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How to Prevent Condensation on Windows


With a Dehumidifier

Toasty radiators and chilly weather are a recipe for window condensation, which can lead to a living environment teeming with damp and mould.

Read on to find out how to prevent window condensation with a dehumidifier.

How Condensation Forms on Windows

A hand draws a question mark in window condensation

Condensation forms on the inside of windows when warm water vapour hits the cold glass surface. This extra moisture is bad news for your home environment, as it can cause dampness and mould. Water can drip from your windows onto the window sill, which could cause wood rot if left wet for long periods of time.

Condensation forms on windows most often at nighttime because that’s when temperatures plummet; leading to not-so-good mornings. As you might expect, this is also why condensation is most present in the colder months of the tail-end of autumn, winter and the start of spring.

Day-to-day activities like cooking and cleaning generate water vapour. This steam immediately seeks out a cold surface and turns to liquid on contact. This results in damp walls and ceilings, especially in the colder months, if not controlled through ventilation or humidity management.

Understanding Relative Humidity to Reduce Condensation on Windows

Relative humidity is a measurement of the amount of water vapour currently in the environment divided by the amount necessary for total saturation. So if you imagine your living room as a box which can hold 10 litres of water. If you fill it with 5 litres of water, the room will be 50% filled, or 50% RH. As the relative humidity of a room increases, it gets wetter and wetter, which is bad news for your health, comfort, home and belongings. The more water vapour present, the more condensation in your home.

Knowing the relative humidity of each room in your home is the first step to controlling it.

A hygrometer (or humidistat) is a great tool to keep track of the relative humidity in your home. It is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to find out the reactive humidity of your home at a glance. Find out more about hygrometers here.

How to Reduce Condensation on Windows

The less insulated the windows, the higher the risk of condensation. Single-skin windows in older homes are most vulnerable, so double-glazing or even triple-glazing is a great choice to ensure that no heat escapes from your home. Each extra pane of glass forms a layer of insulation to keep the cold out. Your home will be more energy efficient, as the warmer windows will ensure that your central heating system won’t have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable temperature. However, rising costs mean that this is not always financially viable, especially when it’s time to upgrade the whole home.

As well as upgrading your windows, ventilation is key. The aim of the game here is to remove the warm air and replace it with cool, dry air from outside. As well as removing moisture, ventilation helps to remove smoke, pet, food and people odours, as well as indoor pollutants like aerosol sprays or paint fumes. Regular ventilation also removes Co2 from the environment, and replaces it with oxygen, for a healthier living space. The best time to take advantage of clean outdoor air in the mornings or evenings.

However, make sure to turn off the central heating before opening your windows, or that money is literally going to go out of the window.

Ensure you open your windows for 15 minutes or so each day to ensure your home has lots of fresh air. But this isn’t the only reason to ventilate regularly and reduce condensation.

Dehumidifiers: The Best Way to Reduce Condensation on Windows

How Do Dehumidifiers Work?

Condensing dehumidifiers draw in humid air and expel dry air. They achieve this by chilling the humid air through a cold evaporator coil that causes it to condense into a drip tray. The dried air is warmed and released back into the home. This means that dehumidifiers make your home slightly warmer. Also because dry air requires less energy to heat than moist air, you'll need slightly less energy to maintain a warm home.

The Dryzone Dehumidifier & Air Purifier is a combination condensing dehumidifier and air purifier. First, the in-built Air Purifier filters humid air through a medical-grade H13 HEPA filter, before sending it to the refrigeration coil for dehumidification. Even when not actively dehumidifying, the Dryzone Dehumidifier & Air Purifier continues to purify the air.

It is capable of drawing 12 litres of moisture from the air every 24 hours and includes a smart tech humidity monitor to track the humidity of your home.

Don’t worry about when to switch your dehumidifier on and off - this smart device tracks the current humidity level of your home and ensures it is always within the comfortable levels of 55-65% RH. By only dehumidifying when a room genuinely requires it, the Dryzone Dehumidifier & Air Purifier helps to save energy.

By accurately managing the humidity of your home, the dehumidifier removes water from the air before it can condense on your bedroom and living room windows. You’ll wake up with a perfect view of the world outside, free from condensation, and hopefully you'll save a little money on your energy bills too!

Get it Done

Dryzone Dehumidifier & Air Purifier 2-in-1 Dryzone Dehumidifier & Air Purifier for mould prevention, allergen removal with HEPA filtration & energy-efficient clothes drying.
£179.99
Dryzone Mould Removal & Prevention Kit Dryzone Mould Removal and Prevention Kit contains everything you need to eliminate mould and mildew and keep it away.
£24.98
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