Worried about condensation on the inside of your windows of your Kansas City or Overland Park home? Top Cleaning KC is here to help. Read on to get our expert take on interior window condensation: How it happens, what it means, and what you can do about it.
Any Kansas City window cleaner can tell you this, but we have some pretty harsh winters. Interior window condensation becomes more common in winter when outdoor temperatures go down. As a homeowner, you're probably not pleased to see water drops appear on your windows on a chilly day. Make sure you know why condensation happens and the possible risks it poses. Condensation can be more than a nuisance! Understand why and learn what you can do to prevent it. The science behind condensation isn't hard to understand. When humid air hits a cold surface, the water vapor suspended in it turns back into a liquid. It's the same process that makes the outside of a cold drink get "sweaty" on a hot summer day. When it's wintertime and the air inside your home is much warmer and more humid than the air outside, a cold plate of window glass can turn into a perfect target for condensation. In most cases, window condensation is not a serious problem. Any activity you do inside that raises the heat and humidity of your indoor air is prone to cause condensation. Basic examples include bathing, cooking, or hosting a party (bringing in lots more body heat). A quick drop in outside temperature can also make condensation more likely. This sort of circumstantial condensation is no reason to get worried, especially if it dissipates quickly. When you call our window cleaners in Overland Park, they'll do an inspection and tell you what the problem is. It's when condensation happens all the time and sticks around that it becomes a potential problem. The danger here is that recurring condensation can drip down and cause significant water damage over time. Parts of your home that can be put at risk by recurrent interior window condensation include the seals around the window, the window frame, and even the structural members in the wall beneath. If it's severe and frequent enough, window condensation can cause rot and mold to fester inside your walls. Condensation that appears between the panes of double-pane windows may indicate that an important seal in the window has broken. Other signs of significant damage to watch out for are paint peeling beneath your windows or musty smells coming from those parts of your walls. To cut down on wintertime condensation, you can take a range of steps from the trivially easy to the very thorough. Here are some key tips: * Turn on the exhaust fans (if you have them) whenever you cook in your kitchen, bathe in your bathroom, or run the appliances in your laundry room. * Keep curtains & blinds open to allow more airflow across your windows. * Use a de-humidifier. * Always use a vent with gas fireplaces. If you can't, set firm limits on how long you use them. * Install double-pane windows in place of single-pane windows. * Install storm windows. These may collect condensation themselves, but they'll keep it outside your home and make it much less likely on your interior windows. |
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