Sweaty toilet bowl - how to prevent?

[Jadnashua]

If the skylight results in the room getting hotter, and no moisture is added, the relative humidity decreases. But, it still doesn't change the dew point.

If the toilet is ont a low-flow one, then consider changing it. Most of the low-flow toilets have a fair amount more water in the tank than is flushed down each time. this is especially true if you go with something like the new Toto Aquia and you don't need the full flush. This means that the incoming water will be mixed with some that is already been warmed some by the room.

Another thing you could try is to open the wall where the pipe runs and make a big loop after expanding the pipe to a large diameter. This would put more volume of water inside of the room that potentially would get warmed some in between flushes when you refill the tank. I'd have to do some calculations to determine if that would be a great idea, but the concept is okay.

Having grown up in Spencerport, I guess it just depends on who supplies your water and where the nearest water tower is...our supply wasn't all that cold in the summer. Given the nature of where the frost line is, it did get cold in the winter. I don't remember this being a big problem growing up, but then again, how often does a kid notice that sort of thing! I run the a/c at home now, and thus, it is a non-factor.

Moving some air across the thing would tend to warm it up so the time it could condense would be limited, and then what was there gets evaporated. But, if this is flushed at short regular intervals, I think you will need to consider a tempering valve, since otherwise, you will just keep chilling the tank and condensing.

 

[Verdeboy]

i have enjoyed this thread so far. Every post has had good info.

i'll add more information:

a.) It's the DEWpoint that is the essential thing to know, and you can see it on the Weather Channel or on http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/
b.) Lake Ontario water is VERY cold.
c.) This cold water making its way up into your tank after two consecutive flushes brings the tank's surface temperature below the dew point.
d.) whenever warmer air comes in contact with an object that is colder than the air's dew point, condensation results, and occurs on that colder surface (and then driops off).
e.) this explains why your tank has condensation on it dripping onto the floor.
f. ) try leaving the tank unflushed for a day and tell us if condensation is lessened or disappears.
g.) you may as well put a cheap thermometer in there too. And compare the water temperature to the dew point you can see every day on the Weather Channel, or on http://www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/
h.) if leaving the tank unflushed for a day doesn't eliminate the condensation during your test period, I'll bet that the tank temperature didn't get up to room temperature yet. Try adding hot water to raise the temperature a bit more. This is just a test, to confirm that you have no OTHER problem, and to convince you too that the culprits are the humidity and the tank temperature and only those two things.

Isn't science great. It proves, in a long-winded way, what we already knew from the get-go.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Geniescience]

yes i'll agree.

and i think it is good to take a methodical approach to diagnose problems. Any other route can lead you to spend money on the wrong fix, or to make things worse.

david

 

[Geniescience]

right !

Thank you, Jim, that is correct, the skylight is NOT helping either, and also not making things worse.

Jim's paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 all make sense to me.

About summer water temperature from Lake Ontario: For some reason it doesn't seem to warm up as much as I would have thought either.

Jim's paragraph 5 says to me that a $10 fan facing the tank would evaporate a lot of the condensation. Perhaps enough to prevent drips. Also worth trying.

David

 

[Pewterpower]

Are there any other toilets in the house that have this problem? First floor, second floor, basement, skylight, no skylight?
Is this the only toilet you have trouble with?

 

[Geoff Ruby]

Only other toilet in the house is in the basement. (the one that sweats is on the second floor). the one in the basement does not have this problem. It is a completely different climatic zone down there - much cooler.

Also, the only bath/shower in the house is in the bathroom on the second floor - so in addition to being in the upper (and therefore hotter) part of the house, it also sees a fair bit of moisture put into the air. there is a fan that is supposedly venting outside, but it doesn't seem to be as effective as it should be. the toilet still sweats though on days when the bath/ shower isn't used.

Will try to cover the skylight and see if it makes much of a difference.

We do have a/c - but we rarely use it, and even then it's never cranked. I may try it one day and see if it lowers the humidity enough to stop the sweating.

thanks for the info so far.

Geoff Ruby

 

[Jadnashua]

get a better fan and put it on a timer. Ensure people use it. From what you've said, you are adding significant moisture into the house, at least in that room. Leave the door open when someone is not in there. Check the gap under the door - if there isn't enough room, the fan can't do much when it is closed. Even if you aren't running the a/c, leave the fan running to circulate the air if your system allows that.

 

[Geniescience]

Geoff,

Only other toilet in the house is in the basement.... much cooler.... Will try to cover the skylight .... We do have a/c.. may try it one day

Whatever happened to the idea of adding HOT water to the tank just to bring the tank water temperature up enough to prevent condensation? This takes very little effort to do.

Do you ever go away for a weekend? Can you check to see if the tank water temperature has gone up enough to prevent condensation when you come home?

Does the condensation happen in all seasons?

Whatever happened to the idea that you tell everyone to use the basement toilet for the next two days?

Please note that a one-day A/C will not do much. If it is a single room window box it may never do enough dehumidifying of the bathroom...

Also please note that A/C is designed to work best as a dehumidifier when it is NOT cranked up all the way, but instead just left on all the time, on "low".

If blocking the skylight is what you want to do, well you know i can't stop you... but you did have more than one person say that it has no effect on the dew point. Think of the condensation on an ice-cold drink. Think about it. Then, add hot water to the ice cold drink and see the condensation stop happening on the glass or tin can as the case may be.

David

 

[Pewterpower]

Still sweatin' to the oldies?