Condensation problem with cupboards and door!

[charlibos]

Hi,

I live in crete, near the sea and I'm having problems with condensation in one of my bedrooms!

The door to the balcony is aluminium which now it is getting colder is doing no favours but I always seem to have wet cupboard doors and wet on the bedroom door! What can I do to stop this? My other bedroom which has exactly the same type of doors has no problem at all!

A couple of people have suggested leaving the balcony door slightly ajar but this hasn't helped and with the winter arriving I want to try to keep as much heat in!

Please help am at wit ends!

 

[JohnD]

it is probably condensation.

Tightly tape a piece of clear plastic to the wall and door that are getting wet, see if the moisture forms on the outside. If so it is condensation.

The answers are (1) reduce the amount of moisture in the air, e.g. by not draping wet clothes about, or mending water leaks in roof or plumbing, and (2) increase the ventilation to remove water vapour, e.g. by running the extractor fan during and after baths and showers or cooking

I would hope your patio doors have a trickle vent facility

If the two rooms are otherwise exactly identical, it might be a water leak, possibly in the wall or floor where you can't see it, or some other moisture-producing activity in the room. People breathing and sweating produce moisture.

The most awful damp and condensation is caused by people who insist on drying their wet washing indoors.

//www.diynot.com/wiki/building:condensation_in_houses

 

[PerryOne]

Perhaps you will clarify things for me?
You write, the door to the outside is aluminium, but do not say if it has running condensation on the inside?
Then you write, you have wet cupboard doors?

If this was a normal high water vapour situation, with condensation I would expect you to write that the aluminium door had heavy condensation on the windows and frame and the back wall of the cupboard is damp.

The bedroom door being damp is another puzzle?
Is it damp on the bedroom side, suggesting the other side is very cold, or damp on the hall side suggesting the bedroom is very cold.

If the bedroom is very cold, then why would there be any condensation?

Condensation only forms when hot or warm air that is saturated with water is suddenly chilled causing the water vapour to migrate to the nearest cold surface.

 

[charlibos]

Hi, thank you for your replies.

Yes the aluminium door does get condensation on it.

We had a problem with the flat roof last year but thought all had been fixed. The water on the cupboard and the bedroom door is more like a vapour. There is nothing above this bedroom only the flat roof where as the other bedroom has a store cupboard above. There is condensation on the inside of the bedroom door and the outside.

The cupboard doors only have condensation on the outside.

I haven't turned the heating yet on in the house as it hasn't started to get really cold yet! Its averaging on 20c inside usually!

No clothes are dryed in this room and the room is vented but still the condensation remains!

 

[PerryOne]

This is perhaps condensation up to a point, in as much as, we all breath and sweat up to 2.5 litres per 24 hours.
Overnight we produce 330 ml of water vapour just controlling our sleeping temperature.
In the normal way, this water vapour is held in the air and gradually with doors being opened, normal ventilation,absorbsion into the fabric of ones home, it disperses and isn't a problem.
What we appear to have here, is that the natural drop in temperature overnight, is causing the water vapour in the air to condense onto the cold surfaces in the room.
The usual solution is to recomend opening a window during the night and letting the humidity escape to the outside, as the outside is nearly always drier than indoors.
Alternatives, are use an electric fire attached to a humidistat, the humidistat will turn the fire on and raise the air temperature in the room sufficient to hold the water vapour. But not warm the room as such.
Or buy and use a de-humidifier to dry the air. Problem with this is de-humidifiers make a noise and will probably keep you awake.
Or leave the bedroom door open, where the humidity will dispearse throughout the home and thereby become less noticeable.
Use the de-humidifier and leave the door open, the de-humidifier can then be placed as far away from the bedroom as possible, lowering the noise level and soaking up any extra water vapour in the home.
This latter proposeal will reduce the overall level of moisture in the home and make it a lot nicer to live in and will reduce your heating costs when you do turn the heating on, as dry air is cheaper to heat than wet air.