troubled with condensation .

I have all the trickle vents open but still get plenty of condensation! 😔

Get a window vac op. I spent years pissing around with towels every morning. It's so much easier, I've got the Vileda one. It's crazy how much they fill with water.
They are often on a deal on Amazon for black Friday

My patio door gets condensation which I just give a quick once over with a squeegee.
I keep a large dish of salt in front of it that helps reduce the amount of condensation.

My double glazing is 2 years old with trickle vents so no condensation.

Had my karcher 7 or 8 years. Finish off with a cloth where it misses.

Practically, we air the house during the day, use a plug in dehumidifier when needed and air dry as little laundry as possible indoors.

You can get cheaper versions than the karchar. This one is £20
https://www.tjhughes.co.uk/products/tower-twv10-cordless-window-vacuum-cleaner?variant=40616613183653&gclid=CjwKCAjw-KipBhBtEiwAWjgwrI_pWi5k-S7AGMDvvn4MTpB-E_o7h-nzDo5FR34k1izJ3v0b9fNz_RoCOW0QAvD_BwE

We bought one about a decade ago for old windows. We put in new windows there and have something since moved and replaced windows but it has still been an excellent purchase.

We don't pay a window cleaner so use it to clean the windows.

I think the 'why spend money on tat' comments are off the mark. If you have a lot of condensation (we did when we bought ours) it stains the woodwork. We were sanding and revarnishing every year so the 20 quid repaid itself just in that. Similarly cat litter or washing towels has a cost.

We used it in the bathroom too to wipe down after showers which cut down on a lot of moisture. My current house vents better so it's now only used for window cleaning but I'd still say it's one of the most cost effective items I have bought.

Me too. Silvercrest , it was either Aldi or Lidl. About £15 I think?
Works brilliantly.

This is the first condensation morning of the year for me - 5 minutes with the gadget and it is all gone :)

Because if you use a towel you have to dry it afterwards! Fine if you can fry it outside, but otherwise it’s just going to put the moisture back into the air in your house as it dries. Yes, you can stick it in the next wash you do, but it still needs to dry afterwards, one way or another. And if you use kitchen roll, you then need to chuck it. If you have a lot of condensation, you could be going through half a roll very couple of days.

If you use a Karcher or similar, you can empty the tank down the drain.

Do you have shutters/wooden blinds? I do and I’ve done so much research on the topic (🤣) since we moved to this house. There’s too much moisture in the air so a dehumidifier is needed but it can be particularly bad if the air is being trapped behind the blinds, other blinds seem to let air move more easily. It probably doesn’t help that the windows are really big in our house, especially the ones that have most condensation. We replaced some windows when we moved in and they have no condensation or the tiniest bit so I think the extremely cold old windows probably cause a lot of the issue too

@Lellochip me too, bought one but it was heavy, cumbersome, doesn't hold enough water so constantly emptying- too much faff.

This will do the job.

You need to dry them off, then air or heat the room. If you don’t remove the condensation it will turn to mould.

@Minttee I hope other MNetters don't take that literally and start urinating on their windows!!!

@MyCircumference - It was meant to be (a little bit) funny. Not sarcastic.

Karcher window vac or other brand - not expensive. Used to use a cloth but vac is better I think.