Excessive condensation on interior of windows

[Derek Daun]

A tenant informed me there is excessive condensation on the windows on one side of the unit. At first I assumed he was exaggerating until I took a look at it myself. It's a north facing wall that doesn't really get any sun during the winter, and enough water is condensing that it is literally pooling on the windows sill and dripping onto the bed underneath. This is my first winter with tenants in the unit, so I can't say for sure if this was always an issue, but based on how much the hardware is rusted, I assume it's been a long term problem. These are old single pane aluminum casement windows from the 60s, so it's not unreasonable to have a significant temperature differential with outside. The rest of the windows in the house are fine, but they get more sun.

I was planning on replacing the windows eventually anyway, so the it seems most straight forward solution would be to just go ahead and at least replace the North facing windows now. I was wondering if people think that likely should fix the issue. The house doesn't feel like it has significant moisture inside; I verified the dryer and bathroom van vent correctly. I'd hate to put in new windows only to find out it doesn't fix the issue.

[Nathan Gesner]

...or the tenant can simply wipe off the excess moisture a couple times a day. This problem is not new and our ancestors were able to handle it just fine.

- Wipe excess moisture regularly. If it's really bad, leave a towel rolled up at the bottom of the window to absorb condensation as it rolls down.

- Keep blinds and curtains open so air can circulate around the windows. 

- Use fans to keep air circulating throughout the home.

- Be sure to ventilate (fan or window) when taking showers or otherwise creating excess moisture in the home.

- Open doors/windows and air out the home whenever possible to remove excess moisture.