How to Deal with Humidity in a Small RV

Dew drops on glass, Gurgaon, Haryana, IndiaEven though I was a full-time RV kid from age 5 to 12, I don’t remember issues with humidity. Maybe it is because our RVs were larger than the one that I got originally or maybe it was because we chased the warm weather!

Most likely it was because I was a kid and wasn’t thinking about it.

When my family and I started full-time RVing in Nov of 2017, we didn’t escape the cold much at all that winter even though we went to Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California with our RV travels! We had to learn how to deal with humidity in a small RV because we had an 18 foot Wolf Pup with one slide.

Here we are camping in our tiny RV in the woods of Gladys, Virginia.

Our windows would be dripping with condensation and I was worried about mold and mildew!

I am embarrassed to say that I didn’t know how to deal with humidity at all and I couldn’t find any condensation solutions for RVs online.

Want to learn what I learned? Continue reading this article for more.

Simple Tips for Keeping the Condensation at Bay

Window with serious condensation challenges.

These tips are super simple and you can start implementing most of them right away so save yourself the heartache of mold and mildew by learning how to deal with humidity in a small RV.

1 – Crack a Window

Yes, I know that you’re trying to stay warm! I didn’t want to crack a window either but with all 6 of us breathing in that tiny RV, it had to be done.

We also didn’t want to use too much of our propane with the furnace so we got a space heater to help keep the RV warm. The RV park provided free electric so that saved us some cash. Here are some space heaters you can use that aren’t too big for your small RV.

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The above option allows you to use it as a space heater to keep warm but you can also use it as a fan during the warmer parts of the year.

If you need a space heater that is going to pack a little more punch, the above model might be the best bet for you.

Now that you can stay warm — go crack that window and save yourself from the humidity.

2 – Your Exhaust Fans are Your Friends

When you’re taking a hot shower or you’re cooking, use the exhaust fans to pull out the hot air. If you find that your current bathroom fan isn’t cutting it, you can get a replacement that really does the job.

This one is a little on the pricier side of things but there are other options that you can use that are also effective, such as the one below.

3 – Increase Inside Temps in the RV

If you can handle it a little warmer in your RV, you should raise the temperature in the winter so you don’t experience as much condensation.

4 – Use Products Like DampRid

If you don’t want to plug anything into your outlets but you still want to decrease dampness, you can try something like the product DampRid.

Another popular moisture absorber is the Arm & Hammer brand product. I remember my mom always had a box in our fridge when we were RVing.

5 – Avoid Air Drying Clothes Inside

I remember when we were at an RV park and their dryers were terrible. It was too cold to put the clothes outside to dry or they would freeze so we hung them up all over the RV. That didn’t do anything to help our humidity problem in the RV.

If you have to spend a few more bucks on drying your clothes then so be it. Just don’t make matters worse by stringing up even slightly damp clothing in your RV.

If the dryer at the campground you’re at isn’t working great, you can try this product to speed up the drying process.

Wool balls aren’t going to speed things up too much but it can help you save some time and money drying clothes. Make sure you use enough of them or you aren’t going to notice too much of a change. You’re going to need more than two.

6 – Insulate Any Unused Windows

Any windows that you aren’t going to crack — insulate.

It isn’t expensive to insulate your RV windows and you can always take it down when you want to look out. We put insulation over the window in our RV door. It was letting too much light in anyway so it woke us up when we were trying to sleep.

Blocks the sunlight and keeps out the heat or cold.

Here are some options for reflective RV insulation.

This one is 48 inches by 10 ft so if you need a lot… here you go!

This is what we got for our door. It just sticks on the window with the stickies they sent us so it’s not coming off but we don’t care.

7 – Cover Pots & Pans When In Use

When you’re cooking, it’s heating up your RV and creating moisture. Even if you’re using the exhaust fans, it is still going to make a difference in your RV. If you cover the pots and pans, it won’t cause so much condensation in the RV windows.

8 – Try Out Dehumiders

Dehumidifiers take the humidity from the air and then you can dump out the water. You should keep the humidity in the RV between 30 and 50 percent. We got this cool little humidity gauge with a smiling or sad face to let us know where we were within the correct range.

Depending on the size of your RV, you might need a bigger or small dehumidifier. Look at the square footage they have on the description of the product so you know if it is good for the size of RV that you have.

Since we only had an 18 foot RV, we could get away with having a one room dehumidifier.

If you have a bigger RV or if you just want to make sure that you get one that has enough energy to pack a punch then you can try out this one. You’ll see it has a lot of great reviews and it isn’t too expensive either.

Dealing with Humidity and Condensation in Your Small RV

When I say we had a small RV — we had a small RV! Lol

Now you know how to deal with humidity in a small RV. I do have to say that it was a big problem for us with our small rig.

Now that we have our larger rig, it isn’t as bad but we have also been doing much better at running away from the cold weather. When we head back to the cold temps, I know that we’re going to need to use all of these tips again.

If you’re RVing and dealing with humidity, you may be in areas where you’re experiencing freezing temps. If that is the case, make sure to read our article on frozen RV water pipes today.