Sweaty Toilet? Yuck!

It has been a fairly nice summer thus far, and with fall on the way, we’re beginning to move in to the dog days of summer. That means warm spells and higher humidity.

With that higher humidity and warm weather will come an old bathroom nemesis – the sweaty toilet tank.

While it may not seem like an issue (other than cosmetically) at first, sweaty toilet tanks can be quite damaging to your home, and your health.

But first, let’s enjoy a quick diversion to review how condensation happens – with Bill Nye the Science Guy. You’re welcome.

(It will open in a new window.)

Well that was pretty neat!

However, condensation in your bathroom is not pretty neat. You know that the water sitting on your toilet tank will eventually run down and do damage to your floor – that’s simple gravity. Once there; mold develops, the flooring changes color, flooring boards start to shrink or expand, and your bathroom begins to look like a super-fund site.

The cost of replacing all that damage is usually in the thousands of dollars range, and is never convenient.

What you may not know is that the damage does not stop there. I mentioned that the condensation can be damaging to your health.

What does life on earth need to survive? Water, air (ok most life), food, and heat. Unfortunately, your toilet and bathroom provide ALL of those things for the worst kinds of bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic life. That isn’t something you can stop – but you can fight it.

We all know the importance of regularly cleaning your toilet, but did you know that cleaning your toilet is practically futile if you have condensation on the tank? That’s because water is great accelerant for microbial life. We’ll let your imagination do the rest of the work in figuring out what happens in that water that condensates on the tank – which is right next to the bowl.

So, how do we remedy this cosmetic, structural, health-damaging issue?

There are a few ways.

One of the more popular DIY routes is to buy a tank liner to insulate the walls. This works for some people, but unfortunately, it’s not 100% effective here in the Northwoods. In fact, if you live in Three Lakes or any other of the lake-surrounded towns, you’ll be wasting your money.

What we recommend are Sweat Valves.

These are fairly inexpensive valves, that are really quite simple. They take a little bit of hot water from your hot water line and add it to the tank. What this does is stop the entire condensation process altogether. You probably won’t even see an increase in your utilities as the amount of water used is really that small. And no, the water in the tank will not be hot – it will be room temperature.

These are best installed by a licensed plumber, especially if you’ve been having a lot of condensation. Our highly trained techs will inspect for any damage to the floor, the fittings, or even any serious molding. They can even take care of those issues if you would like.

To learn more about our plumbing services, head on over to our plumbing page!

Do you have a bathroom water damage nightmare you’d like to share? Share it on our Facebook,G+, or Twitter pages! We will highlight the worst ones in the coming months.