condensation

[millipede]

Been a while since I've stopped in here. Life has been crazy.......

We live in a small double wide. 28x40(really isn't even that big of course...)
Bought brand new about 6-7 years ago.
We've always had some condensation issues with a few windows... but this season, things are getting worse.
The outer walls of the house are 2x6 and the way the windows are setup, there's one window on the outside and one on the inside. So there's about enough room in between for a 2x6 which looks pretty silly to me.
The trim on the inside of a few of the windows is rotting away a bit from moisture/mildew. Moisture forms on all the windows and the back door. There's been a few nights recently where you could hear the water dripping from the back door onto the floor. It's pretty insane. This past year I added that stuff you can put on a window to help keep the summer heat out, and it helped. But obviously it still has issues.
Next spring we plan on replacing a few windows if we can afford it. I'm not sure about that door though.
I'm looking for ideas for keeping the moisture, and heat loss, down this winter with minimal cost. (we're pretty broke)
I've seen the stuff on commercials that you put plastic over and blow dry. Not sure how that would work, especially since there wouldn't be space, it would basically go right on the window.

Our moisture problems go beyond that...
A while back I noticed a slightly discolored spot on the ceiling. Wasn't sure what to think of it. It was just a little dark. A month or so later I noticed one morning that there was actually water drops there. There's now two places in that room and several others throughout the house where water has developed. It only gets discolored from mildew, not from water damage so my thinking is that it is condensation, not water seeping through. Besides, there's no sources of water up there.
My thoughts have been that mice have dug threw the insulation leaving a few bare spots here and there. We've had mice in the walls this year.
Problem is..... this is a small house, vaulted ceiling with LITTLE space up there, and NO access. I'm thinking I'm going to have to cut a hole in the ceiling and then hope there's enough room for me to squirm around up there. Of course even then, I need money to buy insulation to fix things up.
There's also been moisture, on a few ocassions, that has come in through the vent in the kitchen/entryway(just a vent in the ceiling going out) and the vent/fan in the master bathroom. I can't figure why there'd be water there. We've been here for a little over 6 years and never had this happen before.
This whole place was just poorly built.

We've got other issues going on of course but, this is what I need the most feedback on at the moment I think.
Any ideas are welcome.

[alleyyooper]

Not a lot you can do with the alum those places are made with when it is cold outside and warm inside.

UP here in the north I have seen many living in same type homes have a company come in and spray a layer of a outdoor type foam on the roof then build a roof over that to keep rain and snow off. the windows and doors are alum also and sweat when it is cold out side and warm inside. Replace with wood or plastiac helps greatly.

Al

[Cabin Fever]

With such a moisture problem, I'm guessing your house is pretty tight. I'd suggest looking into a whole house air exchanger. It exchanges the stale moist indoor air for fresh drier outdoor air. The air exchanger has a built in heat exchanger so you don't lose much of the home's heat while the unit is running.

A whole house air exchanger simply splices into your home's forced-air HVAC system.

[agmantoo]

Any chance you are using an unvented gas heater in the home?

[Harry Chickpea]

Condensation at the start of the heating season is normal, but it greatly reduces once the furniture and interior dry out. For you to have that much moisture, you must have a source. Gas burners on a stove, open boiling stews, unvented gas heat (as agmantoo pointed out), long showers, uncovered hot tub, moisture wicking from the crawl space are all possible sources. Your windows, walls and ceiling are acting as dehumidifiers. Find and eliminate the source of the problem rather than focusing on the effects.

Mice and settling will de-rate insulation. Try to keep the mice away or trap them.

I spent one winter in a rented single-wide trailer home that had serious condensation problems. I feel your pain. Who manufactured your home, just so others can know who to avoid?

[millipede]

it was made by Giles. we had to get the cheapest double wide we could find, new because we could only get an FHA loan... and they're VERY picky. So this is what we got.
The fascia is metal and is NOT straight up and down... water will come off the roof and end up flowing down the side of the house. We can't have windows open when it rains...
some fixes for that are on the to do list...
The inner walls were built over the carpet and are not super strong... the walls themselves are not strong. There's a few places where you can just walk, never mind jump, and the area around you will shake. Like next to the fridge... the fridge can shake if you walk by it. When the spin cycle is on for the washer, I can feel it on the other side of the house.
Inner doors, some don't stay closed... one hinge broke. some hinge pins were in upside down... They're not kidding when they say you get what you pay for...
but... it's a home and we're not renting so that's good...

Anyway... Part of the problem still lies in house problems but it is partly our own fault. A while back someone moved the dryer... wasn't me... when they moved it back, it wrecked the dryer hose.
They humidity hadn't been getting what I considered high... until I looked it up online...
It was around 50-60 percent at times... but I started reading that in the winter you don't want it over 45%, lower if it gets colder out.

Moved my guitar case away from an outer wall one day to find mold there as well...
It's frustrating... every time I think about one or two things that I want to fix, I start to think about more and more and more... enough things I'd like to change where it would probably be cheaper to just build a new house. HA...

nothing like wiping a window with a paper towel and vinegar and having it turn completely black... yum..........

Never had a problem like you are describing but a decent sized de-humidifier might work wonders .

[Jerry in MN]

Is there a chance that moisture (more than usual?) is coming up from the ground? Or is there already some sort of vapor barrier in the floor or on the ground?

[mossywyatt]

I think you have a water leak from the roof or from the wall. Siding is not meant to have water flow over it
wyatt

[millipede]

The moisture was definitely from the dryer. I moved it today and you couldn't see the floor there was so much dryer lint there. We're lucky we didn't start a fire or something.
Anyway... I put in some galvanized pipe through the floor with a couple elbows on it.
I also bought this plastic type elbow that's meant to go right on the back of the dryer, making it easy to put it on and off. I thought it was a neat idea but, it is too big... doesn't fit on the back of the dryer the way the directions say... oh well.
I can't do much about the word insulation in the ceiling...
but, I expect my skin to be cracking in no time. (my skin always dries out real good in the winter...)
Anyway... I expect this to be a BIG help in the moisture problem.