If you’re planning on visiting the cottage over the winter holidays, be careful. You’re quick trips in and out could actually cause mold, mildew and rot unless proper care is taken.

Moisture forms in the cabin when the temperature between the inside and the outside rises dramatically. Arriving at the cabin and cranking the heat, causes the inside temperature to rise. Cooking and taking showers compound the problem by filling the air with more moisture. When people turn off the heat and leave and leave, the cold air can’t hold as much moisture as the warm air, so the moisture condenses out, especially where it meets cold surfaces i.e. windows, doors, walls. This excessive moisture can cause paint to peel, insulation to deteriorate, damage window sills, and door trims.

Insulated cabins make the problem worse, because the temperature inside versus outside is much greater. The result is condensation. The solution is this problem is to have adequate vapour barriers, in addition to insulation, to separate the the warm moist air inside from the cold, dense air outside. A well insulated cabin, with proper vapour barriers, snug fitting windows and doors, helps to prevent condensation from forming.

But if you don’t have the cash to winterize your cabin, a simple solution, according to Cottage Life’s Jo Currie, is to turn off the heat while you are packing up to leave. Open up all the doors and windows for at least 20 minutes to allow the air inside to become as dry and cold as the air outside. Other ways to manage condensation is to leave the windows a bit during your stay. If you have exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom run them while you are there. You could also consider investing in a dehumidifier. Don’t store firewood inside, the wood holds moisture that gets released as it dries.

The only way to prevent condensation is to keep the heat at a low level year-round. Make sure that your cabin is well insulated, with proper vapour barriers and snug fitting windows and doors.

Here’s to winter cottaging, and I thought summer cottaging was a lot of work!

Cheers,

Julie

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 11:38 am and is filed under Fix It. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.