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Condensation

hoanymole

Hi we are having a problem with condensation in our upstairs bedrooms. The house is only five years old so I didn’t expect it. A few possible causes:

1. Shower room extractor fan may need replacing (but doubt this would have all the windows dripping each morning)

2. Six of us in the house so there is a lot of washing drying all the time. Although yesterday morning no washing out and still lots of condensation.

3. We don’t put the heat on upstairs as much.

Any suggestions that could help would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

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hoanymole

Got this delivered today - https://www.meaco-dehumidifiers.ie/meaco-20l-low-energy-dehumidifier-with-hepa-filter/

Turned it on and the house has 73%rh upstairs.

Could be working for a while!

loyatemu

and that's at the highest rate. Energia is currently 13c per kW/h (inc VAT).

[Deleted User]

enfant terrible wrote: »

Feeling dumb how do you work this out?

Device is 580 Watts at highest setting and highest price on link is 21.24 cent per kwh

Would it cost about 25 cent for two hours?

Yea a kwh is 1000 (k) watts (w) for an hour (h)

So if your device is 100w and you run it for 10 hours you use 1 unit.

newmember2

enfant terrible wrote: »

Feeling dumb how do you work this out?

Device is 580 Watts at highest setting and highest price on link is 21.24 cent per kwh

Would it cost about 25 cent for two hours?

Looks like 1000w hour is 21.24 so 580w hour x 2 = 1160w so maybe 23 cents?

madalig12

CoBo55 wrote: »

Crawl out as far as you can and see if you can find the soffit vents, chances are they've been blocked by the insulation.

Im pretty sure they are clear. I pulled some back a bit but will try get to the areas i couldnt get to this week

enfant terrible

Deleted User wrote: »

According to the specs of that device, running at 2 hours on the highest settings at the most expensive rate would cost you about 0.50 eur, VAT incl

Feeling dumb how do you work this out?

Device is 580 Watts at highest setting and highest price on link is 21.24 cent per kwh

Would it cost about 25 cent for two hours?

mosii

DoorParts wrote: »

Not really, there are those that will tell you it will, but it's not the windows per se that will make the difference, its the glass, (i.ePilkington Anti-condensation Glass) or go for Triple glazing, id consider the Pilkinton first, this before even considering new windows, we sell those too, but I don't push the most expensive ideas first.

Do your research before making a big step like replacement windows,.

Thank you for your help,:)

DoorParts

mosii wrote: »

Great post tks,can i ask will new windows reduce condensation?

Not really, there are those that will tell you it will, but it's not the windows per se that will make the difference, its the glass, (i.ePilkington Anti-condensation Glass) or go for Triple glazing, id consider the Pilkinton first, this before even considering new windows, we sell those too, but I don't push the most expensive ideas first.

Do your research before making a big step like replacement windows,.

CoBo55

madalig12 wrote: »

Here

Crawl out as far as you can and see if you can find the soffit vents, chances are they've been blocked by the insulation.

madalig12

Here

madalig12

Im getting a lot of wet on one side of my attic. Worried by how wet it is. Pic is too large gonna try shrink it.

mosii

Great post tks,can i ask will new windows reduce condensation?

DoorParts

As door and window repair business, this is one of the most asked questions people have due to condensation on their window. There are several (repair) and (replacement) solutions for this, and of course, fitting a ventilation system in the affected room/s is an option, but we usually suggest customers understand what it is and basic treatments before drastic or expensive solutions.

Condensation is a type of damp that causes mold, and we all know that mold can cause not only physical health problems such as difficulty breathing but also structural problems in your home, it can cause unsightly patches on the walls and ceilings and cause the paper to peel away, mold can lead to moisture building up and causing condensation on your windows. The main cause of condensation is the lack of ventilation in your home, the more energy-efficient your home is the more humidity you have, which builds up and increases the humidity levels. It is a fact that your average family home will produce as much as 100 liters of moisture from just breathing, cooking, and showering.

So how can you reduce the condensation in your property? Do you have to constantly wipe your windows? is there constant condensation in the windows? then the only answer to this is to improve the quality of the air and ventilation in your home. **One of the major causes of condensation in Irish homes** is having the house walls pumped, this often occurs during the coldest time of the year, in essence trapping the dampness inside the house walls, no way for it to escape. Ensure that wall pumping is done in the summer and also ensure that your windows are up to date.

Below we list some tricks and tips to reduce condensation in your home in the short term.

1: Make sure all washing machines and driers are correctly vented.

2: One of the biggest culprits in the home for condensation is drying clothes indoors when the moisture from the clothes evaporates it gets trapped inside your home, if you need to dry clothes on clothes horses rads etc, make sure it is in the bathroom, and have the window open until they are fully dry. Where possible, try to dry your clothes outdoors to prevent excess moisture from building up in your property. If you are unable to dry your clothes outdoor then keep them in a bathroom with the door closed and windows open until the clothes are fully dry.

3: Ensure that your kitchen door is kept closed, this stops the moisture from dishes and kettles and cooking from going all over the house. condensation is made when the moisture hits the cold surfaces in your house. (do you have a Heat recovery and ventellation system fitted in your fitchen?)

4: Use an extractor fan when cooking and ensure that all pots and pans have their lids on them during cooking and especially simmering. Keep your extractor fan on for a little while after you finish cooking.

5: Ensure the extractor fans are working in your bathrooms and shower rooms, the condensation is caused when the warm steam hot the cold surfaces in the room.

6: Try to keep the use of gas heaters to a minimum in your home, they are a major cause of condensation in the home, and a health and safety hazard also.

7: Always wipe down surfaces when you are finished cooking or having a shower, this removes the moisture and prevents the growth of mold.

8: Ensure that your furniture is not up against the walls, this can cause moisture to be trapped behind the furniture and cause a build of spores and therefore mold.

9: If you are using a room a lot or there is a lot of people in any rooms, ensure that the window is open even just a small bit to allow for moisture from breathing to escape.

10: Installing an energy-efficient extractor fan in the kitchen and bathroom can improve the humidity levels and prevent condensation.

after these minor changes comes the more expensive ones, but these can make a huge difference.

Stay safe

Calahonda52

listermint wrote: »

Also the weather is in low singles and under it.

I really think many people are noticing this stuff more now because they are hope all days now and creating vastly more moisture than Jan 20 when they were out of the house for half the day.

Low temps and higher humidity means condensation. Only way to combat is to lower internal humidity. More ventilation or mechanical means. More ventilation is cheaper and easier. Windows opening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saojnBSBUuk&ab_channel=Directors%3ATom%E1sO%27LearyandArtMcCormack

for a really good explanation

listermint

loyatemu wrote: »

need to measure the humidity in the bedroom overnight and the temperature, but ultimately it will tell you what you already know, that the humidity is too high and that window and wall are too cold. Is the bed close to the window? Moisture from your breath could be drifting towards the window and condensing.

Also the weather is in low singles and under it.

I really think many people are noticing this stuff more now because they are home all days now and creating vastly more moisture than Jan 20 when they were out of the house for half the day.

Low temps and higher humidity means condensation. Only way to combat is to lower internal humidity. More ventilation or mechanical means. More ventilation is cheaper and easier. Windows opening.

micks_address

loyatemu wrote: »

need to measure the humidity in the bedroom overnight and the temperature, but ultimately it will tell you what you already know, that the humidity is too high and that window and wall are too cold. Is the bed close to the window? Moisture from your breath could be drifting towards the window and condensing.

bed is sort of centered in only place it can be.. im probably about 3 feet from window... wife 5 etc.. it must be breathing as when we left the windows open that night and it was cold.. the windows were clear in the morning

loyatemu

need to measure the humidity in the bedroom overnight and the temperature, but ultimately it will tell you what you already know, that the humidity is too high and that window and wall are too cold. Is the bed close to the window? Moisture from your breath could be drifting towards the window and condensing.

micks_address

hi folks,

Didn't want to open a new thread as similar topic. In our main bedroom upstairs where both my wife and myself sleep we get condensation on the inside of the windows in the morning. We typically close the door for darkness but its not completely air tight as there's a good half inch gap at the bottom of the door. We sleep with the windows closed this time of year. Double glazed - glass itself is only about 5 years old but the windows are older. We replaced the glass in all the windows few years ago as we had condensation inside the panes.

Over a year or two this has led to flaky paint and some mold on the window reveals at the window/wall joints. Last weekend we completely washed this down and repainted.

I also checked the vent yesterday and it wasn't open properly. I did a test during the week where we left the windows open a crack and yes the room felt colder but the windows were completely dry in the morning. Last night with the windows closed and vent properly open was hoping for no condensation but this morning was there.

We mostly use a condenser drier for clothes so not doing a huge amount of clothes drying to add to the moisture. Is it simply a case of the two of us breathing out warm air all night and its gravitating toward the windows?

I could feel slight dampness on the window reveal/wall in the morning to. This isn't there when there's no condensation.

I don't mind the condensation so much apart from it causing flaking pain and cosmetically marking blinds etc over time. Its ages since we cleaned / painted it so maybe more careful cleaning might help. We have the blinds down at the moment. as the curtains are blackout material anyway. Will probably need new ones as they are a bit manky.

On our nest thermostat its measuring humidity at around 40% its just outside our bedroom.

Cheers,
Mick

10-10-20

Keanu Jolly Semiconductor wrote: »

Condensation is a pain. I had a slightly different condensation issue on a 12 year old house we bought 5 years ago. Went up into the attic on Saturday morning to put away Christmas stuff. Now it was a cold morning but there was a huge amount of condensation forming as droplets on the inside roof felt.

Funny you should mention this, exactly the same here. It's on the North facing section of the roof which is immediately behind a chimney stack on the side of the house. The chimney prevents any soffit ventilation for about 2 meters, and it's just at this spot, directly over a shower, that I have dripping sarking. Coincidence? I think not. :mad:

The shower isn't venting into the attic, but it vents from the wall just under the soffit over to the eastern side of the chimney stack. I suspect that this may be re-entering the attic and causing this localised dampness. I'm going to have to install lap vents in the sarking to increase the ventilation in that one area as I can't move the fan.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Condensation is a pain. I had a slightly different condensation issue on a 12 year old house we bought 5 years ago. Went up into the attic on Saturday morning to put away Christmas stuff. Now it was a cold morning but there was a huge amount of condensation forming as droplets on the inside roof felt.

Insulation in the attic is wool insulation but I think the issue was probably lack of ventilation. Yesterday morning I had a crawl around and there was very poor access between the soffit vents and the attic, insulation was pushed right to the point were the roof and blockwork meet. Pulled back the insulation back just enough to still cover the ceiling while allowing an air gap to the vents.

I hope this will sort it as rafters and the floored part of the attic were wet, mainly on the cold northern side.

naughtysmurf

@ Registered user Yes we have wall vents that are fully open too

steamsey

Older house here with 5 people. 15 year old double glazing. No insulation in or on walls. We don't dry clothes inside, use extractor fan in bathroom with door shut etc. Each bedroom has a working standard wall vent.

First year here and we had terrible condensation for weeks this winter. Mold was starting, window sills were becoming discoloured - it was bad. Couldn't figure out how we were creating so much humidity. I used to air the whole house for at least 1hr every day and that helped, but only for a short while. We do have a stove downstairs and don't heat upstairs too much - so I suspect warm, moisture laden air is going upstairs and condensing on the cold bedroom windows and walls. Not going to run heating up there all the time to sort it out.

Was about to install a PIV in the attic but first, i tried a dehumidifier. Bought a Pro Breeze 20L. It has solved the problem literally overnight. I leave it in the upstairs landing. I get that there is still excess humidity, but for now, the dehumidifier has been a great solution. We leave it on at night (have nightmeter). It sucks up to 5l from the air each night.

Great to be able to see out of the upstairs windows again!

10-10-20

naughtysmurf wrote: »

We bough a dehumidifier, which helped to an extent but by far the best solution was leaving a window in all rooms upstairs open but locked if you know what I mean 24/7, I was a bit dubious about this as I thought the house would be cold but the reality is the house is warm & we have had zero condensation this winter including the last week

But isn't that what a wall-vent is for. So do you have wall vents and are they also fully open?

naughtysmurf wrote: »

We also decided to use the dryer for everything that it’s usable for, items that aren’t suitable for the dryer we put in front of the stove so for us the solution was to increase the amount of ventilation & cut down the amount of clothes drying in front of the stove

I did a test on a bathtowel once. Weighted it dry and then "washing-machine wet". It had about 400g of water, which is ~400ml. So you could easily have two or three liters of water in a standard wash, depending on how they are spun. If you dry indoors, that water clearly has no path to the outside so has to hang around in the air to condense on the coldest surface.

Calahonda52

naughtysmurf wrote: »

So here is my experience, last winter we really noticed an increase in condensation on upstairs bedroom windows & had two spots of mould in two bedrooms, house is well insulated, we have a stove which we regularly use to dry clothes, all rooms have wall vents, we have gfch.

We bough a dehumidifier, which helped to an extent but by far the best solution was leaving a window in all rooms upstairs open but locked if you know what I mean 24/7, I was a bit dubious about this as I thought the house would be cold but the reality is the house is warm & we have had zero condensation this winter including the last week

We also decided to use the dryer for everything that it’s useable for, items that aren’t suitable for the dryer we put in front of the stove so for us the solution was to increase the amount of ventilation & cut down the amount of clothes drying in front of the stove

So increased ventilation and reduced vapour load.. simple

naughtysmurf

So here is my experience, last winter we really noticed an increase in condensation on upstairs bedroom windows & had two spots of mould in two bedrooms, house is well insulated, we have a stove which we regularly use to dry clothes, all rooms have wall vents, we have gfch.

We bough a dehumidifier, which helped to an extent but by far the best solution was leaving a window in all rooms upstairs open but locked if you know what I mean 24/7, I was a bit dubious about this as I thought the house would be cold but the reality is the house is warm & we have had zero condensation this winter including the last week

We also decided to use the dryer for everything that it’s useable for, items that aren’t suitable for the dryer we put in front of the stove so for us the solution was to increase the amount of ventilation & cut down the amount of clothes drying in front of the stove

CoBo55

hoanymole wrote: »

So I ordered the dehumidifier...

And now on this milder morning there’s not much condensation!

I am guessing there’s still too much moisture in the house though? It’s just not showing on the windows which aren’t as cold now?

Which dehumidifier did you go for?

hoanymole

So I ordered the dehumidifier...

And now on this milder morning there’s not much condensation!

I am guessing there’s still too much moisture in the house though? It’s just not showing on the windows which aren’t as cold now?

Spanishpoint

CoBo55 wrote: »

This one I have now https://www.meaco-dehumidifiers.ie/meaco-25l-ultra-low-energy-dehumidifier-new-2020-model/ has a quiet setting for night time. Mine is set to 55% and at this time of year is left on continuously (it doesn't run continuously). At night it's switched to quiet mode you'd never hear it. It's in the hall.

I use it as well, good recommendation.

thehamo

If you have an attic, look in to the nuaire drimaster

roper1664

I've been using a dehumidifier for years. Great and doesn't cost that much to run for a few hours each day in the winter. Get one for under 200e. Leave in hallway, landing or kitchen (with door open) and it will reduce humidity throughout the house. I also use mine to dry the clothes on a clothes horse/drier. Takes longer than a tumble drier, but it doesn't damage the clothes, as the tumble drier does.

I think try it, and then if you're not satisfied, go down a different route next autumn.

I've ecoair dd1 classic mk5. Thoroughly recommended.
I've mine set up in kitchen with kitchen door open. I get no condensation on windows at all while I cook. If it wasn't running I would get condensation.