Real Facts About Window Condensation

What is Condensation?

It’s beginning to be that time of the year when windows are suddenly the new focus of your child; who wouldn’t take pleasure in carefully tracing their name into the school bus glass, the backseat of the car, or the easily accessible windows in your home, leaving you a lovely fingerprint message to wipe off when noticed. This small delight can be attributed to the condensation left on the glass in cold weather. Though it is easy to think that the type of window is to blame for the foggy appearance and water on the floor, the truth is condensation is the result of excess humidity. Glass is a mere landing place for humidity in which it visibly condenses. Humidity is the real culprit, but the windows themselves get the bad wrap, as humidity will appear on glass first because the surface temperature is the lowest.

There are different ways to reduce the humidity in your home, ultimately reducing or even eliminating the condensation on the windows.

-Increase ventilation in your home
-Run dehumidifiers
-Open windows to allow the moist air to escape or turn on a fan
-Storm windows keep interior glass warmer, and can reduce frustrating condensation
-Ensure basements are kept dry
-Dryers, gas burners, and other producers of moisture should be pushed or vented outside
-Avoid over watering plants, keep them in sunny areas

Here are a few facts that you need to know about condensation before blaming your windows!

-More water vapor in the air means increased humidity indoors. A high level of indoor humidity leads to condensation
-Every day actions such as showering, running the dishwasher, cooking, or doing laundry adds moisture to your home and can increase the humidity. Humidity is essentially just vapor or moisture
-Condensation is primarily visible in cold weather because of the large gap in temperatures between the outside and the inside of your home
-Contrary to belief, more humidity is not necessarily healthier
-If you are remodeling your home or it has recently undergone construction, there is likely to be an increase in condensation due to the moisture in the building materials
-Condensation can be only temporary if there is a drastic change in temperature, construction, or during a change of season.
-New windows may lead to increased condensation due to the fact windows are now tight and not letting humidity escape to the outside.
-The type of window could affect the amount of condensation. For example bays and bows by design restrict air circulation and may be cooler in temperature.
-There are no windows that can completely eliminate condensation, though there are materials that may lessen the amount.
-Recommended humidity: