high indoor humidity

redvetracr

redvetracr

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Location
midwestern USA
it just started getting cold outside and we already have moisture (water) on the inside of all our windows, even the brand new bay window and back door glass but nothing on the sidelights of the new fiberglass front door....anyone else have this problem and what did you do to cure it? (besides moving). house is about 30 years old...68-70* inside and 20-25* outside, also have an old dehumidifier running in the basement from 7pm to 7am every night...thanks in advance.
 
Do you have a humidifier built into the furnace?? if you do turn it down,i have one on mine and when i get water on the inside of the windows i just turn it down and the problem goes away.
 
redvetracr said:
...68-70* inside and 20-25* outside
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Damn, You wear coats inside. :amazed:

I guess you don't have forced air heat.
Back when I lived in the Arctic, we had electric heat and had the same problem. Triple storm windows and a big dehumidifier.

With forced air heat, it made it so dry, you needed a humidifier.
 
I just had a new furnace (gas fired High efficency) installed. They put a humidifier on it that's all controlled thru the "stat". It's set for 50% and no problem so far. But the windows are all sealed up nice and tight too. No leaks. THat may be where your problem is- air leaking around the windows. That'd explain why the new front door is dry.
 
Dehumidifier in the basement?? any evidence on the block walls from moisture/condensation?? how about if it's finished, any water stains/discolorations along the baseboards??

I suspect you have some gutter drainage problems, and/or maybe a land grading issue with the soil has sunk/settled into being lower around from when the house was built...so you get water into the walls, and they weep/seep/damp all the time, all the shit in the world applied to the block does almost nothing.....you simply have to backfill the land to grade away from the house, and get them damn gutters drain well away from the foundation....

fought that shit too many times, and I always have cured the problem....:trumpet:

only one other possiblility you have high groundwater....
it CAN happen, but rare...
 
poured concrete walls with no staining

had a new back door (with a window) and a bay window installed in the kitchen also, both wet. I caulked up all the windows in the house with that stuff from DAP that peels off....
 
Simply stated, the inside glass surface has reached the "dew point" for your inside humidity/temperature level.
1)Raise the glass temp. IE, dual panes.
2)Raise the dew point. IE, More heat/dehumidification.

I suspect that moisture is intruding faster than the dehumidifier can remove it.

I'm so glad I don't have to deal with this shit.:sweat:
 
even the brand new bay window and back door glass but nothing on the sidelights of the new fiberglass front door

Are the brand new bay window and back door glass insulated (dual pane)?
 
Like Bird said the glass is too cold vs the inside heat.
You have too much humidity inside the house. Get rid of it.

Not much you can do in the cold weather to fix it.

Use the dehumidifier in the living quarters and consider getting a bigger/better one. Get humidity down to at least 30%.
A/C is the best dehumidifier and we get out around 20 gal/day water down here but that won't work in cold weather up there. We have the same sweating problems when someone cranks the air down to 65° and the ambient is 95° with 90% humidity, but it clears up here once the a/c sucks all the moisture out.

It is cheaper to heat dry air than humid air.

Power vent attic, showers, cooking.

Try a test, if possible by taping some heavy visqeen to the outside of the windows in 1 bedroom as airtight as possible. That should raise the inside glass temp to overrcome the dew point.

Your new entrance door sidelites are just better units than the bay window etc. Test the glass temp with your IR gun.

Your last concern is mold growth and rot. Be aware that the white colored stuff that looks like dust is more dangerous than the common green stuff.

Here is the best caulk I have ever found. Lasts forever.
http://www.npcsealants.com/900.htm


It was 59° here overnite and I'm pissed because I had to wear long pants this morning. :eek:
 
redvetracr said:
yes to the natural gas fired (high efficiency) forced air furnace...NO to the humidifier....
Click to expand...

I would think you have a combination of things leading to the problem.You just have too much moisture staying inside,not able to get out.
You need to use a bathroom vent that is vented outside for the steam from showers and a range hood that is vented outside for the steam from cooking.You probably have these but they need to vent outside and you need to provide a path for air to come in as they are forcing air out.If the air path out is not there then they are not removing much and the moist air and that moist air is just settling into the carpet and walls and such and then released slowly back into the air in the house.
High efficiency furnace could be adding to your problem.Older furnaces used to use the air in the house for combustion which air going up the flue meant fresh air had to come in around the windows and doors.So since the HEF uses outside air it doesnt help with the circulation of fresh air.Sorta like in your car in the winter when you close the recirc door, the car is warm but moist.You have to run the compressor or open the recirc door to allow fresh air in.
You said you have a dehumidifier in the basement.Is the air in the basement tied in with the upstairs air? If not the dehumidifier is just taking care of the basement. If the air is tied together you can try opening more vents in the basement so more moist air is circulated to the basement so the humidifier can take care of it.You can in the short term and to speed up the process of using the basement to help dehumidify leave the fan in the furnace on ON and not on auto to keep up the flow of air to the basement humidifier.
Also check and see if the HEF has some kind of an adjustment to add in house air for combustion.Beyond that you might need to add in some kind of controlled air injection to the house.
Your clothes dryer usually forces the air outside, make sure it is vented good.The dryer needs fresh air also, make sure its not getting its air it needs from the furnace flue-if it is it could be drawing carbon monoxide back in the house.Also check the water heater if its gas-old gas water heaters also used to pull in fresh air but not the new ones so much and 0 fresh air if they are electric.
With new windows and HE systems houses are lacking for fresh air unless fresh air was considered by the installers.
In my house I have a reverse flapper like is on your dryer to take air in every time one of the bathroom or kitchen fans are turned on.And since I have an older gas furnace and water heater you can see the flap open when ever they ignite and start moving air up the chimney.Hope this helps.
 
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I would call in a Heating & Air company and ask for a complimentary survey of your problem. Also have an insulation company to take a look. Maybe 1 of the 2 might have a IR camera to take a look to identify the problem. IR gun on glass will not work. IR can not pass through glass, it only refects. Humidity during the winter sounds very strange. Take a look at your weather channel for humidity. It's probably less than 30% this time of year. Due you have any air seeping around your windows & door that you can feel. Bird sounds right about the dew point. Somethings not right.
 
Check the vent pipe on the furnace. I had a problem with all the windows steaming up one time. Finally checked the chimney. Took out one large garbage bag's worth of bird's nest including a couple dead birds. Don't know why we all didn't die from carbon monoxide poisening.
 
Hey, who said you could come to AZ????

Like in the last two weeks this little sh!t hole of a town has exploded with you snow birds,,, last year there was around seventy thousands and this year mayby more,, there's plenty of room to stay out on the desert, BLM land and they charge 180.00 for the season, are you rigged up to stay there? or are you going to hag in a RV park? Come on out and help me finish the 76.
 
I remember why my car windows would fog up on cold winter nights,, when I was a young man,,,

Cherry,, here in NC we have halfbacks. Snowbird that where going to FL till it got to far to go, now they are half way back spending the winter NC,,,,,,

Howard, I dont have a answer for you windows.
 
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