Anyone know how to stop this? (Pics)

[zebrarobot]

We bought our house in March. Its a 1970s house and most windows have been replaced. Since the weather has turned colder we've been waking up to condensation on every window. Does anyone have any ideas how to stop this?

Thanks!

I think the general advice is have your heating on, windows open to let moisture escape, use extractor fans and dehumidifiers if it's really bad. Drying washing inside can make it a lot worse.

Get it sorted soon, Spider-Man and friends need to see what is happening outside ! 😄

Thanks @Perfectly1mperfect. Ive tried keeping the heating on low it doesn't make too much of a difference, I normally just wipe it away in the morning. I've opened the windows slightly even though it's 2 degrees outside! I'll see if that helps. We've stopped drying washing indoors too but might look into a dehumidifier.

Haha they sure do! My son said similar the other morning, that the avengers couldnt see out of the window so must get it sorted asap!

Your home needs more ventilation I think. Crack open the windows for a bit.

Also I second the idea of a dehumidifier - you’ll be surprised at how much water they pull out of the air.

We get this too - in a well insulated and heated house. It's because the air inside the house is warm and there is moisture (normal) and as the air temperature outside drops, the cold is transferred through the window to the inside pane where moisture condenses because of the cold. We deal with it by wiping it off to avoid mildew - bit of a faff. It is because a lot of double glazing has a metal spacer between panes which chills and carries the temp drop through to the inside. The only thing to fix it would be to replace the windows with a different spacer, or thermal break - usually resin/plastic - to stop the cold travelling over to the inside pane of glass. Modern good quality double or triple glazing with the thermal break is what you need ultimately :D Sorry - expensive advice. We haven’t changed ours yet either.......

It is healthy to have a moisture level - we are breathing out moisture constantly. I would only go for a dehumidifier to dry out after a water leak. Opening windows when heating is not on for a few minutes each day is a good thing to do for a change of air, but won’t stop a bit of morning condensation.

Ah - a small dehumidifier near wet washing might be a good idea :)

We had this problem when we replaced our old wooden single glazed windows for decent double glazed units. We actually installed a permanent ventilation system upstairs and it works really well. You can't hear it at all, but it runs constantly (not using much electric) and vents in the upstairs hallway, and the 2 bathrooms. We now only get condensation when it's really really cold. I also leave windows slightly open as much as possible, although I can't leave them open too much as we live on a fairly busy road and it gets very noisy... And I never dry washing in the house.

I have this problem. And also get black mould marks appearing above the windows.

I've just bought a window vacuum. Doesn't prevent it, but at least I can quickly get rid of the moisture first thing in the morning.

Short term - Open windows more often

Long term - Replace windows with modern units with trickle vents.

As a rule I leave at least one window at the front, and one window at the back of each floor of my properties cracked, as well as open trickle vents. New double glazing can be locked when on a crack so you're still fully insured.

I have countless issues with my tenants about condensation. I've been in some where moisture is literally running down the walls because all the windows are closed, there's wet washing all over the house and the kettle's on every 5 minutes. Not to mention the pints of moisture we breathe out all day.

The better sealed a house is (modern houses are very well sealed) the worse this problem becomes. Modern glazing can help, but really we need to be teaching people that as much as it seems counter intuitive, no matter what the weather, or quality of glazing, your home needs airflow.

Not to mention the health implications for kids when mould inevitably occurs.

Why we'd rather teach kids algebra than a few basic ways to look after yourself and your home ill never know, but there it is.

Had this at my previous house, had to have windows locked slightly open all year round, if you can, open them wide to air out the room during the day sometimes. I also bought a karcher window vac to suck up all the moisture each morning. We had a dehumidifier too as it was a flat and we had to dry clothes inside during winter. It helped a lot, it had a 'clothes dry' setting that we used and stood it near the clothes horses

Why use a dehumidifier instead of a local laundrette? If you have no transport I can understand it but outside of that it makes no sense at all. Dehumidifiers are far more expensive to run for long periods than a few quid in a tumble dryer, and it saves having wet washing all over your home.

Anyway, just my 2p.

Local launderette??? Where would you find one in any small town or in a village? I wouldn’t know where to find one. They have died out. Better to buy a TD.

I find condensation usually happens with cheap double glazing (worse with single glazing), too much heat and insufficient ventilation. I have no condensation at all and we are highly insulated. The house breathes though. Open windows and get a 13 tog duvet. Don’t air clothes on radiators and get a dryer.

Do you have extractor fans in your kitchen and bathroom? If not, add them or upgrade them, use them more etc. You need to improve the ventilation in your house if you want to fix the issue. The kitchen and bathroom are the biggest sources of moisture. Do the windows have trickle vents? Are they open and clear? A dehumidifier will help but isn’t the best solution.

Do you have trickle vents? If not these can be added to existing uPVC windows.

Make sure kitchen and bathroom have extractor fans or open the room window wide when having shower, using hob, etc.

We started sleeping with the windows slightly ajar (only 2-3cm), -- and it has entirely solved the problem.

Thanks for all the replies!

My brother is a window fitter and has offered to install the vents for us. The windows were replaced by the previous owner about 12 months before we bought the house but dont have vents. I have no problems downstairs or in the kitchens. Not really in the bathroom either unless after a shower. Its mainly the bedrooms. We left the window in our bedroom open slightly last night and had no condensation at all this morning. Hoping the vents will sort it.

Karcher window vac works for me.

Local launderette??? Where would you find one in any small town or in a village? I wouldn’t know where to find one. They have died out. Better to buy a TD.

There's three in the town I live in, one in the small town I work in! Not saying I'd use one under these circumstances but they're not gone.

the condensation happens on the coldest place, so steam from shower will end up as condensation on window in coldest room.

You need as basic:
extractor fan in kitchen when cooking
extractor fan in bathroom every time bath/shower is used
trickle vents in windows
Don't dry washing inside OR put it in one room with heater on and dehumidifier or window open, so water is contained. We have utility room, put the radiator on and there is an extractor fan.

Maybe the action med are breathing too heavily?

Men not med