You’re headed into the bathroom one day when you look over and realize that your toilet is covered in condensation. Gross! A sweating toilet is not an uncommon thing for homeowners to have to deal with, but it is annoying and definitely not something you want in your bathroom, particularly because it can start dripping on the floor or nearby walls, and the puddles can lead to water damage, mold, mildew, and other nasty things. Luckily, there’s a few things you can do to help stop a toilet from sweating. Let’s take a closer look!
Why is my toilet sweating?
The reason your toilet sweats is just a simple question of condensation. The bathroom is probably the most humid room in your entire house, mostly due to the showers and baths you run in there. Because the water-filled tank of a toilet is so cold, it’s basically a natural dehumidifier. Moisture in the much warmer bathroom air gathers on the surface of the toilet and condenses there, causing toilet sweat.
The good news is, you don’t need to panic or worry that you have a major leak somewhere in the bathroom and or something is wrong with your toilet– the toilet works fine! The condensation is just a natural consequence of humidity and temperature differences. To stop that condensation, you need to work to combat one of those two factors.
Decrease Humidity
If you can decrease the amount of humidity that’s in the bathroom air, there won’t be as much moisture around to condense on the surface of the toilet to begin with. Most of the ways to do this are just easy habit changes that won’t require the help of a plumber or professional.
For instance, if you haven’t been turning the fan on after a bath or shower, that’s a good start! You can also open the bathroom door and window after a bath or shower to help let the humidity out. Portable dehumidifiers also work great to target this issue, and a small dehumidifier suitable for one room can be fairly inexpensive.
Increase Temperature
The colder the toilet, the more it will encourage condensation, so finding ways to heat the tank up can help solve this problem. This step requires a plumber’s help, but installing a mixing valve at the tank inlet allows some warm water to enter the tank, raising the temperature and preventing it from being so much cooler than your bathroom air.
Insulate the Toilet
Insulating the tank of your toilet can be very effective at preventing condensation. Lots of toilets on the market these days actually come insulated already, but if your budget doesn’t allow for replacing the toilets, you can also get insulation kits made exactly for this purpose, or even insulate the old-fashioned way by putting a cover on the tank.
A plumber can easily insulate your tank with sheets of foam rubber on the inside. You should notice a difference very quickly! You can also consider insulating the pipes in your home if they aren’t well insulated already, something that has a lot of other benefits to offer during the colder months.
Reduce the Water in the Tank
Low flow toilets, which use less water than standard toilets, can help to stop sweating by having less water in the tank. This is another one that might not be in your budget right now, but if it is, low flow toilets are a great option that have a lot of other benefits, including lowered water bills and environmental friendliness. They’re also pretty gentle on the plumbing in your home!
Check the Flapper Valve
A very, very cold toilet tank can occasionally be caused by a leaking flapper valve that pushes fresh, cold water into the toilet all the time. It’s worth checking your valve if you’re having a toilet sweating problem– if this is the root cause, fixing it should allow the water in the tank to come up to room temperature and minimize or stop the condensation issue altogether. A leak like this can also make your water bill skyrocket, so fixing it will help that as well!
With these tips and a little help from The Plumbing Works, you should be able to fix a sweating toilet easily!
