The incredible trick to stop condensation on your windows - costs £1 at Tesco and Aldi

A cleaning expert who runs their own decluttering and home styling business has come up with a simple and ingenious way to get rid of condensation on your windows during the colder months. Anita Birges says there is no need to fork out for expensive dehumidifiers to keep your windows clean and dry during the winter months.

The homes expert, whose tips can be found on her Mise en Place, boasts that her trick banishes the condensation and moisture that builds up on our windows and sills in winter often causing potentially dangerous black mould to form if it is not dried off and ventilated every day. But who has time to continually wipe down their wet windows or wants to keep them open losing valuable heat?

Many people choose to fork out on expensive household dehumidifiers which can set you back up to £350 for a decent quality one.

Instead Anita suggests using a simple household item found in everyone's kitchen. She uses washing up liquid and a dry microfibre cloth to get rid of condensation.

She said: "I start by laying a towel on the windowsill and using a wiper blade to get rid of all the water on the windows.

"Once that's done, I dry everything off with the towel so it is completely moisture-free."

She explains that when the warm air in your home hits the cold surface of your windows, the moisture in the air turns into water droplets, and suddenly you've got mini puddles forming all over your windowsill. Next she cleans the windows with an alcohol based cleaning product to get rid of any oils or dust on the glass.

"Basically I'm giving my windows a clean slate to work with" she said.

She added: "Now for the magic. I dab a tiny bit of washing up liquid on a micro-fibre cloth. A little can go a long way and I wipe it all over the glass right to the edges and then buff with the dry side of the cloth. This creates a barrier that will stop condensation from coming back."

As an experiment Anita tried the same technique with a little shaving foam on one window panel to see which hack worked best over night and left one window panel untreated at all.

Her conclusion? The untreated window was dripping with condensation by the next morning, the shaving foam window was a little drier but the winner by miles was the completely dry window treated by the washing up liquid.

She said: "This winter window hack definitely works."

However not all experts agree with her. While all admit it does solve the condensation on windows it doesn't remove moisture from your home and it may just settle elsewhere on walls. It is advised you still keep your home well ventilated.

"This will create a barrier that will prevent ‌condensation,' says Valeria Velikova, cleaning expert at Fantastic Services said.

"And it won't create any streaks since the amount of soap is small. Another tip is to mix water and a few drops of dish soap in a spray bottle."

But she continued with a warning.

She added: "Window fitters and manufacturers do not recommend using washing up liquid on windows because it can damage the rubber seals around your windows."