Condensation is the conversion of water from its gaseous state into its liquid state. There is always some amount of moisture present in the air. During cold weather conditions, the moisture present in the air condenses into tiny droplets of water. In fact, the air that you breathe out can be seen on a cold winter morning. Condensation can also occur on those hot, humid summer days where you would need an air conditioner to cool your home. This may result in hazy windows due to the air conditioning.

Household activities such as cooking, washing and drying clothes are responsible for the excess moisture present in the air within your home. An average family creates around 20 pints of water vapor per day. This can be usually seen in the form of fog, mist, dew or frost in the atmosphere and plays a significant role in the formation of clouds, rain and snow.

Condensation is a result of the fall in temperature of vapor even below its saturation temperature. When warm air rises in the atmosphere and cools down, it loses its ability to hold the water vapor in the air and hence the excess water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets.

What does condensation have to do with basements? Well, it has quite a lot to do with basements. The moisture that forms as a result of condensation can cause rotting window frames, peeling wallpaper and mold on walls, carpets or clothes. This phenomenon occurs where there is no adequate air circulation. You may have noticed mold on your windows, walls, ceilings and furniture a couple of times, especially during the winter season. This also comes along with stale air that gets accumulated within the basement due to lack of ventilation. All these factors lead to aggravation of illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis.

What is the difference between condensation and dampness?

Dampness can be a result of condensation. As mentioned earlier, condensation occurs during cold climatic conditions when the water vapor is surrounded by cold temperature and the moisture content of the air is high. This leads to the growth of mold and mildew which may due to lack of air circulation and insulation. Dampness can also be caused due to other reasons such as leaking drainage pipes, wastes or overflows, cracked walls and ceilings, leakages from the roof where tiles are missing during rains and defective damp course or no damp course.

Condensation in the basement can be caused by the following reasons:

(1) Lack of ventilation, especially during the summers
(2) Lack of insulation, especially during the winters
(3) Inadequate heating in the basement

How to Reduce Condensation or Dampness in the Basement

(1) Allow moisture to move out of your home when cooking, washing or drying clothes and heating by closing doors to avoid circulation of moisture and opening windows to let out the moisture.

(2) Make sure that you ventilate your home to remove moisture by opening windows, using exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom to let out the damp air after frying or taking a hot shower, installing air vents wherever possible, cutting breather holes in cupboards and wardrobes and installing ventilators for windows.

(3) Insulate your basement by air sealing, installing insulators in your walls, dehumidifiers, which will keep your rooms warm and simultaneously prevent the entry of moisture and hence avoid dampness. Get effective ways of insulating your basement from our blog article, http://blog.keystonebasementsystems.com/?p=923.

(4) In order to remove mold and mildew from walls, use a fungicide. Clothes and carpets affected by mold can be dry cleaned and shampooed, respectively. Mold and mildew creates a high risk of respiratory problems and gets worse if disturbed by brushing or vacuum cleaning.

(5) Get rid of any kind of moisture immediately by wiping any surface moisture to avoid room for any damage.

(6) Fungicidal paints for the walls will also help in preventing growth of mold and mildew.

So next time you think of basement condensation, you know exactly what to do!

For more on basement related solutions, click on to www.keystonebasementsystems.com.

“Keystone Basement Systems, Inc. is a foundation repair company. KBS is not, however, an engineering firm and should not be considered as such.”

References

1. http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/weather/older/condensation.html
2. http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/%28Gh%29/guides/mtr/hyd/cond/home.rxml
3. http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/courses/Webcourse-contents/IISc-BANG/Heat%20and%20Mass%20Transfer/pdf/M8/Student_Slides_M8.pdf
4. http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_is_condensation.htm
5. http://www.changeworks.org.uk/uploads/wat/Condensation.pdf
6. http://www.polaristechnologies.com/documents/ControllingCondensation.pdf
7. http://www.hollandroofingco.com/files/Facts_About_Condensation2.pdf
8. http://www.barnet.gov.uk/condensation.pdf

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