Moisture and cold air cause of ice buildup on windows | Columnists | kpcnews.com

2023-02-26 05:04:25 By : Mr. Shengzhao You

Partly cloudy skies. Low 29F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Partly cloudy skies. Low 29F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Door For Office Building

Moisture and cold air cause of ice buildup on windows | Columnists | kpcnews.com

Q: We have an older house in town and when the weather gets cold we get ice that builds up on our windows. Not so much on our upstairs windows, but in the downstairs windows in the living room and kitchen.

When we bought the house they had installed new vinyl windows, so we thought they were good. We do get moisture that builds up on the bathroom windows, but I wipe it off with no problem.

Is there a way I can not get ice or frost to form on our windows? I’m assuming that it is not good for the wood trim either. Patrick in Hudson

A: They have been making vinyl windows for years now, so those windows may not be as new as you might think, and if they were installed by a do-it-yourselfer, they might not have done a great job.

When ice builds up on the inside of the window, it is caused by first moisture and second by cold air. The windows themselves might be well sealed, but you could be getting air infiltration from around them.

If your house was built more than 80 years ago and the original windows were double hung wood, there might be weight cavities along the sides of your windows that were not insulated at the time they put the new windows in. Their cavities can be insulated by either blown insulation or foam. Old window trims can also be poorly air sealed; this can be helped by caulking the trim to make sure there is no air infiltration. A tip would be to contact your utility, they sometimes will do an energy evaluation using a blower door test to identify insulation or air infiltration problems that need solved.

Moisture on the other hand can be a problem in your home. Check the indoor humidity of your home or most folks can tell if their home is too humid by mold growth or excess moisture. Usually if you have a forced air furnace, moisture levels will stay low, but if you have hydronic base board heat moisture can build up. Make sure you have and use your kitchen vent fan if cooking or boiling in the kitchen and run your bath fan when showering.

Jeff Deahl is past president of the Builders Association of Northeast Indiana. Questions for the Square Corners column may be submitted to jeff@craftsman-design.com.

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Moisture and cold air cause of ice buildup on windows | Columnists | kpcnews.com

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