window air vents

[cecil39]

I have double glazed windows with no air vents, there is so much condensation on the insides of the bedroom windows its like fog and i have to wipe them down every morning, if i don't the edges soon get milldewed, so i wondered if i can have air vents put in, and would it solve the problem, i can't afford to change the windows.

[carrust]

Are your windows UPVC?

[cecil39]

yes they are, and about ten years old.

[AlBags]

They can't realistically be retro-fitted to GD panel frames.
Better off trying heavy-weight fabric for curtains, or find a way of moving air around near window.

[carrust]

If they were wood you could have fitted trickle vents to them. Not sure if you can do it with plastic.

[AlBags]

It would be a DIY 'trial and error' thing to do it.

[ladybirder]

I'd buy a dehumidifier if there is no other way resolve the problem.

[carrust]

Found thishttp://www.mybuilder.com/ask-a-tradesman/
v/153/retro-fitting-trickle-vents-to-upvc-win
dows

Looks like albags is correct in what he says.

[AlBags]

(and that was without looking!) : )

[sunny-dave]

Leave a small window slightly open overnight ?

Leave the bedroom door open ?

[carrust]

I missed out "for once" at the end of my post :-)))

[AlBags]

rrrrrright : )

[bake-me]

My dad once bought some aluminium stick things that were filled with silica gel (the stuff you get in the boxes of electrical goods) and had small holes in. He put them on the window sill so they would absorb the moisture and they worked pretty well. He just put them in the airing cupboard to dry them out again. Not sure you can still buy them, I havn't checked. Alternatively, is it not cheaper to get an air vent installed in the wall. That should get some air flow into the room. Good luck!

[cecil39]

thanks everyone, i did get a dehumidifier but my oh says it keeps him awake (although i can't hear it) and he says the same about the open window, we can lock them just a tiny way open but he still complains about outside noise, i think i will have to go to the maker and enquire, i think they still exist.

[Gizmonster]

Condensation is formed by warm moist air coming into contact with a cold surface and condensing (alot more to it - but this is it in a nutshell) ..... so the ways to remedy this are:

1. Don't have any cold surfaces for condensation to form. The double glazed units are obviously not very effective - replacing them with the new K-glass might help. It's surprising what a difference this makes - we had a blown double glazed unit in our 3-paned bay window, so we replaced the faulty unit with K-glass. On the next cold morning there was hardly any condensation on the new glass and quite a bit on the other 2 (prob half the window was covered) - we replaced the other 2 panes not long after.

2. Reduce the temperature inside your house - not really an option to be honest.

3. Reduce the amount of moisture in the air in your house by either keeping windows open, or by investing in a decent de-humidifer, as ladybirder suggested (this is the one I'd go with if I was you). We have 2 dehunidifiers in our house and you honestly wouldn't believe how much water they pull out. You're prob looking at £100+ for a decent one, but I can assure you, it'll be worth it - and they don't cost much to run as well.

[bookbinder]

My wife and I live in a bungalow (built 1994) that has the original wooden window frames, every one of them with a trickle vent at the top (with double glazing). In the cold season, we get condensation on the window of the bedroom that we use. The condensation begins to appear almost as soon as the sun sets, well before we get in there. Last autumn I cut up an old towel to make strips, which I place on the affected window frames (at the lower edge of the glass) every evening. These don't prevent condensation, they just stop pools of water forming on the window sill. Putting them on is a bit faffy, but it keeps the worst of the moisture off the window frame.

[The Builder]

........... or ................ fit a vent in the ceiling over the window, and duct it through the roof or into the soffit (flat bit outside the window just behind the fascia board)