condensation on windows

minty247

I know this subject has come up before but i still have not found an answer to my problem. My house for a start is north facing. I have double glazed windows, every room has an open vent. In cold weather my front windows are covered in condensation in the morning on the inside. There does not appear to be any moisture between the panes. I have tried many things like leaving vent open,door open,windows on night latch but nothing works. I dont use the front sitting room much and even so there is condensation on the bay window of this room in the morning also. I know what causes this but why is it happening if the room is vented. Is the fitting of the window?, the glazing?. Any suggestions welcome. I know its going to drive me insane when the cold weather comes along. Thx

DoneDL

what type of heating do you have.

minty247

outdoor condensing boiler. radiators in each room and a fireplace in the sitting room with the chimney unblocked

DoneDL

Sound I was worried it was gas with a gas fire so condensation would be a red flag. The most likely causes are, insufficient air changes or poor insulation, You could try adding another vent to see if that would help but because the wall is north facing you might consider putting foam backed plasterboard on that wall as warm air is hitting a cold wall.

Also do you have extractor fans in the kitchen and bthroom(s)

minty247

thanks for the reply donedl. I only get the condensation on the windows and nothing on the walls. I don't have a fan in the bathroom and also my extractor fan is not ducted but i do have charcoal filters in the hood. On one occasion tried no cooking , showers etc for 1 day to see if that made a differece but i still had condensation. Would poor insualation cause condensation????. There is no mould etc on the walls????

DoneDL

I think that insulating the wall should cure it, then if there are still problems investigate the ventilation. But the bathroom and kitchen should be mechanical vented.

CBYR1983

I replaced some fogged up bog standard 20mm unit double glazing with k-glass. Significantly reduced condensation.

Also if your frames are aluminium that mightn't help it.

martinn123

minty247 wrote: »

thanks for the reply donedl. I only get the condensation on the windows and nothing on the walls. I don't have a fan in the bathroom and also my extractor fan is not ducted but i do have charcoal filters in the hood. On one occasion tried no cooking , showers etc for 1 day to see if that made a differece but i still had condensation. Would poor insualation cause condensation????. There is no mould etc on the walls????

Condensation is caused by moisture in the air, coming into contact with a cold surface and turning back to water.
Some of the suggestions above will help, but you must concentrate on the source of the moisture.
You have no fan in bathroom, and kitchen, so all the moisture from bath's etc, cooking, is not being vented enough.
I know you tried no cooking etc for a day, but that was not enough to clear the moistrue from the air in your home, remember every breath will have moisture as well.
So vent the bathroom, and the kitchen first, that should see a difference.
Are there vents in the walls in each room,
You are getting the condensation in the North facing windows as obvoiusly they are the coldest.
Replacing glass, installing insulation or even changing the windows if they are Aluminium, will be costly, so first eliminate the moisture through proper ventilation.

creedp

martinn123 wrote: »

Condensation is caused by moisture in the air, coming into contact with a cold surface and turning back to water.
Some of the suggestions above will help, but you must concentrate on the source of the moisture.
You have no fan in bathroom, and kitchen, so all the moisture from bath's etc, cooking, is not being vented enough.
I know you tried no cooking etc for a day, but that was not enough to clear the moistrue from the air in your home, remember every breath will have moisture as well.
So vent the bathroom, and the kitchen first, that should see a difference.
Are there vents in the walls in each room,
You are getting the condensation in the North facing windows as obvoiusly they are the coldest.
Replacing glass, installing insulation or even changing the windows if they are Aluminium, will be costly, so first eliminate the moisture through proper ventilation.

Fully agree with above. Even if you insulate the walls to passive levels your windows will still be cold and if the moisture levels in the house remain as current levels it will condense on the windows. If you upgrade your windows it may help but they will still be relatively cold compared to your walls. The issue really is to reduce the amount of moisture in the air inside your house and the only way to do this is to cut down on activity which creates it such as cooking, showers, breathing, etc or more realistically increase ventilation to remove the moisture more efficiently. As said above, mechanical ventilation in your bathrooms/kitchen is the best place to start. Then look at vents in your windows and hole in the wall vents. In the meantime, it is useful to open all windows at regular intervals to purge the moisture laden air. Even during the heating season this won't cause too much of a problem as the windowsa only need to be open for a short period and the fresh air will heat up relatively quickly again as the internal fabric of house won't have time to cool down.

AMG86

You should consider installing a MHRV system. See attached re ventilation/condensation
http://www.proair.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=209. Installation of a MHRV system would help solve the problem if done in conjunction with insulating the house. It would take moisture out of the kitchen, bathrooms, wet rooms etc. It would also result in lower heating costs. You will have fresh air 24/7.

DanWall

Agree with Matinn123, also do you have a gas cooker or anythink that burns fuel witout venting? the act of combustion generates moisture. ex. The old superserv calor gas heaters where desperate for that, or are you drying cloths in the house?

BryanF

minty247 wrote: »

thanks for the reply donedl. I only get the condensation on the windows and nothing on the walls. I don't have a fan in the bathroom and also my extractor fan is not ducted but i do have charcoal filters in the hood. On one occasion tried no cooking , showers etc for 1 day to see if that made a differece but i still had condensation. Would poor insualation cause condensation????. There is no mould etc on the walls????

• highlighted is your first problem

• insulating would help BUT NOT internal insulation!

• also have you alot of shelter around the house, it may be that the wall vents are not adequately doing their job.

you need professional advice from a arch tech, who has RH sensors and can assess the condensation source/ solutions.