Talk to me about condensation

[HeyMacWey]

Since autumn has appeared overnight I woke up this morning to find condensation on all the windows.

How can I minimise it?

Central heating is not yet on. House is double glazed bar two windows and generally warm in the mornings.

Have a woodburner and the last few days have been putting it on about 2ish and then putting load of coal on at about 5pm so it simmers gently all evening and ensures that it's warm when dh gets in about 11ish.

Today I've kept the upstairs windows open a few cm to keep air flowing to see if that makes a difference.

Should I keep them open all night?

Clothes have been line dried and then finished off on an airer in the bathroom with the extractor on (door closed).

I've been squeegeeing the water off first thing and then noticed condensation building up on the unglazed windows when it gets dark.

Should I put the central heating on for an hour or would that not make a difference?

Any tips most welcome

The biggest change we made to cut bathroom condensation, apart from the extractor fan, is after every shower we use a cheap window cleaning blade on the tiles and shower enclosure, and send it all down the plughole
I was amazed at the volume of water, which normally would sit there keeping the air moist.
Cheap and very effective and stops the sealant in the shower going mouldy too.

Aldi (and I presume Lidl) sometimes have dehumidifiers as a special buy. I am a bit cautious of budget machines, but if they have a long warranty (Aldi are very good for refunds) you should get your money's worth.

The small, low-price ones often have an electrical Peltier heat exchanger, instead of a compressor, which has hardly any moving parts and might be more reliable. It will also warm the room a bit.

I don't believe the "tenner" one can be a dehumidifier. I think it must be a moisture-absorbing chemical.

'mmm

Is that one "recharged" by putting it in a hot place to dry out?

There are certain crystals which absorb small amounts of moisture from the air (salt does it a bit in a damp place) and release it back into the air when heated. These generally collect a matter of teaspoonfuls of water.

Dehumidifying machines generally collect water in numbers of pints or litres in a day, into a jug that you can pour down the drain. They run on electricity.