My folks had cavity wall insulation put in a month or so ago, and ever since there has been a lot of condensation on the insides of the windows and the doors - is there something that can be done to get rid of it, and why is it happening?
Have you checked that the air bricks are not blocked with the insulstion. You should have a connection between the inside and out to allow the air to flow freely.
There was something on cavity wall insulation on Watchdog (or similar) a while back. Not all walls are suitable and it was being mis-sold. Could be worth getting a proffessional 2nd opinion. Or get a de-humidifier.
It's happening because the house isn't breathing like it was. Air bricks may be blocked but so will a lot of tiny holes that used to let the moisture out. If they're lucky it'll only be condensation they have problems with, if not they'll get damp crossing the cavity as well. This too can increase the moisture levels inside the house, the mold will come later.
The only time you want to fill the cavity with insulation is on a new build and even then they leave a small gap. The whole point of the cavity was to provide a barrier to damp coming in from the outside.
Thanks for the replies - sounds like I need to check the air bricks then - will do so in the morning.
The one show on thowd BBC did something about cavity wall about 2 weeks ago
We had cavity wall insulation done earlier this year (free under local authority scheme) and feeling well chuffed with myself for s=geeting something for nowt told anyone who'd listen. Two people both told me on seperate occasions that a house as young as mine shouldn't have cavity wall insualtion done, nad that the cavity is needed to allow the breexze blocks to breath. We've not had massive problems with condensation, but certainly more noticeable on the windows this winter than last winter.
Stop breathing and open the bloody windows every now and then.
are your trickle vents still open? that should clear up a lot of the mess.
Do also realise that the condensation that was 'spread' over all your doors, windows AND walls, is now only on windows and doors. It appears to be more moisture, but may not be, just they are colder than the now nicely insulated walls.
matt_outandabout makes a good point. Before we had the walls insulated we had condensation on the walls at times. Now it's only on the windows.
Perhaps another expense............are the windows double glazed?
And as said above are trickle vents open if there are any?