Picture this: you wake up well rested to the sounds of birds chirping and wind rustling the leaves of the natural beauty that surrounds you, you get out of bed, walk into your kitchenette and there, right in front of you, condensation covering the windows of your RV! Condensation and moisture are silent predators for RVs that can lead to mold, rust, and rot, so if you’re noticing pooled moisture and excessive condensation on your RV windows, it’s time to act!
Why Does Condensation Build Up on RV Windows
Condensation occurs when surfaces are cooler than the warm, humid air that hits the surface. Essentially, condensation builds up when the warm, moist air from inside your RV hits the surface of your windows, as the cold glass is chilled from the outside of the RV. Although it can vary depending on the size of your RV and temperature outside, if your humidity level within your RV is above 30-40%, you are much more likely to get condensation on your windows. In the winter or if the weather is quite cool, you’ll want to reduce the humidity level to 20-30% to be safe.
How to Reduce Condensation in an RV
The best way to reduce condensation from your RV windows is to reduce the amount of moisture inside. This is doubly helpful as ensuring your RV has a proper moisture will reduce the risk of mold or rot developing in other areas of the RV.
1. Purchase a Dehumidifier
A proper dehumidifier is the best way to ensure that your moisture levels are controlled in your environment. Some humidifiers just constantly run, removing moisture from the air, while others can be set to certain humidity levels. If you purchase a dehumidifier that just constantly runs, we highly recommend you also purchase a humidity detector. You can find relatively inexpensive temperature and humidity sensors online that are a fantastic way to ensure that your RV is always at the right humidity level.
2. Use Your Vent Fans
Ventilation is key when it comes to managing moisture within your RV. Your RV will have a few vent dans throughout the RV, so be sure to use them regularly throughout the day. When you’re doing humidity-adding activities like showering or cooking be sure to run all your fans, but it’s also a good idea to run the fans a few times a day just to help your humidifier out. You can also look into buying RV window fans for additional air movement.
3. Open the Windows
Even if you don’t have a window fan, keeping your windows open when it’s dry outside will allow air to circulate throughout the RV, ensuring that there’s no moisture buildup within the vehicle.
4. Cook Outdoors More
Cooking inside your RV can lead to a lot of condensation within the space. Cooking and steam greatly increase your RV’s humidity levels, so cooking outside as much as possible can help significantly. Try an outdoor barbecue, campfire cooking, as well using a crockpot or plug-in pressure cooker outside.
5. Leave Laundry Outside
Hanging your laundry to dry inside your RV can release a ton of moisture into the vehicle. Invest in a laundry hanging line for outside your RV to cleanly and quickly dry all your laundry without making your RV overly humid.
6. Shower in the Campsite
If your campsite has a communal shower it’s a wise choice to keep humidity out of your RV. If you have the option to not shower in your RV, take that option! Showers release a ton of steam and heat which can greatly increase the humidity in your RV.
7. Use Moisture Absorbers
Using moisture absorbers in cabinets, closets, and other areas of your RV can help protect your RV from mold, but you can also use moisture absorbers around your windows to ensure there’s no condensation build up on your windows.
Condensation on your RV windows is your first sign that the inside of your RV is too humid. As soon as you start to see moisture build up on the inside of your RV it’s important to act to reduce the humidity inside through any or all of the methods found above. Have any more questions about keeping your RV in tip top shape? Let us know and we’d love to help!
