Are you experiencing a lot of water condensation and ice on the inside of your windows? If so, this is not the result of a problem with your windows, it's simply an indication that the humidity level inside your home is too high and that you need to take some corrective actions.
If the humidity level is kept too high for an extended period of time, it can lead to soggy and ineffective insulation in the walls and ceilings and eventually to drywall damage, mold and mildew.
The humidity inside your home can come from multiple sources, such as bathroom showers, cooking and humidifiers. Running your bathroom exhaust fan will quickly lower the indoor humidity caused by the first two sources, but not the humidity created by a humidifier.
If you have a humidifier on your furnace, you need to lower the setting on its humidistat whenever the weather gets colder. When the outdoor temperatures drop below zero degrees Fahrenheit, your indoor humidity level should be kept in the 20 to 25% range. If the humidity level is allowed to go above 30%, you will get condensation on the inside of the windows and possibly also in the insulation. When the temperature goes back up into the 20s, you can adjust the humidistat higher to safely maintain a higher humidity level in the 30 to 35% range. But if you fail to lower your humidistat when the next cold front comes through, the humidifier will keep on pumping out moisture at levels that will cause condensation and possible damage to your walls and insulation.
Another thing to keep an eye on is the outside air supply to your furnace air-return duct. When your furnace runs, this
arrangement draws some drier outside air into the return duct of your
furnace. Here at the Manors, the air supply opening looks like a clothes dryer vent (but without the flapper) and it is located at the rear of your unit where the air conditioner piping emerges from the brick wall. Make sure that the air supply is not blocked or covered by snow so that it can do its part to reduce the humidity level in your home.
Once you have adjusted the humidistat setting, you can get rid of the window condensation by opening the curtains and drapes to increase air circulation around windows. You can also direct the warm-air supply ducts toward windows, run your ceiling fans and/or use a floor fan for increased air circulation at the windows.
For more information, please read "Fogged Up? Clearing the Air About Window Condensation".
