Why is the floor by my windows freezing and wet?
Floors suspended over open air act as a thermal bridge, dropping surface temperatures to near freezing even when the rest of the room is fully heated. This extreme cold turns the flooring into a condensation magnet, leaving floors soaking wet up to six feet away from the windows. While homeowners associations often dismiss this as normal winter condensation, the severe dampness and freezing temperatures are not standard behavior.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Cracking the windows open to ventilate
- 2Running a dehumidifier
- 3Throwing up plastic over windows
- 4Putting silicone gel sacks to soak up moisture
- 5Adding a thermal break or insulation underneath the floor
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I recently moved into a new construction condo and after a few days of living here (and it’s winter time) I noticed that the floors by the window were wet out to about 6 feet away from the window.”source ↗
“The floor is also so cold. The outdoor temperature is about 27ºF, the indoor would be about 70F. I measured the floor and it was around 36-41 degrees all the way out to 9 feet away from the window.”source ↗
“Emailed again and HOA said it’s normal for some condensation and the floors to be cold during the winter time but it’s so much water and so cold.”source ↗
“I have a serious dampness problem on the exterior wall of my bedroom. The issue is that this section of the floor is essentially suspended in the air”source ↗
“The floor in this area is extremely cold, much colder than anywhere else in the apartment.”source ↗
“That cold floor bridging over open air is a condensation magnet, had the same nightmare layout in my last place”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 11AC unit leaking water from top rubber seal
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- 2Why does my refrigerator ice maker fill tube keep freezing?
- 13Why is my ductwork dripping condensation inside the walls?
- 2Why is my converted freezer accumulating so much water inside?