Sweaty windows and mold.

I have a fairly new construction home. It was built in 1993. It seems they just used standard materials too. Every window I have is in a size that is available from home depot or lowes.

Here's the issue... During the winter time, our windows seem to sweat heavily on the inside. Now, keep in mind, I do have a fairly large fishtank set up (40 gallons) that I have to put water in every month or so due to evaporation, so I don't know if that is the issue or not. I also have hot water based heat (baseboards, no radiators in the rooms). The windows are wood framed windows. Aside from them being not the greatest windows (the top pane does not stay up on most of them if you unlock the window), they are not broken or seem to be REAL bad.

The sweating that these windows have done has cause some of the wood on them to grow mold. We have tried to clean them with a bleach solution but the mold keeps coming back (because of the moisture).

I have intentions on replacing the windows, but the expense has been limiting... What steps could I take to try to eliminate the sweating issues during the winter and how can I help try to prevent the mold growth if I can't get all the sweating to stop? I think one of the issues is that the wood windows are bare wood and unpainted. Maybe the wood is soaking up the moisture? I'm not a carpenter... I'm a computer programmer. So keep that in mind when giving suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
Aaron

 

Are you over a basement or crawl space???

Can you put a tight cover over it ?????
Do you have any outside air intake to the home at all??? Some might help .What do you have for AC if you have it???

 

I am over a crawl space. The crawl space is about 3.5 feet high. I was down there during the summer and it appeared to be fairly dry. There is no plastic down, but that was one thing that was recommended to me to do which I haven't done yet.

I can probably put a tighter cover on the fish tank. The only issue is the external water filter that sits on the back of the tank. There would be no way to seal it off because it sits on the back of the fish tank and then has a water fall type output to the filter. It might help to cover the back of it though... I used tin foil previously and it did slow the evaporation, it might be time to try that again.

What would an outside air intake look like?

I do not have AC. (My wife wishes we did.)

 

There ya go---- Crawl space. Put a 6 mil poly down on the ground over lap it 2' tape all seams. Go to read it
http://aboutsavingheat.com/crawlspace.htmlFoget the out side air for now . Put the poly down

 

I knew I should have done that a long time ago... I'll see about getting all the stuff to do it this weekend.

Thanks for the tips!

 

Condensation on new high performance window in new construction is due to too much humidity inside the house and no ventilation. The suggestion about the crawl space is likely part of the problem, as is the fish tank. Plantsd also add moisture to the air. But do you have an air/air exchanger on the heater?? It lets in natural air without losing heat or conditioned air. They also help maintain correct humidity levels. And what is the humidity in the house?? Should be less than 40% in winter, my guess would be 50%+.

 

Winter time condensation problems are caused by not enough ventilation. Open a window about a half inch are so and turn on a bath fan. Your condensation will go away in a day or to. Also make sure you run your bath fans for at least 20 minutes after you take a shower. Also need to add the VB to the crawl space.