Condensation on the ceiling – we eliminate it quickly and permanently

From the author: cherished readers, welcome to our construction portal. One very unpleasant issue with the property is condensation on the ceiling. It happens frequently, particularly on the upper stories of apartment buildings. So, when one of my close friends ran into this issue, he asked for my assistance.

Naturally, I promised not to ask for money from him and that I would handle everything myself. Using my services was inconvenient for him, so in order to avoid bothering me, he asked me to provide detailed instructions on how to solve this issue and complete the task on his own. I gave him the best explanation I could, and I’m telling you the same thing now.

Revealing the essence of the problem

The truth is that inclement weather or mishandled use of the living area is not to blame for the droplets on the ceiling or the moisture that appears in the room’s corners and gradually spreads to the ceiling’s surface.

When there is an excessive temperature differential in the space, condensation occurs. The term "dew point" is real. Actually, there is no set value for the difference at which condensation starts in any given room. The conditions that lead to the formation of drops on the surface are known as the dew point.

These factors include the temperature in the room, air circulation, air flow speed, saturation of the air with water vapor (i.e., humidity), and the rate of change in temperature both inside and outside the room. This is a complicated and challenging topic to explain in general.

The most important thing is for you to realize that these kinds of conditions cannot be precisely recreated. What is meant by us. This phenomenon usually happens when the outside air temperature starts to drop and the building’s structural components begin to cool down intensely.

However, even though you turn on the heaters or turn on the central heating, the room’s temperature stays the same or rises. Thus, air humidity is the cause, not the temperature differential alone.

You saturate the environment around you with water vapor when you breathe, wash dishes or do laundry, water flowers, water plants, and even just sit and breathe. A room with an air humidity level of 60% is comfortable for humans; any higher, say 85–90%, is harmful to the lungs and will make breathing difficult for everyone, especially the elderly. The air will be dry if it is lower, say by 30%, and this is also unhealthy.

Air that is too dry or too humid is generally terrible, especially for kids. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to modify this parameter; humidifiers or dehumidifiers must be connected. Either way, that is not appropriate.

And now for the essential. The issue needs to be resolved immediately and completely. If not, the wall will start to decay. Everything is a little simpler when discussing panel houses composed of reinforced concrete structures. In terms of kotels, things are awful because the walls are only 60 centimeters thick. If the ceiling and wall are wet together (which they usually are), everything must be dried for a minimum of sixty days and occasionally ninety days.

Now for the problem’s solution: there is only one option available to you: insulating the wall and ceiling. There’s no getting out of this. However, this is all we have to say about the condensation that resulted from outside forces. We are going to discuss another case right now.

Condensate in the bathroom

Of course, nothing is quite as frightening as it sounds. But only insofar as the restroom is involved. There, the process by which moisture forms is entirely different. This phenomenon only happens in unheated rooms, meaning that if you don’t have a radiator or heated towel rail installed, you are not only lacking decency but also failing to provide heat (there are some that are as cold as 40–45 °C), which is obviously inappropriate.

Modern homes come pre-installed with batteries. Of course, there are options with an equally ineffective dead-end system. We are referring to bathrooms where the hot water supply for the faucet is routed through a riser, passes through a towel, and then enters the faucet itself; in other words, the water is only heated when hot water is used. This is generally not practical; instead, such a system ought to be disassembled entirely or integrated into the heating circuit.

Alright, enough of that; let’s move on to the main idea. Typically, the bathroom is tiled. Although it is lovely and doesn’t fear the water, there is still a drawback. Whatever the manufacturer may say, all tiles are made of clay.

Just so you know, when it comes to building materials, baked clay is the best heat conductor. Like a brick, it is totally incapable of storing heat and returns any that it does receive right away.

If you have come across it, you are aware that it is the coldest material for construction and cannot hold onto any heat at all.

In addition to the clay’s extreme coldness, steam is released when you shower or simply have hot water running. When it lands on your tile, the water starts to evaporate off of it, further cooling it.

The effect is that the walls in the room become extremely cold, almost like a refrigerator. Your ceiling gets cooled, and the moment you turn on the hot water, the air heats up and a difference known as the dew point forms. And droplets start to dangle from the roof.

Since the nature of the formation is entirely different, there is no use in trying to combat this by insulating the walls. However, the following techniques can be really helpful to you:

• correct installation of the hood – if the extreme point of the hood is more than 5 cm from the ceiling, you should redo it. This is quite easy to do using a hammer drill or sledge hammer. Punch a hole higher to the required dimensions, buy a new larger grille and install;
• installation of forced exhaust – will increase air circulation in the room, will remove hot air much faster and will not allow it to do its “wet work”. This option is a solution to the problem, but in this case it will always be cold in your bathroom. You need to use a powerful hood, preferably one with a timer. Or turn on the light switch, which is not so effective, because you need to ventilate for about 3 hours a day;
• installing a heated towel rail in a heating circuit. If you don’t have one, then you will have to purchase an electric heated towel rail with a timer; it is inexpensive, does not consume much electricity, but solves the problem completely, since it does not allow the walls in the bathroom to cool down;
• decorate the walls in the bathroom not with tiles, but with another, non-cold material. Although this, of course, is not a way out of the situation. After painting a wall, for example, with alkyd paint, steam will also be deposited on it, which, evaporating, will turn the room into a refrigerator, and essentially nothing will change. Only specific finishing materials are suitable for this – for example, basalt insulation boards, natural wood.

That concludes our discussion on how to clear condensation in bathrooms. Now for the exciting part.

Condensation in other areas of the apartment

We discussed the cause of its occurrence in the opening paragraph. Let’s now discuss what needs to be done about it.

It happens for the reason that the ceiling and walls are not adequately insulated, as you are already aware. Simultaneously, when we refer to ceilings, we either mean the ceilings that border unheated attic spaces or the upper floors of apartment buildings.

If your apartment isn’t on the top floor and your ceilings aren’t exposed to the outside street environment, the kitchen is probably the problem. However, the procedure is the same there as it is in the restroom. You may now ask, "Why?" After all, there is heating and the apartment is kept at the same temperature, so it’s not as cold as the bathroom.

No, things aren’t like that. Even with a hood, the temperature under the ceiling when you cook is 10 to 15 °C higher than the room temperature at body level. Not buying what I’m saying? Take a seat and observe. Additionally, you establish all the necessary conditions for the dew point because it is determined by the relationships between various temperatures.

There is no other option when it comes to solving this kind of issue in the kitchen than using a strong, high-quality hood above the stove.

The living room or bedroom is next. If this kind of issue arises in these rooms, you most certainly have the final floor of a residential building. Alternatively, choose another one, but with a ceiling that faces the street. Insulating the walls and ceiling is the only way to solve the issue.

Sometimes the ceiling is wet and starts to grow mold in areas close to the carrier wall that faces the street, even though the floor isn’t always the last to go. Thus, in this instance, the wall is the issue. Insulation is the same solution, exactly. Furthermore, in order to prevent freezing, you must insulate not only the three meters of wall from the street, but also the neighbor’s wall, which is 60 to 70 centimeters down and up.

In any event, the insulation case is costly and is completed with climbing gear. Why not insulate the interior, you wondered? Oh, forget to think and pay no attention to anyone. This cannot be done because the wall will always freeze and, even though it is insulated from the inside, there will never be a street temperature low enough to prevent the dew point. It will be warm there even on the other side of the insulation, and moisture will undoubtedly appear.

Furthermore, it will stop drying, start to rot the wall alongside you, and develop not just mold but a massive mold with mushrooms. This place is not far from pneumonia, and with this kind of "insulation," you will undoubtedly catch it because the entire wall will swell, not just a corner. After a few years, the apartment smells like rot, and you have to remove everything, tear out a section of the wall, destroy the fungus, dry it out, and so forth. Don’t try to do this in general.

The issue will persist whether the insulation is positioned beneath a suspended ceiling or plasterboard. You consider: why not let it decay there? In any case, nothing can pass through the tires? She won’t let it pass, but in a few years, the walls will all begin to rot, requiring you to remove the ceiling before the horrors begin. In general, keep in mind that insulation ought to be external only!

We thus discussed moisture and its potential to accumulate beneath suspended ceilings. As you know, in any event, the answer is yes. Speaking now of what needs to be done.

Troubleshooting

As you are aware, insulation work must be done from the building’s exterior. Furthermore, it doesn’t matter if you live in a private home, on the fourth, ninth, or first floor.

Either way, installing insulation on exterior walls requires working at a height, and doing so without the right tools, insurance, and experience is impossible. Don’t attempt to do it yourself, no matter how much you’d like to or how sure you are of your skills.

Recall that any work performed at a height exceeding 1.3 meters above the floor is subject to safety regulations and necessitates the need for insurance and similar protections. Since falling, even from a small height, can cause injury or even death. Thus, avoid taking any chances.

Let’s now discuss the procedure. Not so you do it yourself, but so you are aware of what’s in store for you and how much it will cost. Thus, the work will be done in phases.

1. You need to start looking for a company that deals with insulation.
2. When a surveyor comes to you, he will take measurements and make an estimate, which should include the following: polystyrene foam with a thickness of at least 50 mm, waterproof construction tile adhesive – for example, ceresit, plastic dowels – fungus, serpyanka mesh to cover the entire area of ​​the foam plastic, putty, dye.
3. Then you should start insulating the roof; for this it is better to write an application to the organization that maintains your home. They have to do the roof. You will need to provide them with evidence when writing your application, so take a detailed photo report on your phone. Write an application and wait for the commission. When they arrive and are convinced that there is a problem, they will draw up a report and name the time when the problem will be fixed.
4. Now to the insulation of external walls. After the builders have calculated everything, the first thing they will do is tighten the safety lines and cradles for work.
5. Then they apply glue to the wall of the building and glue the foam tightly together. If they just nail it down, remember to stop the builders and ask them to do everything right. You should glue the foam plastic, otherwise the work will be in vain. Not all of it, of course, but the effect will not be the same.
6. Next, after they have glued it, they begin to nail in the “fungi”.
7. Glue the reinforcing mesh.
8. Apply a layer of waterproofing with the same glue, and the layer thickness is at least 3 mm.
9. Putty.
10. They paint.

If left untreated, condensation on the ceiling can be a chronic issue that promotes the growth of mold and causes structural damage. It’s critical to pinpoint the core causes of the problem, such as inadequate insulation or poor ventilation, in order to address it successfully and long-term. Improved insulation, airflow, and leak sealing help homeowners shield their properties from moisture accumulation. This post will walk you through doable methods for getting rid of ceiling condensation, guaranteeing a safe and damage-free living environment.

That’s all, my dear companions. As you can see, we had a lengthy and detailed discussion about the issue. We take this action because the problem is extremely risky and challenging to resolve. In any event, the work is quite expensive, but it is necessary because it affects both health and appearance. And keep in mind that this is not a call to action; rather, it is merely an advisory piece. Well, good luck with the remainder!

Video on the topic

Condensation on the ceiling in the bathroom

Condensation on the ceiling. Thermal insulation of the ceiling.

Condensation garage/shed/container. How to avoid. How to get rid. Crying ceiling and walls.

Victory over 💧 Condensate💧 in the garage!✌️