The windows of your home are a portal to the outdoors, a way to let light in when you take in the view of your garden, yard or other surroundings. The last thing you want to see is a sweaty window covered in a coating of condensation.
Not only are windows covered in condensation unattractive, they also can be evidence of a more serious air-quality deficit within your home. Fortunately, there’s numerous things you can attempt to address the problem.
What Produces Sweating along Windows
Condensation on the interior of windows is created by the damp warm air throughout your home mixing with the colder surface of your windows. It’s especially common around the winter when it’s much cooler outside than it is inside your home.
Inside Moisture vs. In Between Panes
When talking about condensation, it’s important to understand the distinction between moisture on the inside of your windows in comparison to moisture in between the windowpanes. One is an air-quality issue and the other is a window issue.
- Moisture on the inside of a window is produced from the warm humid air inside your home forming against the glass.
- Existing moisture you notice between windowpanes is formed when the window seal fails and moisture seeps between the two panes of glass, and at that point the window has to be repaired or replaced.
- Condensation inside the windows isn’t a window problem and can instead be fixed by changing the humidity in your home. Different things cause humidity in a home, like showers, cooking, taking a bath or even breathing.
Why Indoor Sweating on Windows Can Be a Problem
Although you might consider condensation inside your windows is a cosmetic concern, it could also be indicating your home has higher humidity. If this is in fact the case, water might also be condensing on window frames, cold walls or other surfaces. Even a slim film of water can encourage wood surfaces to mildew or rot over time, increasing the growth of mildew or mold.
How to Reduce Humidity Inside Your Home
Fortunately there are several options for removing moisture from the air inside your home.
If you have a humidifier active inside your home – whether it be a smaller unit or a whole-house humidifier – lower it further so the humidity inside your home comes down.
If you don’t have a humidifier going and your home’s humidity level is higher than you prefer, think about getting a dehumidifier. While humidifiers introduces moisture inside your home so the air doesn’t dry out, a dehumidifier pulls excess moisture out of the air.
Compact, portable dehumidifiers can absorb the water from one room. However, those units require emptying water trays and most often service a small area. A whole-house dehumidifier will eliminate moisture from your entire home.
Whole-house dehumidifier systems are controlled by a humidistat, which enables you to specify a humidity level just like you would select a temperature on your thermostat. The unit will start automatically when the humidity level surpasses the set level. These systems work with your home’s HVAC system, so you will receive the best results if you contact qualified professionals for whole-house dehumidifier installation Hodgenville.
Other Ways to Lower Condensation on Windows
- Exhaust fans. Adding exhaust fans around humidity hotspots including the bathroom, laundry room or above the kitchen range can help by extracting the warm, humid air from these areas out of your home before it can elevate the humidity level across your home.
- Ceiling fans. Running ceiling fans can also keep air circulating inside the home so humid air doesn’t get caught up in one area.
- Opening your window treatments. Opening the blinds or drapes can lower condensation by stopping the warm air from being caught against the windowpane.
By lowering humidity across your home and dispersing air throughout your home, you can make the most of clear, moisture-free windows even in the winter.