Why does the toilet cistern sweat and what is the best way to eliminate condensate from the walls? Causes and methods for solving fogging of the toilet cistern Why does the toilet cistern sweat.
A toilet cistern covered with drops of moisture is a common occurrence that many of us have encountered. This not only looks unaesthetic, but also causes significant harm to your plumbing and the space around it. Why does condensation form, what are the reasons for its appearance and how to get rid of it once and for all? Let's consider everything in order.
Causes of condensation on the toilet bowl
The main reason for the formation of condensate is a large temperature difference in the drain tank and in the room air. Usually the walls of the drain tank are not made too thick, they cool quickly when cold water enters. If the temperature difference is 10-15 degrees, condensation will definitely appear.
Considering this issue from the point of view of physics, one can compare the formation of condensate with the appearance of dew on the grass. Humid warm air, in contact with the cold surface of the tank, cools down and ceases to retain the moisture that is in it. This moisture, which has settled on the surface, is condensate.
It may also appear for the following reasons:
- the presence of hot heating pipes in the bathroom;
- high humidity in the bathroom or bathroom;
- faulty drain device of the toilet bowl (at the same time, water from the tank constantly flows into the sewer, its deficiency is replenished with cold water);
- frequent use of the toilet, in which the water inside the tank does not have time to warm up to room temperature.
Before proceeding with the fight against condensate, it is necessary to find out the exact cause of its occurrence.
What are the consequences of this trouble?
In addition to the fact that the toilet bowl is constantly wet and cold due to condensation, this excess moisture can bring a lot of trouble. Dampness leads to deterioration of equipment, which looks unaesthetic due to stains. The fastening bolts are slowly but surely rusting, brown streaks form around them.
Over time, moisture, flowing down from the toilet bowl, collects in puddles, penetrates under the floor covering. From there, it can flow even lower and damage the thermal insulation, or even get to the ceiling of your neighbors from below.
Note! High humidity of surfaces due to condensation leads to the formation of mold, fungus and unpleasant odors in the bathroom.
Troubleshooting methods
What to do if condensation accumulates on the toilet bowl? There are several ways to deal with this problem.
Repair of the cistern system
Condensation often occurs during the warm season. This problem will bring a lot of trouble if the drain tank is faulty. For example, the inlet fitting has broken or the gasket in the drain system has failed. In both cases, water will begin to flow continuously from the tank into the sewer. In its place, cold water will flow from the pipeline. And as a result, condensate will settle on the walls of the tank.
Monitor the operation of the toilet cistern drain system, repair it if necessary
Check the operation of the drain device. If it leaks, it will be seen by the footprints in the toilet and heard by the sound of running water. In the event of a malfunction, repair the drain system or completely replace it.
Water drain minimization
In this case, you will have to reduce the frequency of using the toilet. With frequent draining of water, condensate forms according to the same principle as with malfunctions in the drain tank. New water that has entered inside will not have time to warm up, and moisture will settle on the surface.
In order to reduce water runoff, you can use two methods.
Many modern cistern models have a button with a minimum drain function. Be sure to use it.
Use the half flush button on the toilet
If there is no such button on your drain tank, reduce the pressure of the incoming water by adjusting the flow using the faucet.
Reducing the humidity in the bathroom
Reduce the humidity in the bathroom or toilet. Condensation cannot form in a room where there is no water evaporation. Of course, you cannot reduce the humidity of the air by 100%. In addition, natural or mechanical ventilation will not help here. But the installation of special air dryers will help partially solve the problem.
Install a dehumidifier to reduce humidity
Rise in water temperature
To do this, use the central heating pipes. It is very good if they pass next to the drain tank. Extend the flexible hose to the tank and lay it so that it fits snugly against the hot pipe, wrapping around it several times.
You can also arrange a real heat exchanger. Take a copper tube of the required diameter, thread it onto a heating riser or a pipe for 4-6 turns and mount it into the gap in the connection to the tank. Pack the resulting coil in mineral wool, providing thermal insulation. This design can heat the water entering the tank by more than 5 degrees, thereby eliminating the formation of condensate.
Of course, this method has its drawbacks. Firstly, it is quite laborious, and secondly, in the summer it will not be possible to use the heat of the heating pipes.
In extreme cases, you can simply connect not cold, but warm water to the tank.
Cisterns with double walls
Of course, manufacturers of modern models of toilet bowls are familiar with the problem of condensate and its consequences. Therefore, they are looking for effective solutions and offer new models with a cistern design that will not allow the toilet to “cry”.
This model has an additional plastic container inside the tank. Its walls do not come into contact with the ceramic surface. Thus, the temperature of the latter is always equal to room temperature. This design uniquely solves the problem of condensation.
Unfortunately, these models of toilet bowls are expensive and not always affordable for ordinary buyers.
Creation of internal thermal insulation
Some self-taught masters try to insulate the walls of the tank from contact with cold water using heat-insulating materials, such as foil, foam, etc. They can simply be glued to the inside of the tank.
Thermal insulation of the toilet bowl from the inside with foil
Video about the thermal insulation of the container with your own hands
Checking the ventilation system, troubleshooting
Do not try to block the ventilation holes in the bathroom with any materials: this often leads to the fact that the ventilation stops working. It is better to purchase a special ventilation grill for this.
Don't forget to check the draft regularly. If the ventilation ducts are clogged with debris (which may have appeared during the construction of the house), then it may not be at all. In this case, you should try to clean the channels yourself or call a specialist from a maintenance housing maintenance company.
Checking the draft in the vent with a piece of paper
You can also leave the door to the toilet or bathroom open, but this is not always possible. Make a small gap under the door, this is enough for constant air circulation.
If this does not help, build forced ventilation. It is especially useful if your house has a combined bathroom. After all, after taking a bath or shower, all surfaces around are covered with moisture. This may cause condensation to form.
If the ventilation ducts are clean and there is good draft in them, then you can install the fan in the vent yourself. But it is better to turn to professionals who will calculate the required power of the device for a particular room.
By the way, replacing ordinary windows with plastic ones can also cause condensation. Plastic windows are airtight, they can disrupt the ventilation of the apartment up to the cessation of air exchange. Any moisture that evaporates in the apartment will remain in the air and over time will settle in the form of condensate on the surface, including the drain tank. To avoid this, when ordering plastic windows, do not forget about ventilation window valves.
It would seem that the problem of condensation on the toilet cistern is complex and practically insoluble, if you rely only on your own strength. But as you can see, everything is much simpler. You can easily deal with condensate on your own if you find the cause and choose the right method. Good luck and enjoy your home!
Condensation falling out on the toilet bowl puzzles many homeowners. Due to the constantly flowing water droplets from the surface of the drain tank, puddles form on the floor, which must be wiped up in a timely manner. Otherwise, dampness will lead to mold and bad smell. Of course, you can adapt some container to collect water, and then do not forget to empty it of the contents in time. Many housewives do just that, trying to solve this problem in this simple way. Men try to find out why the toilet cistern is sweating in order to eliminate the cause and forget about the problem forever. Are there effective ways to deal with condensate that periodically appears on the toilet bowl? Let's figure it out.
Causes of condensation on the drain tank:
- High level of humidity in the bathroom and in general in the whole apartment. High humidity can be caused by a large number of indoor plants, drying a large amount of wet laundry, leaking plumbing pipes or heating systems, and other factors.
- The incessant flow of cold water into the toilet bowl for a second due to a malfunction of the valves, as a result of which the water does not have time to warm up to room temperature.
To understand why the toilet cistern is sweating, you need to remember a little the school physics course. The contact of warm and moisture-saturated air with cold surfaces inevitably leads to the appearance of water droplets on them. This means that it is necessary to look for ways to dry the air, as well as to increase the surface temperature of the drain tank.
Checking the condition of the vents
To reduce the level of humidity in the air, it is necessary to adjust the ventilation of the bathroom. Each apartment has special ventilation "windows" that provide air circulation. In pursuit of the beauty of the interior, some residents seal these holes with finishing materials, which, of course, is unacceptable.
To mask ventilation windows, you need to buy decorative grilles that are specifically designed for this purpose. They can be selected in terms of color, shape, and design. Before installing decorative grilles, clean the ventilation ducts from debris.
Installing a fan that turns on when the light is turned on will help partially solve the problem of condensation.
Air ventilation in the room can be organized even more efficiently if you connect a forced ventilation system. To calculate the power of the ventilation system, you must contact the experts. After assessing the condition of the bathroom and the intensity of its operation, professionals will give recommendations on the choice of equipment.
Repair of faulty valves
If the mechanism of the drain device breaks, then the water in the toilet flows without stopping. This leads to the constant replenishment of the tank with cold water, which reduces the temperature of its surface. In this case, the condensation process is ongoing. The problem can be eliminated only during the repair of valves or its complete replacement. To carry out repairs on their own or invite a plumber, each homeowner decides independently, based on the financial capabilities of the family.
In addition to partially eliminating the problem of condensate, repairing the drain mechanism of the tank will save water consumption. This is especially true for owners of those apartments in which metering devices are installed - water meters.
Double wall cistern
Manufacturers of modern toilets are aware of the problem of condensation and offer their own effective solution. The latest models of toilet bowls are produced with an improved design of the drain tank, which does not allow them to “cry”.
The double-walled flush cisterns of today's toilets never sweat.
In these models, an additional plastic container is inserted inside the tank, the walls of which do not come into contact with the ceramic surface of the product. As a result, its temperature is always constant and equal to room temperature. This constructive solution allows you to solve the problem once and for all. However, for many buyers, these models are still inaccessible at a cost that is several times higher than the price of conventional toilet bowls.
Some amateur craftsmen try to isolate the walls of the tank from exposure to cold water using heat-insulating materials that are glued to them from the inside of the tank. However, this technology does not completely solve the problem of condensate.
Some amateur craftsmen are trying to deal with condensate on the tank by pasting its inner walls with heat-insulating material
If expensive "non-crying" models are still too expensive for you, then try installing forced ventilation. Even a simple fan inserted into the ventilation window and turned on when the light in the bathroom is turned on will solve the problem of condensation on cold surfaces. If after that the toilet bowl sweats, then call specialists to install more powerful ventilation systems.
The toilet bowl is sweating. There is a lot of condensate, it starts to drip onto the floor, forms puddles, and since the ceilings in the houses are not at all airtight, it seeps to the neighbors from below. Both you and them have dampness, which contributes to the appearance of an unpleasant smell, fungus and mold. The ceiling, saturated with moisture, begins to gradually collapse, and someday a fragment of the ceiling may collapse on the neighbors, and a hole will appear in your floor.
Very often, the occurrence of condensation on the toilet cistern spoils not only a good mood, but also good relationships with neighbors below.
In addition, condensate appears on the drain tank and on the pipes adjacent to it. If these pipes are steel, without anti-corrosion coating (and in old houses it is), then the pipes will begin to rust.
The toilet cistern sweats especially often in winter. The reason for this is easily explained: water enters the container from the water supply, the temperature of which is only 3-5 ° C, and in the apartment the temperature is 10-15 ° C higher. The humidity of warm air is quite high, because of this, water droplets (dew) will immediately appear on the drain tank, and it does not matter which tank: ceramic, cast iron or plastic. In order to prevent the appearance of condensate, or at least reduce it, you should look for the cause of its formation and try to eliminate it.
Causes of condensation on the drain tank
Scheme of the device of the drain tank.
- The main cause of condensation is high humidity in the bathroom. And the cause of high humidity in the toilet can be too hermetically closing the front door. To fix this, you can make holes in the door.
- Another reason for the accumulation of dew on the drain tank may be a breakdown of the locking mechanism. Continuously flowing water lowers the temperature of the water in the drain tank. When the malfunction is eliminated, the water temperature will rise and dew will cease to form.
Related article: Fan heater repair
Ways to eliminate condensate
To keep the toilet cistern from sweating, you can install a mechanism with a double button toilet flush system. This makes it possible to use both all the water from the tank (6-7 liters), and part of it. In this way, water drain can be reduced, which will simultaneously reduce water consumption and reduce condensate on the drain tank.
Checking the ventilation ducts
Scheme of the main elements of the tank: 1 - float valve, 2 - pear combined with overflow, 3 - thrust, 4 - float, 5 - water level.
To eliminate humidity and make the air drier, you should clean the special ventilation holes that are available in any apartment. Chasing the beauty of the interior, many residents of houses close these holes with various finishing materials (for example, wallpaper), but this cannot be done. To decorate the ventilation windows, you can buy special decorative grilles of different colors, shapes and designs. Before installing these decorative grilles, it is necessary to clean the ventilation ducts from debris. It is better to invite relevant specialists for this.
You can use another option: to make additional ventilation - instead of a grate, install a fan that will start working when the light in the toilet is turned on. This will also partially solve the problem with the formation of condensate.
Repair of faulty valves
If the mechanism of the drain tank breaks down, water flows into the toilet bowl continuously. The toilet cistern is constantly filled with cold water, and this reduces the temperature of its surface, which is why dew is constantly present. To get rid of it, you need to repair the valves or completely replace it. Do repairs yourself or call a plumber, each owner decides for himself, evaluating his capabilities.
In addition to partially getting rid of condensate, the repaired toilet cistern will reduce water consumption. This is especially important for owners of apartments with water meters.
Another way to eliminate dew is to purchase a double-walled cistern. The production of modern toilet bowls takes into account the problem of condensate and offers its own productive solution. At this time, they began to produce new models of toilet bowls, in which the double-walled cistern does not sweat at all.
