wet windows inside (vinyl, dehumidifier, double pane windows, heating)

[BestintheWest]

When warm inside, cold and moist outside, the windows and frames inside are wet. Anyone have a remedy or solution??
Maybe dehumidifier, or just wipe them for life?
Thanks

[KittySkyfish]

All you'll need is to dehumidify the air.

Warm air holds more water vapor than cool air. So when the warm air in your home comes in contact with the cold glass surface, the air has to give up some moisture. Condensation results.

[texdav]

Storm windows can usually solve this.They go on the outside with a air space between.

[Ultrarunner]

Run the exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom when in use...

I've never had the problem except when company is staying...

The moisture in the air is cooled to the dew point and condenses on the cold surfaces... you could always install dual or triple pane windows if money is no object and get a partial tax credit if still in effect

[BestintheWest]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Run the exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom when in use...

I've never had the problem except when company is staying...

The moisture in the air is cooled to the dew point and condenses on the cold surfaces... you could always install dual or triple pane windows if money is no object and get a partial tax credit if still in effect

Its a new home with double pane windows. I have been told the cause, not only temps and outside moisture, is that the house is so well sealed the moisture cannot escape.

Maybe a dehumidifier is the answer.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by aliveandwellinSA

Its a new home with double pane windows. I have been told the cause, not only temps and outside moisture, is that the house is so well sealed the moisture cannot escape.

Maybe a dehumidifier is the answer.

Could be... you need to lower indoor humidity...

Sometimes brand new homes take a season to dry out...

Worst case is there is a leak... either plumbing or weather-proofing, i.e. siding or roof.

Do you have a vapor barrier in the crawl space if you have a crawl space? I know of a track of homes build on some pasture land that had lots of issues... the solutions was to install plastic sheets and improve ventilation by doubling the number of screened vents, adding french drains tied to gutters and downspouts..

I would not expect a new home with double pane windows to have this problem.

[Oberon476]

Condensation occurs on a window when the temperature of the window/glass goes below the dew point temperature of the air surrounding the window.

In order to stop condensation from forming on the surface of a window, it is necessary to either lower the dew point temperature of the air to a level below the dew point temperature of the window surface, or to warm the window surface to a temperature above the dew point temperature or a combination of both.

Relative humidity is a comparison of actual vapor density versus saturation vapor density at a particular temperature.

Put a bit more simply, dew point is 100% relative humidity or the point where the air at a certain temperature is no longer able to hold any more moisture. If the air has reached vapor saturation (100% relative humidity), then the air will release moisture which will show up as condensation on any surface that is at a temperature below the dew point temperature of the air

There are two ways to lower relative humidity – first, increase the air temperature or second, decrease the moisture content of the air. Lowering the relative humidity, which is the common “remedy” for wet windows, may have absolutely no effect on controlling window condensation or it may completely solve the problem – depending on how the relative humidity is lowered and what affect the “how” has on both the moisture level of the air and the temperature of the window.

Increasing air temperature will lower relative humidity but it will not change the dew point temperature which is based on the amount of water vapor in the air and is not based on the temperature of the air. So while RH is lower with higher air temperature, it may not effect condensation on window surfaces at all – unless the rise in air temperature also results in a corresponding rise in window glass temperature to a level above the dew point temperature.

But lowering the amount of water vapor or moisture in the air will also lower the dew point temperature as well. If the dew point temperature is lowered sufficiently to drop it below the temperature of the window glass there should have no more condensation issues.

The amount of moisture in the air is typically measured in grams per cubic meter, which is kind of nice for our metric folks but not so nice for our non-metric folks; but the metric version is much easier on the calculator than the English version. So in the interest of making this stuff a bit easier to understand for all of us non-metric types, I am going to covert back to Fahrenheit rather than use Celsius temperatures in the calculations

Consider a home at 65 degrees F and with a relative humidity reading of 40%. In this scenario there are 6.25 grams of water per cubic meter of air which equates to a dew point temperature of 38 degrees F. So at 38 degrees the air will be at 100% relative humidity or at saturation vapor density.

If a home hygrometer measures the relative humidity at 60% while the temperature is 70 degrees, the dew point temperature is just about 51 degrees – meaning that if the temperature of the window surface is below 51 degrees there will likely be condensation on that window surface.

There will be a difference between edge temperature and center-of-glass temperature which can be significant when dealing with condensation issues. Also, consider that the interior glass temperatures are based on the fact that moving, warmer, indoor air is actually in contact with the glass at a given time.

A triple pane with dual LowE coatings and argon or krypton fill (depending on width of the airspace) will have an indoor surface temperature approaching 60 degrees in the zero outside, 70 degree inside scenario. There has to be a lot of moisture inside the home to have condensation on that window.

Curtains, shades, other obstructions can cause problems by blocking airflow across the glass – airflow that can have a huge effect on the condition of the window relating to condensation. Also, bay and bow windows can be more prone to condensation – again because of the possibility of decreased airflow over the glass

[BestintheWest]

Oberon476 read you post several times. Thanks good info. None of those problems exist.
New home. Talked with several other homeowners, all have the same problem.
Located in San Antonio. Humid climate, cold and humid out, warm in, hence problem. In my OPINION the builder Pulte took the cheap way out without consideration for quality or the homeowners by installing steel framed windows.

[Coldjensens]

The framing of the windows will make no difference. Steel, wood or vinyl framed windows will not change the moisture issue. You have moisture in your house. Different windows would only get the moisture out if they leak and allow the cold dry air to come in form the outside. Of course then you would be cold.

If you are worried about this moisture, then there are several possibilities that you can look at:

Maybe you sweat too much. Go get electric shock treatment to reduce your sweating.
It will not do anything but the electric shock tretment people will thank you for the money.

Some of the moisture is coming from your breath. If you stop breathing while you are in the house, the moisture may go away.

Also, if you have any pets, do not give them any water. The water will evaporate and add to the moisture inside your home.

Otherwise, you need to get the moisture out of your house. That means an expensive dehumidifier. Both costly to buy and very costly to run.

Another alternative is to crack a window open a bit and allow some freash air in. It will cost you some in your heating bills, but if it is a small window opened only a crack, it could well be less than the cost of a dehumidifier. hey make whole house dehumidifiers or smaller units that dehumidify only a single room or floor. Remember, if it is not hooked up to a drain, you will need to empty it our every day.



This is a common problem with new homes. WE have done so well in sealing up homes to stop air infiltration from outside, that there is no place for the moisture from our bodies to go. That is why mold is becomming such a problem now. Mold was less of a problem in older homes, because they are not as well sealed and they let moisture out and dry air in. Now we live in sealed bubbles. Where is the moisture going to go?

[BestintheWest]

the alternative works. Cracked a window in more or less central location. no more moisture. guess the house is too well sealed.