Condensation - the old chestnut

Discussion in 'Eco Talk' started by Pinteater, Nov 11, 2015.

  1. Pinteater

    Pinteater Member

    Let me have more details. Let's take this off-forum. email me please at: ennaress@live.co.uk
     
  2. Pin, you can privately message peeps on here - safer than putting your email addy where everyone can see it. Lots of weirdos on here, y'know...

    See 'inbox' in the top right corner.
     
  3. Jitender

    Jitender Screwfix Select

    Last edited: Nov 19, 2015
  4. Jitender

    Jitender Screwfix Select

  5. Bob Rathbone

    Bob Rathbone Screwfix Select

    Our cold tends to be a wet cold, where in the Scandewegian countries the outside air is so cold that all of the moisture fall out as small pretty ice crystals. So the air inside is dry to begin with and it will soak up much more water before it becomes saturated and the water condenses. They also know how to build houses in Northern Europe.
     
    Deleted member 33931 likes this.
  6. I didn't know that :)
     
  7. Mr Rusty

    Mr Rusty Screwfix Select

    Exactly. was just going to write the same thing. Air in cold climes is very dry, so the condensation that peeps produce in their houses probably isn't enough to load the air with water vapour enough to continually hit the dew point.

    As an aside, (very) many years ago I stopped off in Anchorage airport, Alaska, en-route to joining a ship in Japan. The air was so dry, that if you shuffled your feet around on the carpet in the terminal you could charge yourself up with so much static, that couldn't escape into the dry air, you could get 1" sparks off the end of your fingers onto metal parts and/or unsuspecting people. :D:D
     
  8. c0d3r

    c0d3r Member

    As above, the further north, the less wet, in fact our pine trees are a poorer quality wood because its more moist here in the UK, but most people will have see this effect especially during a cold spell when a puddle freezes into ice and then slowly the ice disappears.

    Only other difference in properties which might also contribute to condensation, is here in the UK we insist on putting radiators under windows wheres as a typically Scandi house has a sauna in the centre of the house which radiates the heat out. You might get different results with underfloor heating ie less condensation, but then bugs can thrive more in the heat on the floor and may become airborne more easily having been walked into the house. So like everything in life, there's always side effects which perhaps shouldnt be ignored.

    Only other thing I would add which is perhaps relevant to condensation on windows, if you want to be refreshed in the morning and not wake up stuffy nosed or groggy, have enough air flow in the bedroom to keep the CO2 levels below 700parts per million. Studies have shown when CO2 levels rise in a bedroom our mental and physical abilities decline along with an increased likelyhood of waking up groggy headed and/or with a stuffy nose, which makes me wonder how the Scandi's keep their CO2 levels down when asleep considering their typical house setup even includes triple glazing.
     
  9. Wayners

    Wayners Screwfix Select

    I have a bathroom in the center of the bungalow with loft conversion, as I extended. No window or vent. There is an extractor but not always on because of noise late at night. I have no problem with condensation because all the walls are insulated and the ceiling above has 300mm of rock wool in void with bedroom above. Dose get steam and wet walls but all gone in under 30mins. No mould either and I painted it last in 2007 when I did building work. Insulation is the key to stopping condensation but not really possible in every house
     
  10. c0d3r

    c0d3r Member

    Yeah the temperature gradient between air and surface will also help condensation to build up on the surface without a doubt, just like about a 1 deg C difference between the road surface temp and air temp just above the road can cause a heat haze which helps reduce the accuracy of laser speed reading devices used by the Police & camera vans because the light is altered as noted by the wibbly wobbly mirage effect road users may have seen.

    I think teachers & parents could sell physics to the unruly kids more easily if they explained how their education could help them avoid speeding tickets later on in adulthood which might be more appealing.
     
  11. Pollowick

    Pollowick Screwfix Select


    Why do you keep going round digging up old posts that have after been answered and posting reams of absolute twaddle, probably copied from elsewhere.
     
  12. Bob Rathbone

    Bob Rathbone Screwfix Select

    As others have said, get a dehumidifier, but don't expect immediate results as all of the flat and it's contents are damp, probably holding upwards of 20 litres of water. The dehumidifier will work great for the first 2 weeks pulling out lots of water, then as the flat dries out, less water will be collected. Move the unit from room to room when you find the water collection rate drops. Don't stop using it when the water collected appears to be minimum. In the summer months open the windows and ventilate the flat to outside air as much as possible, that is free to use.
     

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