Living
With
Your
Motor
Home
Here are some frequently asked questions about
condensation and some answers that will help
you understand more about your
RV
and how to
keep
it
comfortable.
Q. -
In
cold weather,
my
windows
and
walls
look like
they're
sweating. Is
that
con-
densation?
A.
-
Yes.
Your windows are a good way to
know
if
the humidity in your
RV
is too
high. All air contains water vapor. When
air is warm
it
can hold much more water
vapor than when it is cold. When the air
cools, the water vapor
"condenses" back to
a liquid.
Since your windows are usually
cooler than the air, the water collects on
the surface
of
the glass.
Q.
-
Where
does
all
the
water
come
from?
A.
- Moisture in the air comes from many
sources.
Some
of
the most common are:
06-8
Cooking - Meals prepared for a family
of
four can add up to a gallon
of
water per
day into the air from cooking.
Bathing -
An
average shower can put
between
Y,
-
y,
pounds of water into the
air.
Dishwashing - Doing the dishes for a typ-
ical day's meals can add up to one pound
of
water to the air.
Floor mopping - When an 8' x
10'
kitchen
floor is mopped and rinsed, almost
2Y,
pounds
of
water can be released into the
air.
Clothes drying - After
10
pounds
of
clothes
have been washed and spin-dried in a
washer, they still contain about
10
pounds
of
water.
IT
these clothes are dried inside,
that water is released into the
ail'
in the
RV.
Propane appliances - When Propane is
burned, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and water
are given off into the
air.
For every 1000
cubic feet
of
Propane burned, nearly 88
pounds
of
water is released into the
ail'.
Humidifiers - Humidifiers are designed to
put moisture into dry air
- up to two
pounds per hour.
So in a 24-hour period,
an uncontrolled humidifier can put almost
50 pounds
of
water into the
ail'.
House plants and aquariums - Plants give
off almost as much water as you put on
them.
Open aquariums pennit higher rates
of
evaporation than closed types.
People alld animals - A large source
of
water in the
RV
is the inhabitants them-
selves. A family
of
foul' can put up to 12
pounds
of
water into the air per day
through breathing and perspiration.
As you can see, just the normal course
of
living
adds a great deal
of
water to the
ail'.
Q. -
What
will
all
this
water
do
to
my
RV?
A.
- The least
it
will do is fog your windows.
If
it is really cold outside, frost
or
even clear
ice could form on the inside
of
the glass.
Excessive moisture in the air could show
up
as
water mnning down 01' dripping off
walls, ceilings or fixtures.
It
may look like
your roof
01' windows are leaking. This
water may stain woodwork, carpeting,
ceiling panels or even furniture.
But the most damage is caused by water
you
can't
even see. Water will penetrate
almost any material
- except glass and
metals. Water vapor in the
ail'
always
wants to move toward dry
air.
Scientists
call this
"vapor pressure" action.
It
will go
through walls, floor covering, plywood,
paint
- just about anything. The water that
gets trapped in these materials can cause
warping, mildew, paint failure and rotting.
The damage caused by excessive humidity
can
be
invisible, and worse, expensive to
fix.
Please remember that this damage is
not covered under the warranty.
Q.
-
What
can
I
do
to
reduce
or
eliminate
condensation problems
in
my
RV?
A.
- The two most important things are:
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