What do you do about condensation on single glazed windows?

[comixminx]

I have old sash windows - they're draught-proofed and work fine, but I do find that at this time of year I get dreadful condensation on the inside of the windows, pooling at the join between the two halves of the window (where it then goes black and mildewy) and at the bottom of the cill. What do you do to prevent / improve the situation?

Ventilation.You will need to open the windows every day to let the moisture out.

agree with ventilation. open all windows as much as possible for 5 min 3 times a day every day.

Oh damn. I'm sure you're right but goddamn it'll be cold while the windows are open! Thanks for the tip, folks.

If you've got a cold surface(outside) and a warm surface(inside), then you'll get condensation.

Old houses where designed to have open fires and ventilation. They were not designed for central heating or to be sealed and draught proofed.

A cheap way of fixing your problem is to buy a clear film that you can use as temporary double glazing.

Opening the windows would work, but what a waste of heat and energy. You'll just get cold.

Well, if it's only a case of opening the windows for a few minutes that's fine, though I certainly don't want to leave them open for long. I've used that clear film before and it's been quite good, though it is a bit of a faff to put up. Might try it again this year as I'll be in the house a lot more, with the baby...

Sadly it's not just a case of opening the window for a few minutes, because as soon as the warm moist air in the room hits the cold window it's going to condense.

Try the clear film and put a sachet of silica gel in the gap too.

That might help to keep it dry.

I love old sash windows (despite the condensation). How lovely to have to wipe up condensation from them.

Why don't you just buy a dehumidifier????

Oooooh Noooo. you'd be running heating and a dehumidifier,which will reduce the moisture content of the air, but wont necessarily stop the condensation problem all together.

I'd hate to see that electricity bill at the end of the winter.

we have a dehumidifier in the conservatory - and don't have astronomical heating bills!

if you only open the windows for 5 min at a time, only the air will get cold, not the walls. so the rooms heat up quickly again.
I cant quite understand why single glazing is still legal in this day and age. cant get my head around it...

it's illegal to install single glazing but I'm sure you don't want those of us with Victorian houses to be arrested for not getting the UPVC brigade in!

You need to sort:

Ventilation
A dehumidifier

Those window films you can buy aren't very good IMO. They often just trap condensation inside the film where you can't wipe it, so the windows rot.

Dehumidifiers are very cheap to run.

Thanks folks. What dehumidifiers do you all have, then? A quick look on Amazon shows me this one which looks quite good but that's only on first glance.

Ventilation, hmm - I've been trying quite hard to reduce draughts over previous winters! I don't know how I would increase ventilation but not add nasty draughts to the house?

ours is called challenge portable 10litre dehumidifier 415/9029 from Argos just checked their website and it isn't there - no surprise there as we've had it 10+ years

we got a 10litre one as the conservatory is very large. The bucket needs to be emptied about once a week

the one you have looked at on amazon has a capacity of only 2 litres, you need to think about the size of the room you are placing it in and how often you want to be emptying the thing

This one looks pretty good to me...here

Our last house was a victoran one single glaze sash windows. Never had a problem with condensation but then we had bare floorboards, open fireplaces but it was impossible to heat so we were always freezing. Now in a 1930s house, double pvc glazing. Nice and toasty but loads of condensation and spotty of mould around the windows. Have read about Heat REcovery systems that you install in the attic cost about £1000. We leave our windows open at night but it's still dripping windows in the morning.

Thanks eatyourveg and KickArseQueen - I'll think about the capacity and the size of room(s) I want to use it in - probably a few, moving it around...

have you tried this?

We use the film sheets and I actually think they are really effective. If you put them up when your windows are condensation free, then there shouldn't be any moisture trapped inbetween.

They are a bit fiddly but they have reduced our condensation by about 95%, all I do now is occasionally wipe a bit of moisture from the film itself, I never have any on the window frame.

This thread is great timing. Our crappy 70's aluminium windows are coated in condensation in the mornings. Can someone please suggest where to buy the film sheets or a good brand to look for? Many thanks

You can get the film from B&Q, its by a company called Stormguard.

I'm not sure about Wilkos but someone mentioned you can get it from there too.

how long does the film lasted for? as ive got original windows and i cant even see out of it in the winter mornings . and do u put it on a whole window?

thanks sybil. Will give the sheets a go. Any tips for applying the film? Thanks again