We’ve covered the topic of condensation before, but we get so many queries about it in winter that it’s worth giving you all a recap of how condensation occurs and how it can be stopped.
The predominant cause is a lack of ventilation.
If you don’t have an extractor fan in the kitchen when cooking or the same in the bathroom when showering, unless you open a window, there’s nowhere for the warm air to go and it gets trapped, resulting in a massive build-up of moisture.
Once this moisture collides with the cold surface of the glass and the dew point drops, it sees those familiar beads of water form on the inner glass.
Doing nothing about it each time it appears isn’t advisable.
You should always remove the water with a towel, otherwise, continuously left alone, it can see mould or damp form. As soon as that sets in, it can lead to structural issues and impact your health.
So, organising better ventilation is one way of minimising the threat of condensation, as is leaving a few windows open, when feasible.
But our top recommendation would be to upgrade from single-glazed windows to the latest thermally efficient double-glazed windows.
They’re much warmer than single-glazed windows, so less susceptible to internal condensation.
What you may experience with them though, is the occasional bit of external condensation. This doesn’t mean they’re faulty or that you’ve wasted your money; quite the opposite actually!
It happens because their surface temperature has dropped below the dew point and just shows that they’re offering the standard of insulation they ought to.
As soon as they meet with some sunlight or a small breeze, the condensation will evaporate on its own.
Clearview has produced a Helpful Guide on condensation, packed-full of clued-up information about this common phenomenon.
A FREE copy of it is available here.
