Condensation on your windows? Check the humidity levels inside your home.

Six tips to stop condensation forming on your windows and window frames

Winter officially arrived in Melbourne yesterday and it feels like it. Low temperatures in the 4° to 5° range have most of us reaching to crank up the heat when we’re at home.

The cold temperatures outside and warm, humid air inside can lead to condensation. Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air and condensation is the effect of humidity producing a “fog” when it hits a colder surface (like a mirror after a hot shower).

Typical household activities, like cooking, laundry and dish washing add to excess water vapour in the air. Plants, heating systems and humidifiers can also add to the moisture in a home’s air. Even people just sleeping and breathing in a bedroom overnight can increase humidity levels in a room.

Energy efficient window systems, like the EDGE ranges, help prevent condensation on windows caused by warm humid air outside the home, but not condensation caused by humidity in the home. Old-fashioned, poorly insulating windows allow moisture to escape through inefficient seals and cracks in the window system. In well insulated homes it can be very easy to build up high levels of humidity.

Six tips to reduce humidity in your home and decrease your risk of condensation on your windows:

  • Use a hygrometer to track the humidity levels in your home. Try to keep your home’s relative humidity under 55 per cent.
  • Visit www.dpcalc.org and calculate your home’s dew point.
  • Check laundry, kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans to ensure they vent correctly to the outside. Run the fans while cooking, bathing/showering and doing laundry. Let the fans continue to run for a period of time after you’ve finished the humidity-producing activity.
  • If possible, open a window in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room during use. Opening windows a few minutes a day lets water vapour escape and allows dryer air in, without compromising your heating.
  • Try to concentrate house plants to one area of the home and be sure not to over water them.
  • Use ceiling fans to increase your home’s air circulation.
  • Open louvres in attic or crawlspace storage areas.

Homes with the problem of “sweating” windows on the inside during the winter may have an issue of a too high humidity level. With MAX™ double glazed windows, you should be able to sustain relative humidity inside the home around 50 to 55 per cent on a 4° or 5° night and not get condensation on your windows.

So cook, clean and launder to your heart’s content, just remember to follow the steps outlined above to keep your windows free from condensation.