Why do plastic windows sweat and what to do (7 ways)

The advantage of plastic windows has already been appreciated by many. Modern European windows have a more aesthetic appearance, as well as more practical advantages. They retain heat better, isolate noisy sound and block the access of dust to the apartment. However, sometimes problems in the form of condensation may appear. Let’s analyze why plastic windows sweat and how to get rid of this scourge.

The main reasons

Condensation, which turns into small droplets of water, can appear indoors for several reasons. Their elimination should take place as soon as possible. Most often, the glass sweats in the winter, as it is much warmer in the room than outside. Let’s figure out why European windows fog up.

The main reasons:

• Single-chamber double-glazed windows . Fog is often observed on plastic structures with single-chamber glass. The fact is that condensation forms due to the temperature difference between the inner and outer glass.
• Poor ventilation . Moist air in the room is not absorbed through the ventilation grilles, which also affects the formation of condensation on the glass from the inside of the room. If the Euro windows leak, this is what you should pay special attention to.
• Increased humidity in the room . Moisture, which is small water droplets, settles on cold glass. This is how fogging occurs, and if the humidity is very high, condensate accumulates and drains, as a result of which water appears on the windowsill.
• Kitchen . Euro windows sweat especially often in the kitchen. High humidity is to blame for this. A boiling pot or kettle is one of the causes of high humidity. Even when washing dishes, the humidity in a small room increases significantly.
• Indoor flowers . Flowers on windowsills can affect the fogging of the glass. A lot of moisture evaporates from wet soil and plant leaves.
• Heating . The battery not only heats the air, but also dries it. But a wide window sill is placed above it, warm air does not rise and does not dry out, excess moisture settles. As a result, you can see puddles on the windowsill.

Quite often, the reason for drops on the windows in a private house can be the leakage of the double-glazed window. Cold air from the street penetrates through small cracks and heats up, creating increased humidity. All the blame lies with the manufacturers who produce a low-quality product.

In a wooden house, the plastic structure can “sweat” most often due to the lack of ventilation or furnace heating, which leads to uneven heating of the air.

Balcony. On the balcony, you can often notice moisture settling on the glass. Balcony glazing is separated from the entire space of the apartment. As you know, the air temperature on the balcony is much lower than inside the room, but higher than outside. This causes condensation. Also, fogging can be a consequence of poor ventilation, especially in the winter time, and high humidity.

Loggia. Loggia is the same modified balcony, but it has walls on the left and right. Therefore, the reason for sweating windows is the same. All of the above can include poor insulation of the structure or doors. Also, both on the balconies and on the loggia, there is a special hole in the window frames for draining water. Cold air often penetrates through these drainage holes, which cools the double-glazed windows. This causes the windows to become wet.

Advice ! Glazing balconies and loggias with single-chamber double-glazed windows is irrational. This will increase the humidity in the room itself, and metal-plastic windows will last much less.

Fogging of PVC windows in an apartment may depend on the floor. The higher the windows are, the more often they turn gray. The fact is that most multi-story buildings have poorly insulated roofs.

They get wet from the street due to sudden changes in temperature conditions, and there is nothing wrong with this, because wet windows on the outside indicate the correct installation of double-glazed windows.

What to do if the windows sweat a lot?

There are a large number of ways that will help answer the question of how to eliminate the problem. In most cases, it is not necessary to fight with the problem itself, but with the cause of its occurrence.

So, effective measures:

• Ventilation. Ventilation must be present in every room, ventilation grilles must not be closed under any circumstances. It is also important to periodically clean the ventilation ducts.
• Airing. It is necessary to make it a rule to ventilate all the rooms in the house with windows every day. It is especially important to ventilate after bath procedures, wet cleaning, and washing.
• Houseplants. When the windows leak, the plants will need to be removed from the windowsills.

• Wide windowsills. Since the air does not rise through the window sill and does not dry out, it is recommended to make small holes in it, cut it and insert convection grills, or move the battery itself to the side (which is not always realistic).
• Quality product. You should not save money when choosing Euro windows. Choose only high-quality products and install, at least, a double-glazed unit, not a single-chamber one.
• Kitchen. When cooking, always turn on the hood and ventilate the room. So you can get rid of excess moisture.
• Wall insulation. It will be necessary to insulate the outer wall, and to seal the slopes. The room will be properly heated. By insulating the walls, we prevent fogging of the windows

Installing an air conditioner in the room will help eliminate fogging of the windows. In order for the European window not to get wet on the balcony and loggia, you need to take the following measures:

1. Ventilate every day, even in winter. It is especially important to do this after drying the laundry.
2. Install double or triple glazing. At the same time, the entire structure does not need to be changed.
3. It is necessary to periodically clean the drainage holes and check the condition of the rubber seals.
4. Insulate the balcony inside and outside.
5. If possible, install heating.

It is worth paying attention to the fact that some owners are not bothered by fogging on the windows. But this does not mean that the problem does not need to be dealt with. You should understand that excess moisture on plastic structures significantly shortens their service life.

What to wash

There are folk remedies that will help prevent the formation of condensation on the glass. Let’s consider the step-by-step instructions for washing Euro windows using home remedies.

• Saline solution . Dissolve a tablespoon of salt in 4 liters of warm water. Be sure to filter so as not to scratch the glass. You need to wash with a cotton napkin.

Advice! If white dilutions appear on the glass after drying, then the prepared solution must be diluted with water and the procedure repeated.

• Alcohol. To remove grease (especially on the kitchen window), you should wash the glass with a soapy solution. Let it dry a little. Wet a napkin in alcohol and apply it to the glass.

Interesting! This method will not only help remove condensation, but also prevent the glass from freezing in winter.

• A mixture of turpentine, glycerin and potassium oil . To prepare the mixture, you need to mix glycerin (10 g), pine turpentine (2 g) and potassium oil (20 g). Before application, the glass should be washed with a damp cloth. Using a cotton pad, apply the paste to the glass. Polish with a woolen cloth. This method will help to cope well with fogging of PVC windows.

• Newspaper. Wet the glass with window cleaner. Polish with crumpled up unnecessary newspaper. When the windows get wet, the printing ink, which has a water-repellent effect, will eliminate excess condensate.
• A mixture of glycerin and alcohol. Mix glycerin and alcohol in a ratio of 1:10. Wash the Euro window with a damp cloth. Wipe dry with a cotton napkin. Apply the mixture in a convenient way on the glass. The alcohol will evaporate, and the glycerin will form a thin film that will protect the glass from fogging from the inside.

If plastic windows sweat a lot, you can wash them with special chemicals. Sprays, aerosols, wipes are widely represented on the modern market. They contain weak acids and surfactants that create an invisible film.