Condensation in house

stiofan85

I have similar issues to the OP. Insulated and installed good windows and in the bedroom I have some condensation on these cold mornings. I think it is due to the blinds being very close to the window not allowing air to get in and clear the condensation. Have a passive vent on the other side of the room but I don't think that air can get to it.

I open the window in the morning and leave it open for the day and that solves it. Sometimes I get paranoid about the condensation and put the windows into a type of trickle vent position at night where they are open a few mm but locked in place. I don't do it during this very cold spell as I sleep beside the window and can feel the cold air coming in. Window open during the day has solved it pretty much entirely.

I might try to move the blind out from the window at some point.

Oh..and I use a dehumidifier in the kitchen at night to dry clothes. Works well there...but I find opening a window upstairs is easier than hauling the dehumidifier upstairs, plugging it in, moving it back downstairs to do the clothes a bit of a pain. Opening a window is pretty straight forward and as I'm not there during the day the cold air doesn't bother me.

muffler

I'll leave Enda to his immature and childish misquoting and promoting of his product.

Good luck to the OP, I hope you get sorted.

listermint

EndaHonesty wrote: »

All that and you haven't offered one solid solution to the OP's problem and topic of the thread.

The problem is most likely human activity, you've admitted that yourself, it's unlikely to be an inherent fault with the house.

The solution is a dehumidifier, it's as simple as that.

WRONG!

EndaHonesty wrote: »

I speak as someone who has had similar issues and used a dehumidifier to solve them.
I have nothing to gain from sharing my experience and giving this advice based on that experience. I know they work.

Do you have any helpful advice for the OP beyond "dehumidifiers won't work" and "add more vents"?

Yes he needs to reestablish the vents that were covered over.

'Its as simple as that'

Your short term little moveable box is not solving the problem.

'end of'

august12

whitelightrider wrote:

Are these hard to fit? I can get in touch with Grady Joinery who fitted our double glazed windows to make sure they can be drilled into.

I think you may lose the warranty if you do this, check with the window company who installed them.

whitelightrider

Thanks folks for all the good advice, and apologies for opening a can of worms!

I think the easiest option for all rooms is to open the vents and install the vents inside. My only concern again, is the draft issue. Being on top of a hill and wide open, I dont want an issue where the rooms are cold or a gale is blowing through

EndaHonesty

listermint wrote: »

'end of'

Lol 'end of'? Get over yourself 'listermint'

More vents will not solve the problem.

In fact they will probably cause more problems.

A dehumidifier will remove the excess moisture. Guaranteed.

gctest50

listermint wrote: »

............

Your short term little moveable box is not solving the problem.

'end of'

You can get wall mounted dehumidifiers,

http://bfy.tw/FbsP


.

dathi

i know brookfield student accommodation in cork put in nuaire flatmaster positive input ventilation and a wall mounted dehumidifier in there basement flats 3 years ago when one of our kids stayed. there worked a treat together and it would keep both sides of this argument sweet for Christmas:rolleyes:

beauf

whitelightrider wrote: »

Thanks folks for all the good advice, and apologies for opening a can of worms!

I think the easiest option for all rooms is to open the vents and install the vents inside. My only concern again, is the draft issue. Being on top of a hill and wide open, I dont want an issue where the rooms are cold or a gale is blowing through

You can get vents that have a baffle.

https://www.google.ie/search?q=Air+Vent+Baffle+Anti+Draught+Cowl&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQ49C975DYAhVJAsAKHdqMDeYQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=1069

Meaning to replace mine with same.

You could get a dehumidifier as a short term solution. Then redo the vents as you get time.

I would get vents you can close though. Unless you have gas heating in which case they have to permanently open.

listermint

Some amount of unqualified nonsense being spouted in this thread. No one wants to buy your poorly built house enda.

It appears you can't it together to sort it's construction problems.

Cantona's Collars

Did anyone ask the question of a damp problem before the vents were plastered over?

Vents are a legal requirement,carbon monoxide poisoning is lethal and one cause is blocked vents where solid fuel fires are used.
I know one fella who spent a fortune on getting a stove fitted and moaned about the smoke and it not burning fuel properly. Turns out he blocked the vent in the room "as it was stupid to have a stove lighting and cold air coming in through a vent".
If you know where the vents were before your plasterer did the stupid job of covering them it'd be easy enough to cut the plaster and fit new grills and baffles.

EndaHonesty

listermint wrote: »

Some amount of unqualified nonsense being spouted in this thread. No one wants to buy your poorly built house enda.

It appears you can't it together to sort it's construction problems.

I have the dehumidifier in an apartment I own. It's vacant and it's only used by family when they visit.
The dehumidifier is running all the time and keeps it reasonably warm and damp free without any requirement for heating during the cold months.

My house is an A rated passive house and the air is handled by a MVHR so no issues with damp.

listermint

EndaHonesty wrote: »

I have the dehumidifier in an apartment I own. It's vacant and it's only used by family when they visit.
The dehumidifier is running all the time and keeps it reasonably warm and damp free without any requirement for heating during the cold months.

My house is an A rated passive house and the air is handled by a MVHR so no issues with damp.

So basically you have a great mvhr system in your home which is appropriate for that dwelling (great)

But peruse forums telling others about the virtues of dehumidifiers which are totally unsuitable for houses with damp issues .but are quite ok for apartments with small areas.

I rest my case.

Nice gaff btw .

EndaHonesty

listermint wrote: »

So basically you have a great mvhr system in your home which is appropriate for that dwelling (great)

But peruse forums telling others about the virtues of dehumidifiers which are totally unsuitable for houses with damp issues .but are quite ok for apartments with small areas.

I rest my case.

Nice gaff btw .

Why would a dehumidifier be ok for an apartment but not ok for a house?

cletus

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

Did anyone ask the question of a damp problem before the vents were plastered over?

Vents are a legal requirement,carbon monoxide poisoning is lethal and one cause is blocked vents where solid fuel fires are used.
I know one fella who spent a fortune on getting a stove fitted and moaned about the smoke and it not burning fuel properly. Turns out he blocked the vent in the room "as it was stupid to have a stove lighting and cold air coming in through a vent".
If you know where the vents were before your plasterer did the stupid job of covering them it'd be easy enough to cut the plaster and fit new grills and baffles.

I had a similarity issue in my house. Vented windows in the sitting room, but no wall vent. However, on the external wall there was a vent cover. Easy job to run a piece of 2mm rod from outside to make a hole in the plasterboard inside, giving me the location to cut for an internal vent cover.

Turns out there was no ducting put in either, so it was just venting into the wall void. Easy enough to run a length of 4" wavin, then put on a closable vent cover inside

listermint

EndaHonesty wrote: »

Why would a dehumidifier be ok for an apartment but not ok for a house?

I've found to pointless at this point explaining it


Decommission your mhvr system and throw one of your little machines in instead and see

EndaHonesty

listermint wrote: »

I've found to pointless at this point explaining it


Decommission your mhvr system and throw one of your little machines in instead and see

You haven't explained anything and you obviously don't understand how moisture in the air behaves if you think that the size of the building inhibits the effectiveness of the dehumidifier.

It's becoming more and more obvious that you know little or nothing about dehumidifiers.

All of my advice about is based on personal experience over many years and I have nothing to gain from offering it.

I'm just advocating the use of dehumidifiers because they are a beautifully simple way of removing excess moisture and improving living conditions.

gctest50

listermint wrote: »

I've found to pointless at this point explaining it


Decommission your mhvr system and

you can have both, and automate it if ya want - same as a modern car

listermint wrote: »

throw one of your little machines in instead and see

little machines makes that post look a feeble impotent effort


Anyway - no problem get permanent wall-mounted ones up to 100litres per day and more

Browse below to view our full range of domestic and commercial wall mounted fixed dehumidifiers with moisture extraction rates ranging from eight to over 100 litres per day capacity.

whitelightrider

cletus wrote: »

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

Did anyone ask the question of a damp problem before the vents were plastered over?

Vents are a legal requirement,carbon monoxide poisoning is lethal and one cause is blocked vents where solid fuel fires are used.
I know one fella who spent a fortune on getting a stove fitted and moaned about the smoke and it not burning fuel properly. Turns out he blocked the vent in the room "as it was stupid to have a stove lighting and cold air coming in through a vent".
If you know where the vents were before your plasterer did the stupid job of covering them it'd be easy enough to cut the plaster and fit new grills and baffles.

I had a similarity issue in my house. Vented windows in the sitting room, but no wall vent. However, on the external wall there was a vent cover. Easy job to run a piece of 2mm rod from outside to make a hole in the plasterboard inside, giving me the location to cut for an internal vent cover.

Turns out there was no ducting put in either, so it was just venting into the wall void. Easy enough to run a length of 4" wavin, then put on a closable vent cover inside

What kind of internal vents did you use?

listermint

EndaHonesty wrote: »

You haven't explained anything and you obviously don't understand how moisture in the air behaves if you think that the size of the building inhibits the effectiveness of the dehumidifier.

It's becoming more and more obvious that you know little or nothing about dehumidifiers.

All of my advice about is based on personal experience over many years and I have nothing to gain from offering it.

I'm just advocating the use of dehumidifiers because they are a beautifully simple way of removing excess moisture and improving living conditions.

If you believe the size of a building and its design has no impact on a dehumidifier, Then again i rest my case. forums are fantastic but they dont half give folks to state opinion as fact.

Your posts right here are a swinging indictment of that.

Anyone who takes your posts seriously in relation to resolving damp control in terms of a buildings design needs to go off and get proper advice from a qualified professional. Not an amazon dehumidifier seller.

On that note, im out because im tired of pointing out the obvious.

cletus

whitelightrider wrote: »

What kind of internal vents did you use?

https://goo.gl/images/WF8gkY

This vent cover exactly.

Cost was maybe €10-12

Wavin was free from local building site.

hatchman

If you are drying clothes inside would a normal vent be adequate to eliminate all the moisture generated ? Surely in this situation a dehumidifier would be advantageous?

whitelightrider

Are there any vents that can be closed if the air flow is too great? Like passive vents?
We've identified vents in all rooms that we're going to open, bar 2 which face into the wind. And on this hill, opening those would mean a gale going through the house

whitelightrider

Has anyone ever installed one of those Drimaster units?  Looking online and they seem to be a solution to condensation and mould in houses.

.......

This post has been deleted.

denismc

whitelightrider wrote: »

Has anyone ever installed one of those Drimaster units? Looking online and they seem to be a solution to condensation and mould in houses.

I friend of mine got one and is very pleased with it, it seems to have solved his damp problems in a very short time.
Although an engineer pointed out that this is not the best soloution in a timber framed house as you are pushing moist warm air out through the timber work, whick kinda makes sense.

Ush1

Funny the posters attacking the use of a dehumidifier are recommending "passive ventilation", essentially a hole in the wall.

Do they really think that's a solution?

From my reading on it, a dehumidifier is a decent solution if MHVR is not viable for whatever reason. At least with a dehumidifier your home retains heat and is draft free.

beauf

A dehumidifier relieves the symptoms not the problems.

So the question is why do other houses not need a dehumidifier and only some do.

listermint

Ush1 wrote: »

Funny the posters attacking the use of a dehumidifier are recommending "passive ventilation", essentially a hole in the wall.

Do they really think that's a solution?

From my reading on it, a dehumidifier is a decent solution if MHVR is not viable for whatever reason. At least with a dehumidifier your home retains heat and is draft free.

Okay we will submit to your clearly superior knowledge of not allowing fresh air into your home.

Come back in some time and give us a health report.

Ush1

listermint wrote: »

Okay we will submit to your clearly superior knowledge of not allowing fresh air into your home.

Come back in some time and give us a health report.

Allowing fresh air into your home amazingly doesn't require a permanent hole in the wall in every room.