Thanks for the inspiration. I live on glasfiber coated wooden boat, which is difficult in terms of condensation and mildew. Now have a strategi of control more condensation. 1. I will line the wooden walls with wool, that way the wood can breathe and won't rot. 2. Make a couple more passive ventilation holes in both ends so the air may circulate. I may also apply a fan, if it was hooked up to a hygrometer it would be perfect. 3. Place kitty litter bags on both sides of the hul and keep watch as they fill up.
I know this may sound crazy, but with a dehumidifier, it might be possible to reuse the water the unit collects for drinking and other things, such as washing if correctly filtered.
Some excellent tips. I'm currently building a hybrid container/conventional home and am having some condensation issues. We have a cold climate and I don't have a full heating system in yet. I'll definitely get a dehumidifier and try the kitty litter trick out until we have the heat pump system and ventilation hooked up. Our final system will utilized 2 passive vents, a heatpumper/humidifier, dehumidistat controlled fan and stove fan. I'm surprised how much moisture we are getting since it started getting cold. It was fine all summer.
A wood burning stove will cut way down on the humidity because it is a dry heat. Most people that burn wood have to sit pots of water on the stove to humidify the air and I live in FL.
yes, would be soooo useful to see the REAL experience of people with container homes! most of it is just advertising or airbnb advertising, and not a real experience. This is a very important issue because such condensation can potentially make the dwelling uninhabitable. On the other hand if you use special this and that to insulate, heat pumps and dehumidifier etc etc, soon the costs will add up and container home will end up an expensive solution. Also it would be great to see someone who knows what they are talking about and have real solutions, because there are so many versions on how to insulate and address the condensation issue that it is hard to make sense of it. For example the above video is full of errors, the person clearly has little idea of what they are talking about. Would love tp hear more of your experience, since it has been 9 months since you wrote the comment. Did you have any issues? How did you address them?
I like the idea of using kitty litter (the silicon version) and it can possibly even be re-used if you are able to dry it out properly in the sun. It's just collecting water after all in this case; not urine.
Do we have to install spry foam or insofat insulated to preven condensation if we are alllready cover the container by woden shade or install metal roofing
i spent the last of my money to build a shipping container home and now i can't even live in it because i can't afford to insulate it correctly. the seller i bought it from told me not to worry about condensation but mold is now growing inside and im soon to be homeless. what a nightmare...
Use versatile and safe (for you and your house) chlorine dioxide (quantumleap(dot) is) As spray on mold removal that really gets rid of the mold without being corrosive to the building materials. + dehumidifier hot air blower inside the house to remove the residual moisture from the chlorine dioxide water solution (it’s mostly water but kills molds effectively). Another easy to use and less watery option is ozone, which can be generated (by rental ozone generator used to deodorize buildings) You + pets & plats must stay outside until the treatment is done and the machine is switched off and the container well aired out, but it can help to inexpensively reset the development of molds, which will stay away with help of Dehumidifier, which can have its waste water to drain directly outside with a little pipe diy. It can also be made to work with a sensor or timer to make it easy and prompt. All the best.
Would dehumidifiers work? I’d imagine accessing the humidity between the metal and the insulation is an uphill battle. The condensation from the indoor air can be pulled out but I don’t imagine the dehumidifier preventing condensation
Best method for developed world (people with relyable power): Insulate the container, either 100% of the interior or 100% of the exterior. Use an ERV (Energy Recovery Ventilator), which brings in fresh air, while limiting the exchange of temperature between the interior and exterior of the space. An ERV also helps control humidity, but not usually well enough on it's own. Also use a small dehumidifier, which will run less due to the ERV. This combined method is optimol.
Really like that kitty litter idea.. I wonder if there's a clever way to either contain it to avoid the mess? Or perhaps somehow spray that on the wall..?
You have no idea what you are talking about... Insulation should be done OUTSIDE. Dehumidifier won't do shit if your insulation is inside. Opening door brings DRY air. 0 knowledge of the subject.
