You can get rid of condensation with ventilation and keeping wet clothes out. It comes from water in the air.
Proper Ventilation
Most of you make the cardinal sin of staying in tents without proper ventilation. Improper ventilation is one of the main reasons behind condensation in your tent. Many of you might get afraid to use tents with windows because of the surrounding nightcrawlers and bugs, but many tents are available in the market that comes with mesh panels. These panels not only offer your tent sufficient ventilation but also offer prevention from bugs. Also do not use the rain fly to give you more air.
Location
Even though breathing is the main contributor to ventilation, camping in a damp location is also crucial for the phenomenon. If you camp pretty close to water bodies, your tent will get condensation. Camping over lush green grass also contributes to condensation. That is why it is always better for you to camp in higher locations where the air is not so moist, and the temperature is not so cold. Also, try to choose a site that has good airflow.
Camp in dry weather
There is less water in the air on low humidity nights.
Wet Clothes or Gears
Many people bring their wet clothes and gear into their tent while camping. While camping, many of us get wet. From sitting on wet grounds to placing our kits on the damp grass, there are many reasons why our clothes and gear get wet while camping. But if you bring those wet items inside your tent, condensation will engulf the inside of your camp setting.
An easy way to keep your tent free of condensation is by leaving your wet clothes and gear outside your tent for drying. If you are worried about keeping everything outside your tent, you can put them in a dry bag. This will prevent mold.
1. Dew on grass early morning
During the night, the air on the earth’s surface will cool. This air will cool below the dew point. Thus, the water vapor present in the atmosphere will saturate and later condense. In turn, the condensed air will form the dew visible on the grass early in the morning.
2. The clouds in the sky
Clouds are another example of condensation. The clouds form as a result of the cooling of water vapor in the atmosphere. Clouds form when the temperature of the water vapor falls below or to the dew point. After which, the water vapor will condense into tiny droplets of water. Later the water droplets will then cling to the small particles of dust found in the atmosphere. Finally, they form the clouds that are visible up in the sky.
3. Fog visible in the air
The fog you usually see in some areas, especially the highlands, results from condensation. Fog forms the same way as clouds; however, fog tends to stay closer on the ground than clouds. The fog comes from condensed air, forming droplets of the liquids that remain in the air. For fog to form, the conditions must be humid. The thickness of this fog can vary; we have light and dense fog.
4. Breath that is visible in cold conditions
When the weather is freezing, you can see your breath or your friend’s breath. This breath is seen because of condensation. The breath is visible when your moist and warm vapor hits cold, humid, and cold air in the atmosphere. The moist air will condense and become tiny water droplets. The water droplets from the air take a cloud-like appearance; this is what you see when you breathe out during cold weather.
5. The fogging in the mirror
Hold the mirror in front of your face and exhale on it. Remember, this mirror should be close to your mouth. After exhaling, the mirror will appear foggy, and you cannot even see yourself properly. The cloudy appearance illustrates the condensation of the water vapor present in your breath. The warm air in your mouth lands on the cold surface of the mirror to form some liquid water.
Have you ever realized that you cannot easily see yourself in the mirror after using a hot shower in the bathroom? Instead, you will have to wipe off the mirror first before using it. When you wipe the mirror, you will be removing the air that has condensed on the mirror’s surface. The warm water, i.e., in the form of the steam from the hot shower, condensed.
6. Rains falling down
When water condenses and clings with the atmospheric dust, they form clouds. When these clouds are heavy enough to bear the weight of the condensed water, they come down as rain. The rains will get down after the water droplets become bigger and heavier. You can also relate other precipitation forms like snow and sleet to condensation. The occurrence of these two comes from the freezing of the water droplets.
7. Car windows with moisture beads
You will realize some water is forming from inside the car windows. This process presents the perfect example of real-life condensation—the water forms inside the car windows. When the warm air either in the car or any vehicle gets into contact with the windows. This air will form a bead of water on the inner side of the glass. Remember, the glass window is cold because of the cold air temperature outside.
8. Contrails
These lines represent condensation trails, contrary to many people’s thoughts that they are emissions from the plane. Instead, they appear because water vapor is present in the sky, and the extra vapor the plane’s exhaust produces, will condense the moist air. Afterward, it freezes into some ice crystals. The many ice crystals will now form the contrails. The effects of the contrails are usually during the humid days when there is a lot of moist air.
9. Sweaty drink cans
In most of the examples above, condensation was taking place during cold or humid weather. However, you can recognize the process while sipping your cold drink on a sunny day. The moment you take the can or bottle from the refrigerator, some tiny droplets start to appear. This tiny droplet comes as a result that the can provides a cold surface. As a result, the water vapor in the air will slow down at the surface and condense.
Condensation is a scientific process involving the changing of water vapor into liquid. Try to keep your tent well ventilated to prevent it.
