Jo....that window vac

[Weka]

I was wondering about one as well. We can get a lot of condensation on all our windows. (Single glazing, no heating). In Autumn I can use two bath towels just to dry Windows. Oddly we have had no problem this year, but it has been a very mild winter.

I was wondering if it would be quicker to dry Windows, but I wasn't sure if the resivoir would be large enough.

[meriad]

Weka, I think it would be ideal for condensation problems. The reservoir whilst not the biggest, should take a fair bit of water I'd have though; at worst you may need to empty it once (or twice depending on how big and how many windows you have?). But still quicker I'd have thought that drying towels?

[Workingman]

Weka, may I suggest that you look for a cure rather than treating the symptoms? If you are getting condensation on all your windows you are probably not getting enough air circulation around the place.

Simply by being alive each one of us expires between 700ml to 1ltr of water a day in the form of vapour through breathing and perspiration, that has to go somewhere. We also raise the indoor temperature, even without heating, creating a temperature difference sufficient enough to cause condensation. This is most noticeable on glass - windows.

Single glazing and condensation were once de rigueur in the UK. Everyone had them, but there were things we did to help reduce the condensation.

Keep all inner doors slightly ajar instead of closing them. Have a few transom windows open slightly, at least for part of the day and in rooms not often used, to allow air to circulate and be changed. If you can get hold of them, fit trickle vents to windows. And if they do not have them get thermal linings for your curtains. When closed at night the combination of curtains and vents helps keep windows clear.

[Kaz]

Agreeing with you Frank, Weka you need more ventilation around the house

[Gal]

Gal, could it be that you're holding it at the wrong angle; I'd have thought only that the softer rubber strip would prevent any streaks?

Ria have tried holding it every which way but it always leaves lines. Honestly it's easier to use the shower squeejee and wipe the water off with a dry cloth at the end. Shame as I always fancied the Karcher....

[Weka]

It's a living in Auckland thing. We are a subtropical climate which means humidity. So there's s lot of water in the air naturally. We have put a film on our bedroom windows as a trial and that seems to have helped, we haven't had any puddles on the window sills this year. But then the kids Windows have also not been as bad either this year. It's been a very mild wet winter this year.
All of our curtains are big thermal lined curtains and downstairs is floor to ceiling. Our ceiling and walls are insulated, (our other house only ceiling and under floor, and that house suffers worse)

We can get an HRV or a DVS system here which takes air from your ceilings and pushes it into your house. It would be ideal for our other house, and a neighbor house has it that is dames age and style as that house, and it made a massive difference, so we are saving for one there, only we had to replace the roof there last year. The systems are around $5000. It wouldn't work in our house apparently as we are 2 storied.

We tried to start replacing Windows with double glazing when we redid the bathroom downstairs, only to discover the numpties who built this place put the windows in first and then did the brickwork, so we couldn't get the windows out, and the new windows would have to be even smaller to get back in, and by the time you add in the frame the window should look silly small.

I like the idea of the trickle vents, we did find one place here that could install them at the top of your window, I can't remember why we didn't go ahead though.

We've put fans in the bathrooms and mostly (except for the last couple of weeks) shower with the windows open (well it is the middle of winter!) There's 2 openings in the shower box and a fan.

We have a rangehood above the stove and that gets rid of slot of cooking steam. The dryer is essentially in the garage with a vent outside. And the washing machine is out there too.

We have one big room we don't use. It's permanently closed, curtains too, and those Windows I also have to wipe (when I remember)

Our house is big. And to do things like those ventilation systems properly, the $s add up pretty quick. Which we don't have much of at the moment.

But there must be something else we can do cheaply that will make a difference.

Forgot to add I'm home most of the day so usually have the windows open unless it's raining.

Whops not only have I hijacked a thread, it's a long post too! Sorry.

[Kaz]

Just open windows when you can, that will help a lot. Modern houses seal up so tight!

[Workingman]

Weka, I don't think Ria will mind the threadjack.

The film stops condensation because it provides a barrier between the warm air and the cold glass, so no heat-sink can form, but it does not solve the problem of water vapour in the atmosphere.

The trickle vents work because they are circulating new air in, but they only work locally at the window. Air bricks in the outer walls will do a similar job, but on a larger scale. They might not cost so much.

When I worked in the ME, also high humidity, nearly everyone had portable dehumidifiers, about 5L capacity, dotted around their homes and offices. Not only did they make the air drier they also circulated it, which appears to be one of your main problems. Over here we can get ones taking 1L of water from the air for about £60 ($NZ100). They only use about 25W of electricity so might be worth a shot.

[Weka]

We have a dehumidifier. In our other house it makes a massive difference, and you have to empty it twice a day. In this house it runs a week before it gets enough to be bothered emptying, so it's sat in the cupboard for 2 years.

I'd give it to our tenants to use, only if I did and it broke id be legally required to replace it, and this one cost us an eye watering $1500 back in the day. I know they are cheaper now.... But still...