We have a few places on our small boat which suffer from serious condensation. They are basically the few places where there is just a sheet of metal (4mm thick) between outside and inside. On these places inside, especially now in the winter, it runs with water.
Will 'anti-condensation paint' help or do I need something more like some sort of plastic foam insulation. I don't want to stick expanded polystyrene there but some sort of flexible stick on foam would be OK.
no.
or do I need something more like
yes.
I don't want to stick expanded
anything that has some kind of decent U value...actually you may be surprised at how good cork wall tiles are.
I lined a single brick kitchen with them once - hell of a difference.
Use something impermeable or it'll end up saturating.
NT
When did you last see them on sale though ?. Very 1970's and now cork flooring has become a bit pricy. The stuff that car manufacturers use under the bonnet of diesel car might be better.
£12 a sqm for 1/8" thick. Not the cheapest. IIRC The Range does tiles twice the thickness and same price per cube.
But I don't think cork is impermeable, so will fail in this case.
NT
It would be bad news for wine if it weren't.
Surely the whole issue is due to the thermal conduction issue. Water as it cools loses the ability to hold moisture, so any cold surfaces will get condensation as you breath out and transpire water as sweat. You have to allow the metal to be cold whilst keeping the warm are away from it as much as possible.
Paint is not a good idea, a lot of that stuff is only anti condensation in that it does not start to grow mould or come off, it still is cold and will still get water on it. You have to have layers of insulation. Brian
If these are not flat surfaces and you need something flexible the insulation sold to fit behind radiators might work - so long as you seal the edges with foam, caulk, frame sealant[1] etc to stop air getting behind it. Eg and
[1] possibly Geocell "The Works" or the like used also to stick the stuff on - assuming getting the surface dry might be a bit of a challenge at this time of year
You need to get the inside surface warmer than the dew point of the air near it, and ideally also make sure that no air can get behind the insulation, where moisture would condense and waterlog the insulation.
I'd doubt that any paint would provide sufficient insulation...
AIUI a foam useful for this are the cheap foam mats sold in a roll, for under sleeping bags, also called exercise mats, EVA pad, etc. Different thicknesses available, flexible, closed-cell foam, waterproof.
Thomas Prufer
If you have mains electric buy a small de-humififier and run its outlet int o the sink or the heads.
At the least get pelnty of ventilation open.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.