Cold weather condensation solution?

The simplest and least expensive solution is a small dehumidifier. I own three. One for my house, one for my RV and one for my boat. They cost from about $100 and up depending on size and features and they work like a gem. Showers, cooking and even your breath can raise humidity quite high in a closed confined area. Without running the AC or furnance a small dehumidifier will dry things out nicely. Put it in the bathroom after a shower and close the door and the room will be bone dry in a couple hours max. They are no louder than a fan, and use very little electricity. Such a deal! With the very high summer humidity in Florida, I run one for a few hours several times a week and my coach never gets damp and musty while stored.

We leave both the shower vent and the potty room vent open an inch or two year round always run the shower fan while in use and a few minuets afterward run the ceiling fan year round to improve circulation. Fulltiming three years and no problem with condensation.

Hi,

To stop condensation the temperature of the surface (of glass or walls) needs to be above the dew point.

Cover the windows from the outside.

Another solution is a 4 inch strip of 1/2 inch thick Styrofoam insulation along the bottom of the windows--again on the outside. The water condenses on the glass, flows down, hits the warm glass and evaporates back into the air.

Lowering the relative humidity also helps. Open a window and place an electric heater by it. Open a roof vent.

I've used the clear heat-shrink plastic over some windows. It works perfectly, stops all condensation, except it is not very durable. But, the biggest problem is that I cannot put it on the sliding windows that I wish to open (e.g., for ventilation.)

I do ventilate, but when the outside temp is in the teens or single digits at night, I can only stand so much ventilation.

I figure the dual pane windows will be as good as the heat-shrink plastic, and probably better. Right now I've got dual pane as a "must-have" for the motorhome. I'm just wondering if I'm overlooking another workable solution.

Wayne

We have dual pane glass in our MH, and the windshield is our big problem for condensation. We do have 2 small very quiet dehumidifiers that we run. One sits on the dash behind the curtains for the windshield, and the other is in the bedroom/bathroom area. We hang all wet towels outside, we use a small squeegee on the shower to get rid of the moisture - helps keep the glass clean too.

We had very little, almost no condensation with dual pane windows and vent cracked open. The year before that with a single pane 5th wheel we had to use a dehumidifier even with a vent open. I was surprised at the big difference.

byways wrote:
Ventilate. Ventilate. Ventilate. If that doesn't work...ventilate.

Seriously, keep a window cracked so water vapor can escape. Some use dehumidifiers as well.

So are you saying he should ventilate? :h

Wayne,

The very quiet dehumidifier works great for us. Check internet for best price.

Trainer

http://www.sylvane.com/soleus-air-dp2-45-03.html

Hi--many options, but it all boils down to moving the air and ventilation. We always leave the front and rear roof vent open no matter how cold. Requires a little more heat, but lets the warm, moist air out hence controlling condensation. Covering the windows in some way (we prefer the clear plastic that shrinks with a hair dryer applied on the inside frames) helps too. Good luck!

Ventilate. Ventilate. Ventilate. If that doesn't work...ventilate.

Seriously, keep a window cracked so water vapor can escape. Some use dehumidifiers as well.