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 landscape. The last thing you would want to see is a sweaty window coated in a layer of condensation.

Not only are windows covered in condensation unsightly, they also can be a sign of a more serious air-quality problem throughout your home. Fortunately, there’s multiple things you can do to correct the problem.

What Creates Condensation in Windows

Condensation on the interior of windows is produced by the moist warm air throughout your home reaching the colder surface of your windows. It’s particularly prevalent around the winter when it’s much chillier outside than it is inside your home.

Inside Moisture vs. In Between Panes

When discussing condensation, it’s necessary to know the difference between moisture on the inside of your windows compared to moisture in between the windowpanes. One is an air-quality issue and the other is a window issue.

  • Moisture within a window is caused from the warm moist air throughout your home collecting on the glass.
  • Existing moisture you notice between windowpanes is produced when the window seal fails and moisture seeps between the two panes of glass, and by then the window has to be repaired or replaced.
  • Condensation in the windows isn’t a window issue and can instead be solved by changing the humidity across your home. Many things produce humidity in a home, like showers, cooking, taking a bath or even breathing.

Why Condensation on Windows Could Mean a Problem

Though you might consider condensation inside your windows is a cosmetic problem, it may also be evidence your home has high humidity. If that’s the case, water might also be accumulating on window frames, cold walls or other surfaces. Even a small film of water can help wood surfaces to mildew or rot over time, promoting the growth of mildew or mold.

How to Lower Humidity Inside Your Home

The good news is there are several options for extracting moisture from the air in your home.

If you have a humidifier active in your home – whether it be a small-scale unit or a whole-house humidifier – lower it further so the humidity inside your home decreases.

If you don’t have a humidifier running and your home’s humidity level is excessive, look into getting a dehumidifier. While humidifiers adds moisture in your home so the air doesn’t dry out, a dehumidifier extracts excess moisture out of the air.

Small, portable dehumidifiers can absorb the water from an entire room. However, those units require emptying out water trays and usually service a small area. A whole-house dehumidifier will eliminate moisture throughout your entire home.

Whole-house dehumidifier systems are managed by a humidistat, which allows you to specify a humidity level the same like you would pick a temperature with your thermostat. The unit will start immediately when the humidity level exceeds the set level. These systems collaborate with your home’s HVAC system, so you should contact qualified professionals for whole-house dehumidifier installation Pacheco.

Other Ways to Eliminate Condensation on Windows

  • Exhaust fans. Adding exhaust fans around humidity hotspots such as the bathroom, laundry room or above the oven can help by drawing the warm, moist air from these spaces out of your home before it can raise the humidity level across your home.
  • Ceiling fans. Spinning ceiling fans can also keep air flowing inside the home so humid air doesn’t get caught up in one place.
  • Opening up window treatments. Opening the blinds or drapes can lower condensation by preventing the humid air from being stuck against the windowpane.

By reducing humidity in your home and dispersing air throughout your home, you can enjoy clear, moisture-free windows even in the winter.