Solving condensation problem

Joined
23 Nov 2011
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
Lancashire
Country
United Kingdom
I'm in rented accommodation and every morning wake up with bedroom windows covered in thick condensation. I do not dry clothing in the bedroom and keep the bathroom door shut and the bathroom window open during showers and afterwards as there is no extractor fan in the bathroom. There is black mould forming on the ceiling above the bedroom window as well as the bathroom ceiling and some small patches above the window in the baby's bedroom. I am painting with anti mould paint this weekend an hope that this will solve the black mould issue but the condensation is pooling on the wooden windowsills and soaking through the paint on the doors. What can I do to prevent this? The windows are double glazed with plastic units.

I moved in 1 month ago and suspect that black mould has just been painted over previous to this to disguise it rather than solve it.
 
Sponsored Links
I am going to guess that you insist on breathing during the night. Try doing this on a cold glass that has been left outside overnight and you will see where the water is coming from.

Unless you can cure yourself of this habit, you will have to ventilate the room. Most modern windows have a trickle-vent facility that can be used to give a slight ventilation. If you open them in one or more rooms on each side of the house, there will be a constant slight flow of air which will help take the water vapour away.

There will be water vapour in the house on warm days as well, but you will not see it. So ventilate day and night to prevent it accumulating.

More advice on //www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

I do not dry clothing in the bedroom
unless you have air-tight walls, ceilings and doors in your home, draping wet washing around it, or over radiators, will generate a vast amount of water vapour that will circulate around until it finds a cold surface to condense on. Out of interest, weigh a load of washing when it is dry before you put it in the machine, and than again after it has been spun. Each kg is a litre of water. A home that has wet washing draped around it can never be dry, and no-one can help you.

If you can persuade the landlord to provide an extractor fan in the bathroom, you can hang up washing in there with the fan permanently running, and the suction will prevent the water vapour from filling your home.

Black mildew on ceilings suggest that the loft insulation might be thin, patchy or missing; but water vapour is lighter than air, so will always rise up if it can.
 
Thanks John,

yes, that darned breathing habit...got to break it. There is a trickle vent (I think) in the small front hallway window, but not any other room. Is it worth having the bedroom window open a crack? (brrrr)
I do make sure not to dry clothing anywhere but in the drier which sucks the moisture outside from the kitchen, or on the line if possible, but I suppose any moisture from boiling the kettle etc will find somewhere to settle. There is an extractor in the kitchen, but no door so no way of shutting it off from the rest of the house to prevent steam getting out.

Thanks for the advise, I will ask my landlord about the bathroom extractor.
 
If they are plastic windows, they probably have a setting where they are just open a crack.

Ventilating during the day will help as well, as it will reduce the total load of moisture in the house. You can experiment with leaving the extractor fan running overnight, unless it is worn out and too noisy.
 
Sponsored Links
Its the age old problem that warm houses and no condensation do not really suit each other. Open windows as much as possible as mentioned. Drying clothes in the house can't really be avoided but Clean any mould off your ceiling as much as possible with a weak bleach solution and let it dry well before painting.

Sometimes trickle vents can be retrofitted into existing windows and it would be worth asking your landlord about this too.
 
Great, thanks. I had shut the trickle vent, not knowing what it was and thinking I was preventing cold air getting in...mistake!
I'll try leaving the extractor on during the day instead as it is very noisy. All great tips, thanks.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top