Got That Soggy Feeling?

Have you noticed condensation lately? Do you have fog that suddenly appears in cold
weather on the glass of windows and patio doors? Are the kids, or you for that matter,
drawing pictures on the windows? Fog can block out the view, drip on the floor and
freeze on the glass. It can be very annoying.

While it may seem natural to blame the windows, you shouldn’t. Unless you have older
windows that leak quite a bit of air, window condensation is usually an indication of
excess humidity in your home. The glass simply provides a surface on which the
moisture condenses visibly. The important thing to realize is that if excessive humidity is
causing window condensation, it could also be causing problems, sometimes hidden,
elsewhere in your home. Problems like peeling paint, rotting wood, buckling floors,
deteriorating insulation, mildew, even moisture spots on ceilings and walls. While foggy
windows and patio doors may be annoying, they are really warning signs that humidity
could be damaging your home.

Where does the moisture come from?

There are many things that generate indoor moisture. The normal perspiration and
breathing of a family of four add half a pint of water to the air every hour. Cooking three
meals a day adds four or five pints of water to the air. Each shower contributes another
half-pint. In fact, every activity that uses water (like dishwashing, mopping floors, doing
laundry) adds moisture to the air. The truth is, daily living activities of a family of four
can add more than 18 gallons of water a week to the air in their home. Plants and fish
aquariums are also a significant source of humidity. And the more water vapor in the air,
the higher the relative indoor humidity.

What to do?

Although it’s oh so tempting to quit cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry, never take
a shower, quit breathing and sell the kids, there are other alternatives that have been
found to be very effective. Your first step is to control the sources of humidity.

• Vent all gas burners, clothes dryers, etc. to the outdoors.

• Install exhaust fans rated at a minimum of 300 cfm in the kitchen and 70 cfm in
the bathrooms. (And don’t forget to USE THEM!)

• Make sure exhaust fans are vented to the outside and not just into the attic.

• Check that your crawlspace has a proper vapor barrier such as polyethylene film
on the ground to prevent moisture leakage into the house above.

Reducing excessive humidity reduces maintenance and will add to the lifespan of your
home. If your windows are truly deficient, the only remedy is probably to consider
replacing them with new units utilizing the latest technology. 21st century windows have
come along way since the old onion paper stretched over the opening in the log cabin on
the prairie . . . way back when.

 

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