As a youngster waking up at my house and finding the windows steamed up meant mostly one thing …it was Thanksgiving or Christmas!! My folks would stuff a huge turkey late the night before a holiday and put it in the oven at a low temperature to cook slowly. By morning the warm air and moisture had filled the house …also smelled gooood …and condensed on the windows since the air outside was very cold.
Condensation in RVs could lead to more problems than just being unable to see out windshields and other windows. If it runs from the window frames, seeps into cracks and crevices it could spawn molds to which many people are allergic. Therefore it would be good to find the source and go about abating it.
Possible sources of warm moist air: furnaces or heaters, a number of people and pets breathing out, ovens, ranges and coffepots, baths and/or showers, washing/rinsing dishes, etc. When it is very cold outside and a combination of these things is occurring inside condensation is likely to form. This is normal.
Here are a few tips for dealing with condensation:
- Dehumidifiers come in many sizes and price ranges, and take up space. Google dehumidifiers and consider the pros and cons for your situation.
- Crack open a window or vent in the bathroom during showers and in the kitchen area while cooking. If you need to drive a motorhome early in the day… don’t shower in the morning.
- Allow a small opening in a window or two at night. (No, a bit of escaping moist heat will not affect global warming.)
- There are products that keep windows and bathroom mirrors from steaming up. They come as spray and wipes, or just a cloth that you wipe over the windows. Some of them are available in auto parts stores or WalMart.
- There is also a product I remember from SCUBA days. It comes in a pound or half pound container and is pink. It may be called Pink Magic …I can’t remember. A gob of it spread over the inside of a SCUBA mask kept the glass clear in cold water. I think a coat of it on the inside of an RV windshield would help keep condensation under control. Yes… it had another name, but I can’t make my fingers type that here.
- Of course, as it was mentioned, spending cold weather below the Mason-Dixon Line is the most fun way to avoid the problem.
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