Help for drying up your wet winter windows

all while retaining most of the heat energy from the outgoing air stream.

There isn’t a window condensation problem anywhere in the country that can’t be solved by the installation of a properly functioning HRV. The challenge is cost. You’ll pay about $2,000 to have an HRV installed in your home, but drying out windows might not come to that. Some people have success running bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans more often than usual. This does result in more heat loss from the house, but it can also solve the wet window problem without the need for an HRV.

One of the challenges in all this is finding a level of ventilation and indoor humidity that’s dry enough to keep window condensation at non-damaging levels while also being humid enough for comfort. Unfortunately, most windows today require drier-than-comfortable humidity levels to remain damage-free during the coldest weather. My rule of thumb is to ventilate enough to prevent running condensation, but not necessarily to keep windows 100 per cent dry. This is enough to keep windows in good shape and your indoor air quality fresh and healthful.

STEVE MAXWELL Wet wintertime windows like these indicate indoor humidity levels are too high, and indoor air quality isn’t what it should be. Increasing ventilation solves both these problems.