The humidity has been on point this summer! Another typical summer in Upstate NY... hot and humid with heavy, drenching rains. Maybe you've noticed that you're once again at odds with 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. The water sitting on your toilet tank will eventually run down and do damage to your floor – that’s simple gravity.
Once it's there, mold develops, the flooring changes color, flooring boards start to shrink or expand, and your bathroom begins to look like a disaster. 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. We mentioned that the condensation can be damaging to your health. Unfortunately, your toilet and bathroom provide all of the right conditions for the worst kinds of bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic life to survive and thrive. 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? The 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 Southern Tier. In fact, if you live in Binghamton or any other surrounding towns, you’ll be wasting your money.
We recommend ANTI–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 all together. 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. It's just enough of a temperature change to stop the condensation in its tracks.
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 mold.