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We have a modern, well insulated house (well sealed too) and consequently we get quite bad condensation at this time of year. I was thinking of getting a window vac to speed up the annoying morning ritual of wiping the condensation off the windows and sills.
Has anyone got the Titan windiw vac? Is it any good?
We just bought the Karcher on from their outlet store. Ive not been overly impressed with other Titan products in the past
Karcher here (had it since the first came out) ..... really good at what your after - just does what it's supposed to
I hope to fix the cause by fitting a positive pressure ventilation system next spring. Just £300 and a spur that you can do without a sparky if competent.
Sod running round the house with a cloth (or window vac) I've got better things to do like drink coffee and feed the cat every morning!
(Edit, condensation on the sills too? That's a lot of condensation!)
Check out FGF this week
FGF?
Google suggests Fibroblast Growth Factors, amongst other things.
Watching this thread as I too have the condensation issue and was discussing this last weekend with a riding buddy, he's just bought the Karcher.
I've had a Kärcher one for quite a few years and it's still going strong, was less than £40 I think at the time.
FGF = Fresh Goods Friday. There is a window vac in there today. Because we are humans with damp houses as well as being bike journos!
Inherited a Karcher one from my parents as it didn't work with their panelled windows.
It's crap, leaves streaks. Easier to just use kitchen roll.
Currently in the box for the charity shop run.
Ive not been overly impressed with other Titan products in the past
I have one of the £40 Titan wet/dry vacuums from Screwfix which I bought for my shed. For the price, and my shed, can't go wrong. Wouldn't want it for inside the home though, as no brushes/rollers for carpets, and not very convenient. Comes in handy when kids flooded the bathroom, cleaning up after DIY jobs, and the car.
Not a window vac though so no help to op.
We've got a karcher one, it's very good at what it does. It does leave streaks which I guess is why a window spray/mop thing came in the box. Added bonus is that it was 'free' as we used nectar points in Argos.
It’s crap, leaves streaks.
Yes they do/can (without doing 'something' to get rid of them) - but in the winter who cares!
Easier to just use kitchen roll.
I'm finding that hard to believe. I can remove a mug of water from the two windows in my en suite (partly because MrsSB likes a bath) in less than 2 minutes - doing that with kitchen roll would be messier, take longer and be wasteful.
Obvs YMMV.
1) https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/lillnaggen-squeegee-40243596/ Squeegee from ikea. 1.50. I expect they sell them in wilko too.
2) A towel.
Lay the towel on the windowsill, squeegee the water down onto towel. Takes 2 mins.
Something isn’t right if you are having to do that every morning in your house
Are you drying clothes on radiators/ not using extractors etc ?
Something isn’t right if you are having to do that every morning in your house
Agreed, especially assuming a modern well insulated house will have double glazing.
If your karchers streaking you either have a dirty or damaged blade or your angle/ pressure is wrong.
We too have had a karcher since they came out and after the learning curve of leaving streaks all over.... Eventually we learned how to not streak with it.
The spray bottle it comes with is for putting window cleaner in for cleaning the windows ....for which it cleans the windows easily.
Something isn’t right if you are having to do that every morning in your house
In our case it's caused by the bath and old (thin air gap) DG units for us.
Only happens in the en suite despite a good inline extractor.
Doesn't happen elsewhere in the house.
If your karchers streaking you either have a dirty or damaged blade or your angle/ pressure is wrong.
You're probably right. I put a new blade on the other day so it's probably angle/pressure.
vileda windowmatic version is £38.99 (45% off) at Amazon at the mo, gets good reviews and has a flexible head to get to the bottom of windows which the Titan can’t do
Reviews of the Titan put me off
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vileda-WindoMatic-Window-Cleaner-Version/dp/B07CMK2TK3/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=T0Y8T6NRWMZW&keywords=vileda+window+vac&qid=1670615493&sprefix=%2Caps%2C51&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Yes. Got one the other day for the same reason - single glazed porch attracts all the damp air from the house.
£20 on Black Friday and it works a charm.
Yep, had both karcher and titan
Karcher is generally better IMO, works better at any angle, the titan tends to occasionally spit water out of the vent if used sideways/upside down. (cant avoid this with our windows)
it is nearly 3 times the price though
I think the issue here is a new build in 2012 with very high energy efficiency which means low air flow. Modern houses are crap for ventilation and air flow
hI think the issue here is a new build in 2012 with very high energy efficiency which means low air flow. Modern houses are crap for ventilation and air flow
Sweeping generalisation there. All new builds on our estate have a DMEV system as standard.
I was given one of Karcher window vacs as a wedding present years ago, used it about twice as it doesn't clean windows very well, a microfibre cloth and glass cleaner gives a better result with less faffery. It does feel like a nice piece of kit though and sucks up water well.
Don't want to sound overly cynical, but have you tried opening a window?
Singletrack needs to do a grouptest
I've got a Karcher, which I use mostly got getting moisture out of cars- since the big car's always got bikes and manky muddy clothes in, and the little car leaks like a bloody sieve. And it is an excellent little tool and I like it.
Just got the Karcher, Black Edition no less. It works. What was taking 10mins to clear the condensation (old narrow gap DG and Veluxes, drying clothes indoors, eating lots of pasta, no extractor in the kitchen) now takes 2mins. Karcher came with window cleaner thing that I haven't used yet.
Am tempted by one of those as I also have a partner who loves baths and drying 5 loads washing a day on the radiators but figured a dehumidifier would be better... Obviously haven't bought either.
Piv is the best solution for removing condensation from a house ime. It used to run down our poorly insulated bedroom wall as that was colder than the triple glazed windows. No condensation or mould since installing piv.
Bought one last week for the same problem. Windows cleared of condensation very quickly. That Vileda version looks like a good idea as it is trickier to vac up the bottom of the pane. It specifically tells you not to turn it on its side to vac as it leaks.
Only streaky if too little or too much pressure used.
No ceiling space on landing for a PIV unit. Have fitted them for a couple of customers and they just work.
Nuaire fwiw
I had a quick look to see what PIV units are. So they suck air gently out of the loft to create pressure inside the house to force the moisture out, basically.
So what happens in the loft then? Isn't the negative pressure going to draw moisture in so the loft gets damp instead?