[garyb66]

My Condominium is about 10-12 years old. Lately I have been having problems with windows freezing. The inside window in the bedroom has had very thick ice around the bottom of the glass and along the sill and metal frame. Condensation is a major issue also as we have to towel it off repeatedly. We also keep towels along the sill,changing as they become moist. Spots of mildew are wiped off as they form and the paint around the window box is peeling off. We have tried to leave our California shutters open and have also redirected the heat vents towards the window. This has helped a bit but not very much. Our humidifier is set to 40-45 RH as suggested by our hardwood flooring installers. And we monitor it very closely.
Do you have any thoughts or suggestions on what we should do? We are also waiting for replies from management in the building. I have included a picture (I hope) of the bedroom window.

[twinkiedooter]

The only thing you can do is wait until warmer weather and then recaulk the windows inside and outside if possible. The metal frames don't help the problem either. There is obviously air leaking in that is causing this problem plus the low temperatures outside and the much warmer temperatures inside. You should leave the towel in place to absorb the moisture coming in from the outside and change on a regular basis for a dry one.

[Just Dahlia]

:eek: Where are you?

[garyb66]

I am in Toronto, Ontario Canada.

[twinkiedooter]

Since you are not that much further north than I am (Ohio) you have been experiencing very low temperatures and brutal below zero wind chill factors. This alone can bring out any window defects in a home or condo. Plus if the window is a western exposure the window is sure to freeze up and frost up.

[garyb66]

This may be true, but we are still the only unit in the building that I can see that has such a severe problem.

[garyb66]

Where is everybody? Somebody suggested using fans to take the extra condensation off the windows, which seems to work. But I am wondering if this means the air is not circulating properly around the windows.

[twinkiedooter]

Don't use fans. Use a dehumidifier in that room. That should do the trick. At night when it gets below 10 degrees F here in Ohio my windows sweat. I have regular windows with metal frames and storm windows. The windows on the inside of my home sweat regardless of what I do. I open my inside shutters in the morning and run my dehumidifier and all window moisture is gone in an hour.

But you seem more interested in your wood floors having enough moisture then don't bother with the dehumidifier.

I am still leaning towards teeny tiny pin hole leaks in the window gasket and around the frame as the culprit.

I forgot to ask if these were single paned windows or the new, double paned windows and do you have any kind of storm windows on the window in question?

If your window is single paned then may I suggest putting some kind of heavy clear (at least 6mm thick) vinyl on the inside of this window to prevent any outside cold reaching the inside of your home. This would eliminate the frost in the corner. You can apply the very heavy crystal clear vinyl sheating using duct tape (white to match your window frame). It's about $4 a yard at WalMart in the dry goods section of the store where the fabric is. Comes on huge rolls. Don't waste your time with anything other than the thickest stuff you can get. I use this stuff on the inside and outside of my 9 light window back door that is only single paned. Otherwise my windows radiate the cold into the house and the windows will frost up. I discovered this little trick a few years ago and do it every fall until spring to keep the intense cold out. Since it is crystal clear it poses no problem looking out clearly.