Condensation is a real problem in my new flat this winter, leaving puddles on my windowsills (Image: Ellen Jenne)
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 bottom floor, so the heat won’t rise.
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.
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Supposedly cat litter is a favourite among cleaning fans (Image: Ellen Jenne)
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 find little lakes collecting itself in the corner of the frames, slowly trickling closer toward the edge. Fortunately there have been no waterfalls yet.
A placed a sock on each of my bedroom windows and a bigger bowl in my living room (Image: Ellen Jenne)
This was what my windows looked like after two days using the cat litter, just before switching to salt (Image: Ellen Jenne)
At the beginning of the week I packed two socks full of cat litter and placed one on my bedroom windowsills, then I filled up a bowl for my larger window in my living room. I can’t find anywhere which indicates how immediate or slow the hack works.
However, as I’ve learned, good things come to those who wait… sometimes. I waited a few hours, which turned into six, and then to 12.
After the first half day, I rested the socks on the bottom of the window frame so it was touching the glass to see if their positioning would make a difference. Ultimately, after two days, the cat litter failed spectacularly.
The foggy windows remained and the glass continued to weep, so much so I resorted to airing out the flat and welcoming into the near-freezing air. I squished and squeezed the socks to see if they were heavier than when they were initially placed.
This is the result I woke up to on Thursday morning, using bowls of salt overnight (Image: Ellen Jenne)
My windows weren’t crying, at last! (Image: Ellen Jenne)
Nothing. The sock weighed the same; the cat litter was still crumbling apart, and it was bone-dry but extremely cold. Yet, there was still a small puddle pooling around the frame every morning.
I lost hope in believing that these highly recommended home hacks were actually effective. The majority of hacks I’ve tested out have been complete duds.
I was at my wits’ end. On Wednesday, after giving the cat litter one last chance to perform a miracle, I switched 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 glistened under my lamps. I rolled down the blinds and waited with bated breath.
What I found on Thursday morning baffled me. All signs of condensation had completely disappeared. 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.
Fearing 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.
