We have water on our windowsills in winter. What causes this? We have a humidifier and humidistat on furnace

Question

The only time we have the water on windowsills is when the temperature is below 25 degrees. Someone told us to turn off humidistat for a few days. Can anyone help? Our furnace fan is running continuously

Answer 1

Hi. Funny you should have the same problem I did a week ago. The humidistat should never be more than 35%. I experimented and found that 25% is perfect. No more dripping wet windows and sills. And the reason your fan continuously runs is due to your thermostat fan setting. Change your fan setting from "ON" to "AUTO". Take care.

Answer 2

Your windows either are not double pane or insulated or they are defective.
When it is cold outside and the dew point is low, inferior windows will sweat when the humidity in the house is high (probably around 45-50% RH or higher).
Turn down the humidistat to around 40% or so and just experiment until it stops. You don't want it too high anyway when it's real cold - if the walls aren't insulated well, you can get moisture in the walls too when it is real cold.
You DON"T need a dehumidifier. Just turn down the dehumidistat and the humidity will dissipate and the condensation should stop.
You may want to look into new windows.

Answer 3

You are on the right track; the condensation appearing on the inside of your windows is a result of high relative humidity in your home. While the Humidistat setting may aid you some controlling the source of excess humidity may be of greater service. Do you have exhaust fans in your Bathrooms? Do you use them? Do they shut off directly after you turn off the light switch when leaving the restroom? When you get out of a shower, you already can see the steam and condensation on the mirrors, tiles, porcelain and windows so you can see the heightened moisture but what may not come to the forefront of your mind is where that water you just toweled off is going. All of this excess moisture has to (and will) leave your building one way or another. The fan is the preferred exit and should have capability to move enough air to be effective. Your windows, being one of the weaker R-values on your exterior wall will tend to be the next "path of least resistance, hence the condensation. Another option is to raise the temperature of the window surface, thus raising the "Dew Point" at the glass surface... Personally i go for the ventilation because it is less expensive to run a fan for an extra 10 minutes.

Answer 4

HELLO, THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE AND THE WARMTH OF THE INSIDE OF YOUR HOUSE IS CAUSING CONDENSATION FROM YOUR WINDOWS, THE HUMIDIFIER MAY NOT BE HELPING, ALSO OLDER HOUSES AND OLDER WINDOWS BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY IN HARSH CLIMATES AND COLD AREAS FOR INSTANCE I LIVE IN UPPER NY STATE WHERE THE WINTERS ARE VERY COLD, IF YOU KNOW ANY PRIVATE AIRCRAFT PILOTS THEY WILL BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE TEMPERATURE CHANGES TO YOU IN MILLIBARS OF DEW WHICH WILL HELP YOU TO UNDERSTAND THINGS AS THEY ARE HAPPENING TO YOU, BUT PERHAPS A SIMPLE REMEDY WOULD HELP YOU, SO HERE I GO, AS YOU MAY KNOW OUR POST OFFICE SELLS A THING CALLED BUBBLE WRAP, FOR PACKAGES, AND ONE CAN FIND THIS STUFF AT WAL-MART AND STATIONARY STORES, IF THE VIEW OF YOUR WINDOW ISN'T IMPORTANT TO YOU IN THIS TEMPERATURE CHANGE THEN GET SOME OF THIS STUFF AND CLEAN AND DRY YOUR WINDOW AND TAPE THIS TO THE PAIN, IT WILL LET IN LIGHT BUT IT WILL ALSO INSULATE THE WINDOW FROM THE OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE, AND LEVEL OFF THE CONDENSATION, EQUALLING THE TEMPERATURE, I FIND THIS WORKS WELL TO KEEP IN HEAT BECAUSE THE AIR IN THE SEALED BUBBLES IS HEATED BY THE SUN AND ACTUALLY WARMS THE WINDOW GLASS, I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU ITS A QUICK CHEEP FIX UNTIL YOU CAN FIGURE OUT A BETTER SOLUTION, BEST WISHES, GIVE IT A TRY.

Answer 5

you need a dehumidifier. just the opposit of what you have, takes moisture out of the house, but then again this will cause more static cling and bad hair days, you will in time need better windows.

Answer 6

Your windows are leaking air.Nothing more and nothing less

Answer 7

It is condensation.....so cold outside ...so warm inside...it happens....