# Very Humid, Toilets are Sweating



## velvetfoot (Jul 14, 2013)

It's been real humid around here.  The toilets are sweating like crazy.  Does anyone know of a solution that works, other than, say, circulating hot water?  I've got towels around the bases and wipe them down periodically.


----------



## fespo (Jul 14, 2013)

velvetfoot said:


> It's been real humid around here. The toilets are sweating like crazy. Does anyone know of a solution that works, other than, say, circulating hot water? I've got towels around the bases and wipe them down periodically.


 
Get the new ones with liners in the tank or put the A/C on


----------



## BrotherBart (Jul 14, 2013)

Just don't slide off. 

Don't know the answer. But taking the lids off will let the water heat up faster. You obviously have well water and it is cold. What I can't figure out is why our indoor humidity is hanging at 60 percent this year with the A/C running.


----------



## Grisu (Jul 14, 2013)

BrotherBart said:


> Just don't slide off.
> 
> Don't know the answer. But taking the lids off will let the water heat up faster. You obviously have well water and it is cold. What I can't figure out is why our indoor humidity is hanging at 60 percent this year with the A/C running.


 
We have municpial water and the same problem. I have given up on wiping etc. As soon as someone flushes fresh, cold water comes in and the cycle starts again.   We clean the tiles underneath regularly, otherwise I have no clue what else to do.


----------



## Hogwildz (Jul 14, 2013)

Best bet is limit shower time, and run fan, and leave door cracked to lessen the humidity in the bathroom.
Otherwise there is another option of a valve made for this that adds a small amount of hot water to the incoming water to raise the incoming water temp, thus stopping condensation.


----------



## heat seeker (Jul 14, 2013)

Insulating the tank, inside or outside of it, often helps.

There are mixing valves that will blend in some hot water to prevent the ice cold water in the tank, but that assumes that hot water is available at the bathroom whenever one flushes.

I've seen trays that hang under the tank that collect the drips.

Here's one:

http://www.amazon.com/William-H-Harvey-090950-Toilet/dp/B000HE6CY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373857130&sr=8-1&keywords=toilet tank drip tray


----------



## pyroholic (Jul 14, 2013)

I have seen a storage tank ( old h2o heater) plumbed into the cold water line in the basement.  This storage allows the cold water some time to acclimate to room temp before sending it to the toilet.  Also can help keep the regular water heater from getting shocked with such cold water too.


----------



## BrotherBart (Jul 14, 2013)

Probably why we don't have the sweating problem. The bladder tank holding the stuff until we can't hold the stuff.


----------



## maple1 (Jul 15, 2013)

Less flushes.

'Don't flush for every little tinkle' - something I've been trying to get across to the kids here for years for water saving reasons. But it reduces the sweats too.


----------



## velvetfoot (Jul 15, 2013)

A tray could be helpful, but the reviews aren't universally glowing.  Then too, the bowl itelf sweats as well.
The trays are said not to be cosmetically appealing, but neither, I suppose would leaving the lid off.
When I was younger and visiting some peoples' houses, they had the tank wrapped in some decorative cover, maybe even matching the floor mat.  I didn't think at the time they might have a practical use.
I have to read some more on the internal liners-maybe they can be retrofit.


----------



## firefighterjake (Jul 15, 2013)

velvetfoot said:


> A tray could be helpful, but the reviews aren't universally glowing. Then too, the bowl itelf sweats as well.
> The trays are said not to be cosmetically appealing, but neither, I suppose would leaving the lid off.
> When I was younger and visiting some peoples' houses, they had the tank wrapped in some decorative cover, maybe even matching the floor mat. I didn't think at the time they might have a practical use.
> I have to read some more on the internal liners-maybe they can be retrofit.


 
HehHeh . . . sounds like my grandmother's house (she's dead now) . . . matching rug in front of the toilet, toilet tank cover and a knitted toilet paper cover . . . oh yeah, and the bars of soap shaped like sea shells that no one ever dared use.


----------



## velvetfoot (Jul 15, 2013)

I'll also try to effect behavioral change at the velvetfoot domicile.

I wonder how those hot water mixing valves work?  It takes a while for hot water to get to the bathrooms.  If nobody's been using any water for a while, the hot and cold water line temperatures coming in would be approx. the same temp. for a while.  It's been so humid, it doesn't take much of a temp. difference to cause condensation.


----------



## velvetfoot (Jul 15, 2013)

I just watched a This Old House video on installing a mixing valve.  I wonder if it would work?  Would mean some work, maybe use more hot water...


----------



## bmblank (Jul 15, 2013)

firefighterjake said:


> oh yeah, and the bars of soap shaped like sea shells that no one ever dared use.


Yeah, what the hell is with those things?


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Jul 15, 2013)

There are insulation kits that are cemented inside the water tank of the most important seat in the house this stops a lot of the tank sweats.


----------



## velvetfoot (Jul 15, 2013)

SmokeyTheBear said:


> There are insulation kits that are cemented inside the water tank of the most important seat in the house this stops a lot of the tank sweats.


I've read bad reviews of them.  Apparently there are also insulated tanks from the mfrs.


----------



## firebroad (Jul 15, 2013)

velvetfoot said:


> When I was younger and visiting some peoples' houses, they had the tank wrapped in some decorative cover, maybe even matching the floor mat. I didn't think at the time they might have a practical use.


 
That's EXACTLY what those tank covers were for.  Time was, you bought bathroom rugs as sets, 3 piece or 5 piece.  The 5 Piece was the one with the tank covers.  Only problem was they got smelly when boys don't aim too well.


----------



## lukem (Jul 15, 2013)

Have you taken the water's temperature to figure out how much of a difference you need to make?  Your water might not be too cold, your humidity could be too high and it might make more sense to focus on that.


----------



## velvetfoot (Jul 15, 2013)

lukem said:


> Have you taken the water's temperature to figure out how much of a difference you need to make?  Your water might not be too cold, your humidity could be too high and it might make more sense to focus on that.


We don't have air conditioning.


----------



## heat seeker (Jul 15, 2013)

firefighterjake said:


> HehHeh . . . sounds like my grandmother's house (she's dead now) . . . matching rug in front of the toilet, toilet tank cover and a knitted toilet paper cover . . . oh yeah, and the bars of soap shaped like sea shells that no one ever dared use.


 
Just like it was in our house back in the 60's! But our soaps were also in the shape of circus animals.
She also turned one lid upside down, put some miniature gravel and soil in it, and installed some artificial plants! I added some Matchbox construction equipment to maintain the "gravel". Talk about multi-tasking!


----------



## Highbeam (Jul 15, 2013)

Dehumidify the bathroom? Or heat the throne. How about some sort of fish tank heater in the tank? A flush doesn't usually replace all of the water in the tank so if you can heat that tank's water you will be burning off any condensation while preventing more from forming.

Spray foam the toilet.

Alternate use of toilets so that the same one isn't being repeatedly flushed(cooled).

If I had a problem toilet I would just park a dehumidifier there pointing at it.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Jul 15, 2013)

velvetfoot said:


> I've read bad reviews of them. Apparently there are also insulated tanks from the mfrs.


 
Had three of them at the prior house no problems and yes they were installed because without them the tanks would sweat.


----------



## Hearth Mistress (Jul 15, 2013)

The dogs seem to like to lick the side of the bowl, now I understand why.  We have well water that is always super cold.  Under the sinks I have that foam pipe tube wrap on it, pop it off ever now and then to dry out the condensation it collects a d just replace it when it gets funky. We cant get the humidty under 70%, even with the window A/C units.  Temps hover round 70 but the humidity is awful still, you can feel the "wet" in the air even though it's cool. Never had this problem before.  We think it's because now that the house is "tight" from rebuilding the roof, walls, siding, etc from Sandy damage, we don't get the flow from leaky air like we use to. I'm sure we'll notice a difference when we fire up the stove this season too.  Hubby can't understand how 80 is "comfortable" to me when the stoves goin' but 74 feels "hot" to me when the A/C is on


----------



## Grisu (Jul 15, 2013)

Hearth Mistress said:


> Hubby can't understand how 80 is "comfortable" to me when the stoves goin' but 74 feels "hot" to me when the A/C is on


 
If the difference in humidity is as stark as you describe how you feel is actually perfectly normal. Here is some scientific explanation if your husband does not want to believe you :
http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/meteorological-terms/question651.htm


----------



## heat seeker (Jul 15, 2013)

If the AC units are oversized for the area, they will not run enough to dehumidify the air. BTDT. You could try running one less AC for a day or two and see if the humidity changes. It sounds to me like you have too much cooling capacity.

Agreed: high humidity at 74 can feel warmer than a dry 80.


----------



## Hearth Mistress (Jul 15, 2013)

heat seeker said:


> If the AC units are oversized for the area, they will not run enough to dehumidify the air. BTDT. You could try running one less AC for a day or two and see if the humidity changes. It sounds to me like you have too much cooling capacity.
> 
> Agreed: high humidity at 74 can feel warmer than a dry 80.



We only have 1 window unit cooling about 900 sq ft. If you count the whole house   It is in the only "normal" window we have as the rest are all  crank out windows.  It is in my husbands collection room in the window facing the bedroom, we keep the door open obviously and have a pedestal fan in the doorway to help push the air around upstairs.  Downstairs is all stone so its usually cooler anyway.  We've been here 10 years with the same set up, first year we have all this moisture! I threatened to fire up the stove tonight just to dry the place out


----------



## begreen (Jul 15, 2013)

This is a good reason to space the toilet tank at least an inch off the wall to allow ventilation. Otherwise there is going to be a healthy colony of black mold growing back there.


----------



## Hogwildz (Jul 15, 2013)

Velvet, I have no AC, only in my office and bedroom. It is 90+ degrees here lately, inside home 85degrees when I got home today, same yesterday. I like to shower with cooler sometimes cold water. Even mild warmer showers will make a difference. I also leave the door open &/or run the exhaust fan. My water is well and never took temp but it is cold. My tank is not sweating at all.
Now when there was the lil woman here, and her "scorching hot" showers & closed door, the humidity in the bathroom caused the tanks to sweat.
YOu may want to try some adjustments of shower temps and ventilation of moisture while shower, and this may be simple enough to solve your problem. If not, then you may want to consider the valve. Everything else I researched about this before, said the tray & insulations kits were a waste of money and did not solve the issue.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Jul 16, 2013)

We only run one window A/C unit and while it can't keep the temperature constant inside the house once the outside temperature goes above 85 or so, it does an excellent job of keeping the humidity down.


----------



## maple1 (Jul 16, 2013)

After re-reading, I'm not sure - are the insides of your toilet tanks insulated?

If not, get some foam board & silicone caulk & do that.

I thought that was standard stuff on toilet tanks for a long time now. Ours are 17 years old, on the low end as far as toilet price goes, & they came insulated. The only time we see sweats is if something sticks in the tank & water is constantly running through, which has gotten to be a rare occurance (knock on wood) - although our climate isn't quite as bad for things sweating as other places. I think the last thing I would do is use hot water to get rid of it - heating water for that would just grate at me like a chalkboard on fingernails.


----------



## velvetfoot (Jul 16, 2013)

Ours are (not)  insulated.  No sweat yesterday. -edited


----------



## Highbeam (Jul 16, 2013)

No OEM insulation on my new toilets. They are the fancy dual flush too.


----------



## ewdudley (Jul 16, 2013)

Keep an eye out for a small inexpensive dehumidifier if you can find a spot for one.  The whole bathroom will be warm and dry year-round, towels will be dry, and toilet won't sweat.


----------



## Backwoods Savage (Jul 16, 2013)

We will be remodeling our bathroom and our new toilet will be insulated. You can buy them that way and it does not cost much extra.


----------

