I tested two popular home hacks to tackle window condensation, but they had vastly different results – I’ll never use one again
This is my first winter in my new flat, which means I’m seeing how my tiny corner of London fares during the chill. Unlike my last flat, this one is on the ground floor, so the heat won’t rise, reports the Express.
Despite this, my home has managed to retain warmth relatively well, until the last week or so when I could feel the chill in my bones. One of the most obvious let-downs of my new home is the evidence of heavy condensation in the morning and black blemishes appearing on the window frame.
I’ve aired the flat out countless times, but at the behest of my own warmth. As I don’t have space – or funds – for a dehumidifier, simple home hacks are my first port of call. One much-loved trick by Mrs Hinch fans is cat litter in a sock.
The idea is that you pack a sock full of cat litter, tie the top with an elastic band – I used a hair band – and rest it on the windowsill to do its magic. Another highly recommended hack is using salt, which my teammate Sophie put to good use not that long ago. Her review was glowing.
Both items work with the same purpose: to absorb moisture from the air to prevent build-up on windows, ultimately leading to glass that looks like it’s crying. In recent weeks, the condensation on my windows, particularly in my bedroom, has been so bad that little pools of water have seeped from the glass onto my sill.
Some days, I’d discover tiny pools of water gathering in the corners of the frames, slowly inching towards the edge. Thankfully, there have been no cascades yet.
At the start of the week, I filled two socks with cat litter and positioned one on my bedroom windowsills, then I prepared a bowl for my larger window in my living room. I couldn’t find any information indicating how quickly or slowly this trick would work.
However, as I’ve discovered, patience is often rewarded… sometimes. I waited a few hours, which turned into six, and then to 12.
After the first half day, I placed the socks at the bottom of the window frame so they were touching the glass to see if their position would make a difference. Ultimately, after two days, the cat litter experiment was a resounding failure.
The misty windows persisted and the glass continued to shed tears, so much so that I ended up airing out the flat and letting in the near-freezing air. I prodded and poked the socks to see if they were heavier than when they were first put in place.
Nothing. The sock weighed the same; the cat litter was still crumbling apart, and it was bone-dry but extremely cold. Yet, every morning, there was still a small puddle forming around the frame.
I lost faith in the idea that these highly recommended home hacks were actually effective. The majority of hacks I’ve tried have been complete failures.
I was at my tether’s end. On Wednesday, after giving the cat litter one last chance to perform a miracle, I swapped out the bowl with a new one full of coarse salt.
I replaced the socks on my bedroom windowsills with two small bowls of the same salt. As it was evening, the condensation sparkled under my lamps. I rolled down the blinds and waited with bated breath.
What I discovered on Thursday morning left me perplexed. All signs of condensation had completely vanished.
On the larger window in my bedroom there were a few small spots of frosted glass and an infinitely smaller pool of water in the corner of the sill.
There were no tears, no streaky glass. The living room window displayed the same results.
I tried to dip my finger in the bowls of salt, all of which were dense and almost solid to the touch. This is what I expected to find with the cat litter, but had no such luck.
Worried about the consequences of removing the salt too soon, I left the bowls in their rightful places. The result? My windows were free of condensation all day.
I have to admit I’m in complete shock over the results. I always take these hacks with a pinch of salt… pardon the pun.
I know salt won’t fix this long term, but if it stops from having to fork out for a dehumidifier in the meantime, I’m all for it.
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