Condensation:
Double glazing and condensation problems!
Why do I get Condensation?
Condensation in the home falls into two categories:
Acceptable and Unacceptable
First a little about the causes of condensation:
Ironically, many condensation problems arose from Government advice in the 1970s to conserve energy because of the massive increase in fuel costs. This led many people to draught-proof their homes, block off the chimney, install double glazing and insulate their lofts and cavity walls. Excellent improvements and means of reducing energy costs, but they restricted the home's natural ventilation, increasing the risk of condensation. THOUGHT: If you air-dry clothes that contain, say, half a pint (300ml) of water, where does all that water go? Well, the answer is obvious, isn't it? And apart from not putting all that moisture into the atmosphere in your home in the first place the biggest single answer in the fight against condensation is VENTILATION.
Acceptable condensation:
Look at it this way, you pour a glass of chilled wine - or maybe a Scotch on the rocks - and condensation forms on the glass, quite acceptable. You take a steaming hot bath and are not surprised in the slightest to see the bathroom tiles and mirror misted over, but just think: what chance has the window glass got, even if it is double glazed, when it's facing the outdoors, if the bathroom mirror on an indoor wall at room temperature mists over? In these circumstances it has to be said that the window is quite entitled to stream with condensation. You put the moisture up and you caused it.
Unacceptable condensation:
You feel you are not really doing much wrong in the way you live in your home, but you rise each morning in the winter to find your windows streaming with water and a puddle on the windowsill. You feel pretty annoyed about it and find it most unacceptable.
So, what's the difference?
Well, none, actually! It's as simple as this. Your condensation problem could easily be of your own making, because condensation forms when moisture-laden air meets a cold enough surface to condense on. Everyday tasks such as cooking, washing, drying clothes, having a bath or shower, even breathing can create as much as 20 pints (11.5 litres) of moisture a day in the home, quite apart from any unforgivable excesses such as air drying or tumble drying clothes indoors, etc.
