What can I do about condensation in my windows?

Question

I recently moved to North Dakota from So. CA (don't ask...you do a lot of things for love!). The temperatures here are getting into the minuses at night; in the morning I find that I have either ice or frost INSIDE my windows. The casings are made of oak, so there's another problem. What do people do about this? I have a humidifier but it doesn't seem to do anything. Aside from changing windows in the summer, what are my options?

I appreciate the many helpful suggestions I've been given. For those of you who feel the need to be rude or sarcastic, please don't bother. I came here to get answers from people who've actually had the problem. Slamming me or being a jerk just makes you look pathetic.

Thanks again to everyone who has taken my inquiry seriously.

Answer 1

A temporary solution may be to carefully caulk all the joints where the sashes meet the frame with rope caulk, which is removable in the spring. Alternately, you could install a plastic film over the windows, making sure to wrap it around the frame. In the spring, remove the sashes and check the weather stripping. The manufacturer should be able to supply you with replacement weather stripping, if needed.

Several conditions can increase condensation problems. If you close drapes over windows, this can cause the glass temperature and the temperature of the air between the drape and the glass to become cooler, making condensation more likely. If the thermostat setting is dropped substantially at night, this will cause an increase in relative humidity and may increase condensation. This condensation should vanish once the temperature rises in the morning.

The best way to deal with condensation on high-quality, double-glazed windows is to reduce indoor relative humidity to no more the 40 percent. You can do this by using kitchen or bath exhaust fans until condensation disappears. The fans will be more effective if you open a window elsewhere in the house to provide replacement air. Be sure that the fans you use exhaust to the outside, instead of going to the attic or just recirculating air within the house.

Here are some more tips:

---Open your windows occasionally to vent excess moisture.
---If the condensation is on the storm window, open it periodically to vent excess moisture.
---Open drapes and blinds to allow warm house air to circulate against the window.
---Turn off your furnace humidifier or other home humidifiers.
---Make sure dehumidifiers are working properly and well drained.
---Be sure that louvers in the attic or basement crawl space are open and are of adequate size.
---Run ventilating fans in the kitchen and bathrooms longer and more often.
---Air out your house by opening a door or window for a few minutes after the bathroom, kitchen or laundry has steamed up.

Answer 2

Condensation On Window

Answer 3

I had the same problem when I moved from so cal to a cold winter area. First I laid plastic throughout the crawl space under the house, this reduced the humidity. The I change from a diesel heater to a wood stove. I'm not sure which contributed moreto eliminating the condensation but I have not had any in the 25 years since I made those 2 changes. Removing the humidity from inside the house is the answer. Y ou also could consider an exhaust fan for the bathroom. A good measure of this is how long the mirror stays fogged us after a bath or hot shower.

I have replace all my inside window sills since then because they were all damaged by the water.

Answer 4

Bottom line is that when it is real cold no matter what you do the windows will always be the coldest areas, and that means condensation & frost

While it is good to add humidity in the winter you don't want to add too much.

Do you have storms on all the windows?

You can cover the windows with plastic, this will help.

Do you have an exhaust fan in kitchen or bath?
Using a fan for a while after a shower or when cooking can keep the humidity down.

Answer 5

I didn't read very many of the answers before I came to one conclusion: most people don't understand what happens to cause condensation.
The water is caused by the warm air in your home losing the heat it has THROUGH the window. When this happens, it also loses the water vapor (was "humidity", now condensation) because cool air holds less moisture than warm air.
To make this stop and save the oak framework, you need to create a dead air space on the outside of the window (oak on the inside) by putting an additional pane out there. It could be just a simple plexiglass sheet screwed to the outside framework or it could be a complete storm-window type covering, as long as it is sealed to keep the cold air from contacting the interior window.
The problem is not that the cold air is coming in, it's that your heat is going out and the humidifier is only giving the warm air inside more moisture to lose when it cools against your window.
The sense of cold air moving at the window makes people think that they have an air leak. In fact, it is only the cool air falling down the window after it was warm and lost it's heat through the window. Warm air rises, cool air settles.

Answer 6

I had the same problem when I moved from so cal to a cold winter area. First I laid plastic throughout the crawl space under the house, this reduced the humidity. The I change from a diesel heater to a wood stove. I'm not sure which contributed moreto eliminating the condensation but I have not had any in the 25 years since I made those 2 changes. Removing the humidity from inside the house is the answer. Y ou also could consider an exhaust fan for the bathroom. A good measure of this is how long the mirror stays fogged us after a bath or hot shower.

Answer 7

If there's the slightest of drafts, the air seeping in can be cold enough to freeze the humidity in the air onto the window. I hope you meant that you had a DE-humidifier, otherwise, you're adding to the problem. But, in any event, even a de-humidifier doesn't pull all the humidity out of the air. What are you setting your heat on? Keeping it on a setting of 62-66 or even 68 might not be enough. I live in Boston, and we have some pretty cold winters here. It's not uncommon for us to have single digits and wind chills of negative temps for long stretches. We'd have frost on the inside too, so we turned the heat up to be 72 in the house at all times. The costs weren't that much higher, as we would normally turn the heat up higher than that in the mornings when it feels colder. Try setting the heat to 72. This will make the inside of the windows have a little warmer to back it. If not economically viable, especially if you heat with oil, see if you can better seal the window casings. Buy some caulking and trace along the edge of the window casing where it meets the oak. They have caulking in different colors, so if it's a brown, or tan, or whatever color oak, you should be able to match it. Try that and see if it seals out the air. It may be seeping without you being able to feel the air itself, just kinda colder near the windows. This is even more likely if the windows are atleast 5-10 years old or older. Try that, see what happens. Hope I helped.

Answer 8

Condensation on window frames happens when the moist air circulating inside a room is substantially warmer than the air outside the window.

This is a natural process, and very dificult to eliminate totally..especially in modern buildings which are specifically designed to be draught proof.

Bear in mind that changing the windows wont necessarily solve the problem...its more to do with the way the entire building is made than just the windows alone ...they are just the coldest point in the walls, so that is where condensation will form.

But the situation can be improved by;

1. Buying a de-humidifer..you want to take moisture OUT of the air in your bedroom, not add to it further with a humidifer!

2. Improve the ventilation through the window. Obviously, the easiest way to do this is to leave the window open, but thats probably not a great idea on really cold nights! Instead, get a narrow closeable strip vent fitted to the top of the frame. Not expensive, and allows a small amount of external to circulate around the inside of the frame.

3. Leave all the doors in the house open at all times The better the flow of air through the whole building, the better the chance of reducing condensation in the problem areas.

4. Remove any potted plants. These put moisture out into the air as part of their natural growing process and add to the problem.

Answer 9

I have lived in very cold places. I was stationed in North Dakota at Minot A.F.B. and I now live in Kansas. Alot of people are suggesting a dehumidifier, but I don't really think the problem is humidity. This time of year the heater is probably running so much in colder states that the air is actually too dry. The best solution would be to put storm windows up on the outside. If you dont have storm windows you can put up plastic. I know its not pretty, but it can save on heating bills and keep you more comfortable. The lighter weight plastic that goes on the inside of the window frame will help also and when put on correctly isn't very noticeable.

Answer 10

Your house has too much moisture and too much warmth, and possibly has too little airflow between the outside and the inside. "Sick house" syndrome happens when you close everything up tight and never exchange the air. You could end up with mold in the spring -- and, man, like athlete's foot, house mold nearly NEVER goes away.

Sophie's suggestion about the insulation kit was dead on. Also, check these thoughts:

Don't run the humidifier all the time. The room with the humidifier will have ice inside if you get the humidity in that room high enough.

Do you turn your heat down at night? This saves money, lowers the temp inside the house, and prevents some of the high temp difference between outside and in. Buy flannel sheets, a comforter, sheepskin slippers, and snuggle up a lot.

Do you have curtains on the windows? Make sure they hang away from the window so air can flow over the windows at night.

Have you checked to see if your air exchanger in your heating system is balanced correctly? It's possible that your heater needs servicing.

If nothing else, put some little paper tails on the cold air exchange (the big vent that pulls the cold air out and re-heats it) and see if it's flowing. If not, change/wash the air filters. If they are clogged (which they will do every 30 days or so whether you like it or not), they need to be changed. If it's a paper frame, don't throw it away (or at least not before writing the size down). Go to the hardware store and get some more -- at least 5 or six -- and replace them regularly.

If it's one of those expensive ones you can clean yourself, DO IT, and do it again when the instructions say to.

If none of this helps -- sleep with one of the windows in the house open just a little bit, to help balance the moisture problem.

Answer 11

I live in Canada and I understand your problem. During winter, there is thick ice on the borders of my windows. You have to take care of them. My mom takes a piece of cloth and wipe the excess condensation on the window. Using the electrical heat would reduce the ice and frost also. A humidificator won't really help but increase the condensation since there would be more water in the air. Just try to keep the windows dry. good luck